Movie Reviews
George Washington
Accidental Heroism
Another hidden gem recently discovered, thanks to random discussions on a few film podcasts that I listen to. George Washington offers a telling story from deep in the trenches, about love, about death.
The title character (Donald Holden) must tread lightly, as his skull did not fusion in infantile development like his peers. George's ailment prevents him from getting his head wet, and must even wear a helmet when he plans on playing with friends. Some rough-housing leads to an accidental death of a friend, in a well-timed, well-edited scene sparks a close group of friends to hide the body.
Now fearing punishment, the group recedes, or so they try. George has unexpectedly become an unlikely hero in the town, after jumping into a pool to save a friend. George's heroism put his own mortality on the surface of the water. The group who witnessed the death earlier have begun to mourn their friend in such poetic ways, while townees share their theories on the disappearance.
Mother
The unconventional and unconditional love of a mother.
Mother is one of many films that have trumped Hollywood in providing original stories to audiences. With a dark, ethereal aura that sprinkles dark comedy gracefully over the film's crime drama plot, this film is a gem that should be promoted alongside the bulk of South Korea's best cinematic exports.
Mother begins with Mother (and will be referred to as Mother) (Kim Hye-ja) dancing in a field, as if there is not a minute kilogram of weight on her shoulders. The next scene we see the same Mother chopping spices, finding her song, Do-joon (Won Bin) being almost run over, and runs to his rescue, yet he is fine, unharmed, slightly embarrassed by her coddling.
Do-joon is a shy, easily manipulated, and somewhat handicapped young twenty-something who has become the prime suspect in the death of a young high school girl. He is tricked into signing a confession and at most, may find himself serving time in a hospital for mentally-ill. Do-joon's Mother refuses to believe that her child could ever perform such an at and chooses to find the killer herself.
Tetro
The Master Has Returned
Despite being one of the most prolific and most awarded filmmakers in American film history, Francis Ford Coppola has only produced two films in the first decade of the new millennium. Few filmmakers have the ability to fully fund their own works, and Coppola's self-financed Tetro is the type of film that would never be made inside the modern studio system, or at least not with such artistic control.
Bennie Tetrocini (Alden Ehrenreich) has decided to seek out his lost older brother, Tetro (Vincent Gallo), who has left the family years earlier, promising to reunite with Bennie. Tetro is a playwright who has set aside his masterwork and fled to a new life in Argentina with his girlfriend Miranda (Carmen Maura). Bennie's unexpected visit begins to re-open many of Tetro's past wounds as family secrets and betrayals reveal themselves.
The Runaways
The importance of The Runaways is lost in this film.
The Runaways begins with Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning) dreaming of being a Bowie-like clone and Joan Jett bluntly (Kristen Stewart) approaches record producer Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon) to help assist her in forming an all-female rock group. As Currie joins the band to complete the formation and with a little help from Fowley, the group is finely polished into a marketable gimmick.
After paying their dues locally, the band begins to tour, and later find themselves touring Japan. As with all rags-to-riches rock 'n roll stories, drug addiction, jealousy, and business create enough tension to tear the band apart.
There was obviously something very important about The Runaways, particularly during the time in which they arose to fame, yet this film captures none of that. The only link between the band and their importance as cultural figures was within the dialogue of Fowley—who is the only one who understands how to push the gimmick to glory. Director and scriptwriter Floria Sigismondi took the typical rock 'n roll story and instead of showing the true cultural changes that the band had induced into popular music.
Dinner For Schmucks
Best Screwball in Years
When you enter a screening with low excitement for a film, you gain a bias objective view that is just as detrimental than if you entered with the highest expectations. When that low expectation is turned around entirely, and the film you are watching features an amusing and decent story, it reminds you that the element of surprise is still a powerful beast.
Dinner For Schmucks has all the elements that many modern comedies have, elements which failed miserably, however this 2010 comedy is able to hold it all together, even throughout the end.
Tim Conrad (Paul Rudd) is invited to a "dinner for winners" where he must bring an eccentric guest; the most talented odd-ball guest receives a trophy and the 'winner' is allowed to bask in executive glory. The day after Tim's wedding proposal is rejected by his girlfriend, he accidentally hits IRS employee Barry Speck (Steve Carell) with his car. Tim finds Barry unharmed, and realizes that Barry has the quirk and odd-ball talent Tim needs for the dinner.
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Ain't 'fraid of no ghost.
It rare for a major motion picture to be released while the director remains in custody; this custody may have added to the political strife that is featured in The Ghost Writer. This Roman Polanski 2010 political thriller is a first for the troubled director, yet features many of the traditional Polanski signatures that have made him a major figure in cinema for six decades.
An unnamed protagonist (will be referred to as Ghost) (Ewan McGregor) is hired to pick up where the previous ghost writer left of on former British Prime Minister Adam Lang's (Pierce Brosnan) memoirs. The previous ghost writer was found dead and washed ashore. Ghost is invited to a secure home where he continues to work on the memoirs with the Minster's assistant, (Kim Cattrall) and his wife (Olivia Williams).
News of rumors about Langs's illegal activities regarding suspected terrorists creates a stir among peace protesters and prevents Lang from returning to the UK. Ghost begins to find clues left by the previous ghost writer that point towards many of the secret allegations that have surrounded Lang.
Cyrus
Not worthy of the hype
Currently billed as the indie hit of the summer, Cyrus features an accurately casted ensemble featuring some of the most loved indie-actors and comedic actors currently working. Yet, Cyrus does not live up to much of the hype and acclaim that has been whispered throughout the industry.
Cyrus begins as a charming film with John (John C. Reilly) still hung-up on his ex-wife, whom they still share a caring friendship. John meets Molly (Marisa Tomei) at an engagement party for his ex-wife and her future husband. The two instantly have a connection and for two days begin a charming affair, buy Molly never spends the night entirely.
One night, John decides to follow Molly back to her place, where he meets Cyrus (Jonah Hill). Cyrus and Molly have a relatively peculiar mother-son relationship. Cyrus at 22 still has night terrors and is very much coddled by Molly. This coddling provokes Cyrus to battle John for alpha-male supremacy alongside Molly.
The Lavender Hill Mob
Charmingly Comedic
The heist gone wrong story is timeless. Even more timeless is The Lavender Hill Mob. A British comedy directed by Charles Crichton (A Fish Called Wanda), the The Lavender Hill Mob has a slow, early plot points that take on appreciated value as the films moves along, particularly with the ending.
Mr. Holland (Alec Guinness) has been directing gold bullion deliveries for over 20 years and has become a fixture at his London bank. His neurotic work habits develop a keen eye on the details of how the gold in formed into bars and to safely deliver gold ingots each day.
Mr. Holland meets Pendlebury (Stanley Holloway) who owns a foundry. When Mr. Holland realizes that the steps involved in making Pendlebury's Eiffel Tower souvenirs is exactly the same as to make gold ingots the two concoct a plan to steal and smuggle the gold in a hilarious and charming heist that almost goes right.
The Village
Since I saw Signs I lost interest in M. Night Shyamalan. The recent critical bashing of The Last Airbender and my recent bashing on The Happening shows that M. Night is very much out of favor with audiences and the more intelligent studio executives. After my screening of The Happening I swore that I would never view a M. Night film again. A brief discussion with a friend urged me to see The Village, saying that it is a misunderstood film.
No, it is well understood that M. Night's typical excellent premise with sordid execution continues. The Village begins in 1897 at the funeral of a child. Unknown creatures are held at bay in the surrounding forest while the village enjoys their safe harbor. Dead animal skins are littered around the village prompting worries. Lucius (Joaquin Phoenix) and Ivy (Bryce Dallas Howard) begin a love affair and their expectations of marriage is known throughout the village. When Noah (Adrien Brody), a man with developmental problems stabs Lucius, Ivy enters the forest to look for towns outside the village for medicine and other supplies.
Inception
A new staple of American film history.
Every few years there comes a science fiction film that mends a variety of cinematic staple elements and pushes the boundaries of what cinema can present to the viewer. Inception is just that. The financial and critical success of The Dark Knight gave Nolan enough momentum to acquire a near-carte-blanche production budget for Inception, an idea that he had been pushing for years. By converging science fiction and heists elements into a cerebral, multi-layered story arc, Christopher Nolan has continued his streak of high-quality films that attracts a mainstream audience.
Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is an expert at extraction, the finding of secrets and information inside someones dream. So much that he must prove to a potential client his unique talent in an extraction audition in the opening scenes. Cobb and his team featuring Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) are able to impress Saito (Ken Watanabe), the man whose dreams they had just occupied. Saito hires Cobb and his team to not extract information. But this time to induce inception, the act of planting an idea into ones deep subconscious, enough to provoke them to think of the idea and claim as their own.
Display SettingsThese settings deal with how additional content will display in specific landing pages, categories, and catalogs. Every few years there comes an science fiction film that mends a variety of cinematic staple elements and pushes the boundaries of what cinema can present to the viewer. Inception is just that. The financial and critical success of The Dark Knight gave Nolan enough momentum to acquire a near-cart-blanche production budget for Inception, and idea that he had been pushing for years. By converging science fiction and heists elements into high-cerebral, multi-layered story arcs, Christopher Nolan has continued his streak of high-quality films.Pandorum
Watchable, but forgettable.
Can great acting keep a film from being an ultimate failure? With a inspiration-less plot, Pandorum is a sci-fi thriller that is able to overcome predictable plot twists to be an effective science fiction film.
Earth's resources are at dangerously low levels as overpopulation fuels world-wide war. After a space probe discovers a planet called Tanis containing a sustainable atmosphere, a sleeper ship Elysium embarks on a 123-year voyage to the planet. Corporal Bower (Ben Foster) awakes from a lengthy hibernation module to find himself alone and with heavy memory loss. Within one hour Lieutenant Payton (Dennis Quaid) also awakes with much of the same memory loss.
Unable to contact the bridge, Bower crawls through the air ducts to reach other areas of the ship. Payton stays in contact with Bower through radio and brings up a discussion of psychological condition called Pandorum. This condition can surface during extended space-flight and hyper-sleep, much like the sleep that Bower and Payton awoke from. Bower encounters dead bodies and fast-moving mutated humanoid creatures. After befriending two rogue survivors, Bower continues to reach the ship's reactor to get the ship to a stable, working condition.
Display SettingsThese settings deal with how additional content will display in specific landing pages, categories, and catalogs. Earth's resources are at dangerously low levels as overpopulation fuels world-wide war. After a space probe discovers a planet called Tanis contains a sustainable atmosphere, a sleeper ship, Elysium embarks on a 123-year voyage to the planet. Corporal Bower (Ben Foster) awakes from a lengthy hibernation module to find himself alone and with heavy memory loss. Within one hour Lieutenant Payton (Dennis Quaid) also awakes with much of the same memory loss.The Parallax View
Forgotten Conspiracy Thriller from 1974.
Since seeing Adam Cosco's The Most Basic Form of Mind Control is Repetition video I have been interested in seeing several of the films featured in that short video. The Parallax View was one of them and this forgotten gem is a hell of a conspiracy thriller. Suspense fans and general cinemaphiles will enjoy the conscious choice of cinematography and windy, twisting plot.
Lee Carter (Paula Prentiss) one of many witnesses to the assassination of a candidate. The assassin is chased to the top of the Seattle Space Needle and falls to his death. A second assassin escape unnoticed. A special committee unveils the results of their investigation that the assassin acted alone. Carter explains to newspaper reporter Joe Frady (Warren Beatty) that six witnesses of that assassination have died and she was next. Joe dismisses her.
Display SettingsThese settings deal with how additional content will display in specific landing pages, categories, and catalogs. Since seeing Adam Cosco's The Most Basic Form of Mind Control is Repetition video I have been interested in seeing several of the films featured in that short video. The Parallax View was one of them and this forgotten gem is a hell of a conspiracy thriller. Suspense fans and general cinemaphiles will enjoy the conscious choice of cinematography and windy, twisting plot.Prog Rock Britannia: An Observation in Three Movements
I've been a progressive rock and metal fan for well over a decade now, and describing progressive rock to others has always been difficult. The recent Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage documentary discusses one band's rise to stardom by pushing their musical talents and remaining true to their sound and principles. Yet BBC4's television program Prog Rock Britannia: An Observation in Three Movements discusses the rise of the progressive rock sub-genre by primarily examining the movements just prior to mainstream success in the mid-1970s.
Tracing the roots back to just after the psychedelia phase of rock n' roll, this documentary recounts the Canterbury scene in which free-Jazz and English-folk would form the foundations for the successful progressive rock bands. The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band and The Moody Blues' Days of Future Passed helped define the need for experimentation with music as well as how it was presented in the album cover. After Sgt. Pepper and Freak Out, the gate-fold cover became the essential way to distribute this new sub-genre of music (it also made for a great way to start to roll a joint, apparently).
The Lovely Bones
So close. So really close to being good.
The break out novel The Lovely Bones was bound to get a film adaptation much like all best-sellers. Featuring an ensemble cast and production team, The Lovely Bones had all the right elements to re-create Alice Sebold's novel. Yet this film does not reach the hype of the book or the production that surrounded its release.
Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan) is a 14-year old girl who develops a crush on Ray, who at her locker, slips a note into her notebook to meet her at a gazebo. While walking home from school, Susie runs into her neighbor, George Harvey (Stanley Tucci) persuades her to visit an underground bunker in the middle of a corn field. Susie, uncomfortable in the bunker, attempts to leave. She narrowly escapes to run home to see her father Jack Salmon (Mark Wahlberg) looking for her, but he does not see or hear her, she realizes she did not escape the bunker and had been killed.
Display SettingsThese settings deal with how additional content will display in specific landing pages, categories, and catalogs. The break out novel The Lovely Bones was bound to get a film adaptation much like all best-sellers. Featuring an ensemble cast and production team, The Lovely Bones had all the right elements to re-create Alice Sebold's novel. Yet this film does not reach the hype of the book or the production that surrounded its release.(500) Days of Summer
A Romantic Comedy-Drama for Hipsters
Every generation there is a romantic comedy-drama that leaves an unmistakable impression on 20-somethings. The Graduate, Annie Hall and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind are among the highlights of this coming-of-age romantic comedy form and (500) Days of Summer earns that same accolade. Told in a non-linear structure, this film examines the minute moments of how love can form and deconstruct, and the fallout the dumped often experience for sometime after.
Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is an architect who works as a greeting card writer in Los Angeles. On Summer Finn's (Zooey Deschanel) first day, Tom immediately falls for her. A brief meeting in the elevator some days later, Summer recognizes a song The Smiths playing on Tom's headphones, which increases Tom's interest in her. Tom and Summer grow closer together, yet Summer directly states that she is not interested in true love or a boyfriend. Regardless, the relationship has Tom in an uplifting mood, becoming a star player at the greeting card company.
Display SettingsThese settings deal with how additional content will display in specific landing pages, categories, and catalogs. Every generation there is a romantic comedy-drama that leaves an unmistakable impression on 20-somethings. The Graduate, Annie Hall and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind are among the highlights of this romantic comedy form and (500) Days of Summer earns that same accolade. Told in a non-linear structure, this film examines the minute moments of how love can form and deconstruct, and the fallout the dumped often experience for sometime after.Toy Story 3
Rediscover Your Imagination.
Toy Story 3 rounds out the wonderful Pixar series continuing their imaginative streak. The first two Toy Story films never made a big impression on me, and I've been indifferent to many of the past several Pixar releases. Toy Story 3 is a different breed. Andy has matured, the toys have been neglected, and major changes are about to occur.
The first two sequences assemble the the wonder, imagination and the joy toys provide children at such a young age, and how they form a foundation to our upbringing. Andy (John Morris) is now on the brink of moving to college and at the behest of his mother, must start cleaning his room. Andy chooses to keep his toys in a trash bag to be stored away in the attic forever, except Woody (Tom Hanks) which Andy chooses to take with him to college.
After accidentally leaving the plastic bag next to the attic stairs, Andy's mother mistakes it for trash. The gang believes that Andy wanted to throw them away and instead retreat to a donation box, which Andy's mother donates to Sunnyside Day Care.
Display SettingsThese settings deal with how additional content will display in specific landing pages, categories, and catalogs. Toy Story 3 rounds out the wonderful Pixar series continuing their imaginative streak. The first two Toy Story films never made a big impression on me, and I've been indifferent to many of the past several Pixar releases. Toy Story 3 is a different breed. Andy has matured, the toys have been neglected, and major changes are about to occur.Fahrenheit 451
We burn them to ashes and then burn the ashes.
In the 21st Century we are often given film adaptations of novels with well-known directors, it is something we are very used to. When you tag François Truffaut (the godfather of French New Wave) to direct the famous Ray Bradbury novel Fahrenheit 451, you are bound to get a stylistic rendition from an auteur who must adapt the genius of a central figure in speculative fiction. From the opening credits (which are spoken, not written) there is no doubt that Fahrenheit 451 is no longer an adaptation of Bradbury's book, but a film created by a master auteur.
Guy Montag is a fireburner who is right on the edge of receiving a big promotion at the fire station. Fire stations are no longer emergency disaster response units, but censors who burn hedonistic books at 451 degrees Fahrenheit, which is apparently an emergency. Montag meets Bernard Herrmann who questions his career and poses the question, "do you read any of the books you burn?"
Display SettingsThese settings deal with how additional content will display in specific landing pages, categories, and catalogs. In the 21st Century we are often given film adaptations of novels with well-known directors, it is something we are very used to. When you tag François Truffaut (the godfather of French New Wave) to direct the famous Ray Bradbury novel Fahrenheit 451, you are bound to get a stylistic rendition from an auteur who must adapt the genius of a central figure in speculative fiction. From the opening credits (which are spoken, not written) there is no doubt that this film is no longer an adaptation of Bradbury's book, but a film created by an auteur.Big Fan
Patton Oswalt as Paul
Robert Siegel maybe one of the most important writer/director auteurs to surface in the past several years. After writing The Onion Movie and The Wrestler, Siegel took the writer/director role of Big Fan, a 2009 Sundance Film Festival selection that strayed away from typecasting Patton Oswalt and prevented the film from emerging as a typical comedy.
Paul Aufiero (Oswalt) considers himself the world's biggest New York Giants fan so much that he defends the team he loves against "Philadelphia Phil", an Eagles fan who who rants against the Giants on a radio program. When not devouring information about his beloved team, Paul works as a parking lot attendant. His family berates his love of the Giants and his lack of pursuit in anything else, including a family. Regardless, Paul is content with just the Giants.
Paul and his friend Sal (Kevin Corrigan) happen to see the star for the Giants, Quantrell Bishop (Jonathan Hamm) and follow him from a drug deal to a strip club. At the strip club, Paul and Sal introduce themselves and after slipping up and admitting that they followed Bishop, Bishop attacks Paul putting him in the hospital.
Display SettingsThese settings deal with how additional content will display in specific landing pages, categories, and catalogs. Robert Siegel maybe one of the most important writer/director auteurs to surface in the past several years. After writing The Onion Movie and The Wrestler, Siegel took the writer/director role of Big Fan, a 2009 Sundance Film Festival selection that strayed away from typecasting Patton Oswalt and prevented the film from emerging as a typical comedy.Extract
Will not reach cult status.
Mike Judge is either known for his comedic brilliance or for the downfall of decency in American television. Either way, Judge has created some of the most important characters in American popular culture including the prime-time cartoon sit-coms Bevis and Butthead and King of the Hill, and commercial failures that ultimately led to high cult status such as Office Space and Idiocracy.
Extract is a different breed, however. Judge has created a little niche in character and story creation that revolves around middle-class imprisonment during the working hours and how we are then subjected to our own productivity in the media and in consumer products. Extract may as well be the height in Judge's typical signatures and topics. Armed with an ensemble cast, Judge as director has more control than ever before, yet fails to deliver the same clever comedy of his previous films offered.
Display SettingsThese settings deal with how additional content will display in specific landing pages, categories, and catalogs. Extract may as well be the height in Judge's typical signatures and topics. Armed with an ensemble cast, Judge as director has more control than ever before, yet fails to deliver the same clever comedy of his previous films offered.Man Push Cart
Sisyphus in America
Taking ques from The Bicycle Thieves and most Italian Neo-realism, Man Push Cart is a hidden gem that explores the paradigm shift that immigrants experience once moving to America. Using pure cinema (the idea of using visual imagery only) to describe many of the events, back-story and struggles the main character is subjected to, provides a captivating way to show an objective view of the harsh realities of being an immigrant in America.
Ahmad (Ahmad Razvi) is a Pakistani immigrant who was a rock star in his native country, yet on the streets of New York City he is a street vendor. At 3 AM in the morning Ahmad must physically push, more like pull his cart to his spot daily. The first several minutes we are subjected solely to this image of Ahmad pulling his cart foot by foot, often hidden by the trucks and vehicles that pass by. When not serving bagels and coffee, he is swapping pornography DVDs for extra cash or cigarettes.
Display SettingsThese settings deal with how additional content will display in specific landing pages, categories, and catalogs. Taking ques from The Bicycle Thieves and most Italian Neo-realism, Man Push Cart is a hidden gem that explores the paradigm shift that immigrants experience once moving to America. Using pure cinema (the idea of using visual imagery only) to describe many of the events, back-story and struggles the main character is subjected to, provides a captivating way to show an objective view of the harsh realities of being an immigrant in America.