Rise of the Planet of the Apes is one of the finest entries of the summer, features a phenomenal performance by Andy Serkis, and features some of the most impressive special effects integration from WETA yet. [Read more...]
Film Review: Rise of the Planet of the Apes
08/16/2011 by 4 Comments
Review: Fantastic Mr. Fox
11/25/2009 by Leave a Comment
Wes Anderson returns to the screen with a film that fits into his little world only this time with a bunch of talking animals from the wonderful fable by Roald Dahl.
Mr. Fox was always a daring individual, and stole live stock for a living before he met Mrs. Fox and was planning on having a child with her. He decided to settle down and became a writer for 12 fox years, but the itch of adventure and change in a mid-life crisis of sorts over took him and he put himself in a situation where he can become a thief again on the sly. Though this doesn’t go well and before he knows it his friends and family are at risk of the evil Boggis, Bunce, and Bean, his human neighbors whose product he has begun to steal.
This film continues the fantastic trend of animated and family entertainment this year that is suitable for all ages and able to be enjoyed, maybe more than the kids, by the parents. Anderson’s dialogue and character traits are all here, but I feel like this is his most accessible film to date to the general public. There are cute characters and action for the kids and witty humor and grown up issues for the adults, if it wasn’t for Up this would be the most broadly appealing film of the year. Anderson also does a nice job at creating actual tension and thrills through the adventure of the film and isn’t afraid to do some silly bits for humor’s sake as well.
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Review: Trick 'r Treat
11/03/2009 by Leave a Comment
Michael Dougherty’s anthology film is in love with Halloween and captures the fun, dark, and creepiness of the holiday to success while also providing a fast paced and engaging film.
The film is a quick tale over the events of one night of Halloween in a small Midwestern town that embraces the holiday with open arms. Loosely connected and tying into one another we follow the path of a killer school principal, a group of young girls looking to de-virgin their young companion, a group of young students investigating the towns oldest ghost story, and an old shut in that hides from the night of Halloween inside his run down house. When the film settles on one story it pretty much sticks with it till its run its course, but Dougherty does a pretty good job at blending them all together into a more cohesive film that runs together rather than breaking it up with title cards are what have you; think Traffic or Syriana.
I guess I should throw a little history on this picture while I am at it as well as this flick has been sitting on Warner’s shelf now for the last few years, outside a couple of festival appearances, [Read more...]
Review: Zodiac: Directors Cut
01/18/2008 by Leave a Comment
David Fincher’s latest is a crime masterpiece and leads us on a history lesson through the obsessive lives these crimes forced these men into.
Zodiac was sold as a creepy serial killer film filled with horror murders to the public, and while it does contain all of those aspects, there isn’t a murder after the first 45 minutes of the film. Some people were left scratching there head and had no idea what they were getting into, a procedural drama carrying us through the painstaking search for the killer by a number of individuals. [Read more...]
