How have I not read the comics this movie is based on!? It’s like Angel meets Reaper and loads of other things! Way to go, everyone, for not sitting me down and forcing me to read them. Unless they’re bad. Are they bad? Shh, I’m gonna read them now! [Read more...]
The Breakdown: R.I.P.D. Trailer
04/21/2013 by Leave a Comment
True Grit and the Coen Brothers
02/10/2011 by 3 Comments
Just a week after I wrote about probably the Coen brothers film with the most mystery and depth in A Serious Man, I watched the extremely straightforward Coen brothers version of True Grit. Despite their deviation from their usual eccentricity, I loved the film. The Coen brothers like Tarantino have a knack for propelling a film with a screenplay’s dialogue, rather than the film’s action. The humorous and compelling discussion makes this film. With fantastic performances from the main three actors, I was completely swept up in the journey. This short, straightforward film seems to have found a wide appeal, and the huge box office revenue is the evidence. By the way… was anyone else disappointed that ‘LaBoeuf’ was not spelled ‘LaBeef?’ Just me?
Still Playing – True Grit
01/04/2011 by 2 Comments
Not to age my dad or anything, but westerns are a very generational thing. Heck, the last time I really watched a western by choice was when I became obsessed with one scene in McLintock! after accidentally opening the gifted VHS copy meant for my dad on Christmas as a child. And in all honesty, if it wasn’t for last year’s ridiculously addictive video game Red Dead Redemption, the trailer for True Grit probably wouldn’t have peaked my interest as it did. Well, it may not have all the violence, horse racing and addictive Oregon Trail hunting, but True Grit still manages to reach a larger audience than just those who were alive for the John Wayne original.
The looser laws of the Wild West create the perfect setting for a classic story of good old revenge, which is exactly what we have here. The difference is this story’s point of view doesn’t come from a hardened, stiff-jawed gunslinger. As a 14-year-old Mattie Ross may not be able to stay standing after firing a pistol, but she is just as strong willed as the men she comes across, with the determination necessary to hunt down the man who guiltlessly gunned down her father. [Read more...]
Review: True Grit
12/22/2010 by Leave a Comment
The latest from the Coen Bros., True Grit, is their least odd and most straightforward film to date but there is still plenty of weirdness, laughs, and amazing performances that we expect from these guys in this great film.
The film is not a remake of the 1969 John Wayne film of the same name but is instead a re-adaptation of the Charles Portis source novel from 1968. The Coen’s wanted to do this to put the point of view back through Mattie’s eyes and re-instill some of the humor in the novel. The result is fantastic as the film is surprisingly (though not really, it is a Coen Bros. movie after all) hilarious; especially considering the tone of the TV spots I have seen. The film also delivers on the tone it is selling though and features heart pumping moments and plenty of drama.
The story follows the fore mentioned Mattie as she recruits a local U.S. Marshal, Rooster Cogburn, to hunt down and capture the man who killed her father in cold blood. [Read more...]
Now Playing Review – TRON: Legacy
12/21/2010 by Leave a Comment
Back during San Diego Comic-Con 2010 TRON: Legacy was easily one of the biggest crowd pleasers. Sure the panel swayed the audience by putting our voices into the movie (unless it was all just a mean trick to laugh at us stumbling over their “follow the bouncing ball” games), but the footage they brought worked its charm on its own as well. Now that there is more than just a few minutes of footage to show the viewing audience it is easy to say that Legacy sure is as worthy of the “OOO” and “Ah” responses it earned that day in July from its visuals, but unfortunately it doesn’t quite deliver the all around amazing film I had hoped for.
Technically a sequel, Legacy takes place almost 3 decades following the plot of the 1982 original. This time around we go back to the grid following a new character, Sam, who gets transferred into this digital world after following a mysterious text back to his father’s arcade. [Read more...]
Review: TRON: Legacy
12/17/2010 by Leave a Comment
TRON: Legacy returns the 80’s property to the screen with incredible visuals, a magnificent score, fantastic 3-D, inventive action, and an attempt at sci-fi world building that is ambitious and interesting but falls a bit short of being entirely clear or fascinating.
Picking up 20 or so years after the original film, Flynn had gone missing for those 20 years only to be discovered inside The Grid by his son, Sam, who accidentally stumbles into the computerized world after receiving a mysterious page. The Grid is a computer world built by Flynn and his greatest programs to help better the real world through their research and development in their creative environment. Sam quickly discovers The Grid is being controlled by Clu, the original program built by Flynn in his own image, and he seems hell bent on persecuting other programs in an attempt to take down the Grid’s maker himself; Flynn.
The first 35-45 minutes of this movie is great stuff [Read more...]
Comic-Con International 2010 – My Experience in Nerd Heaven
08/02/2010 by 1 Comment
A couple of weeks ago I excitedly told my aunt that I was going to Comic Con in a week, with a big ol’ smile on my face. I didn’t really expect her to be jealous, but I was overly excited. Then she asked if it was a gathering of comics or something. As in comedians. I then proceeded to try and explain that it was this really cool event that happens each year that has been taken over by Hollywood in the past decade or so. Basically it has everything a nerd would desire to see, including comics, writers, artists, video games, tv shows, and movies. I told her about the panels I was planning on sitting in on and some of the people that were scheduled to attend. I was adamant about making her see how awesome it was, but she just didn’t get it. Color me deflated. Oh well, I guess Comic Con is just for certain people…
Like this girl:
Review: Crazy Heart
02/04/2010 by Leave a Comment
Crazy Heart is a nice little picture of redemption that hits all the expected beats and is solidly crafted from start to finish with a bunch of quality songs to enjoy along the way.
The story follow Bad Blake a past his prime singer songwriter who has been supplying hits for a young country superstar, Tommy Sweet, as he tours dive bars and bowling alleys poking his head into sobriety only rarely along the way. When he rolls into Santa Fe, Bad meets a journalist, Jean, that he at first tries to bed as any old groupie, but develops a stronger connection with her and her son, Buddy, and finds a bit more meaning in his life with Jean and Buddy in it. Added to this, his agent and Tommy begin really pushing him towards writing Tommy some new material and after an appearance as Tommy’s opening act at a major concert, Bad, begins to dream up some new numbers. Though the alcoholic inside him doesn’t let him stay on his high streak for long.
The film was shot for not a lot of money and first time director Scott Cooper does a nice job at getting the most out of it. [Read more...]
Review: The Men Who Stare at Goats
11/09/2009 by Leave a Comment
Grant Heslov’s feature debut is an inspired, weird, odd, and fun tale that has some wonderful origins that far surpass an aimless plot that occupies the other half of the film.
The plot surrounds a journalist, Bob Wilton, who is looking to maybe win his ex back by going to Iraq during the early stages of the second Iraq War to prove himself man enough to be her husband. Stranded in Kuwait without clearance to Iraq he runs into a supposed business man, Lyn Cassaday, whose name rings a bell from an old story Wilton did with a supposed para-soldier from an old army experiment back in the late seventies and eighties. The two head off to Iraq after Cassady volunteers his true nature to Wilton, quite easily, and they begin their adventure on a secret mission into the heart of Iraq. The film from here jumps between flashbacks of the origins and exploits of the paranormal soldier First Earth Battalion for the U.S. Army and Lyn and Bob’s trials and tribulation’s in Iraq. [Read more...]
Review: Iron Man
05/02/2008 by Leave a Comment
Summer season starts off with a winner with the release of the excellent debut of Marvel as a standalone entity. Directed by Jon Favreau, Iron Man is a success do to its excellent acting, solid humor, and creating a comic book film that is having fun without being super sappy and or hamming things up.
Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is a weapons manufacturing super genius that has lots of money, good looks, and loves to chase women around the city. While on a weapons demonstration in the Middle East Stark is taken hostage by a terrorist cell and is asked to build them his latest missile system, Jericho. [Read more...]
Review: The Amateurs
03/10/2008 by Leave a Comment
The long delayed and name changed title finally found its way out and the impressive ensemble cast can’t save this film from mediocrity in the end.
Andy is an underachieving idea man that has a small group of close friends that will follow him into anything, from pyramid schemes to porno films. This film is about the porno idea and the attempts to make an amateur film by recruiting local girls and local funding to try and rake in some of that big time amateur porn money. [Read more...]
