Mud is the follow up for Take Shelter director Jeff Nichols and while a very different film than its predecessor, it’s almost as successful. [Read more...]
Film Review: Mud
04/26/2013 by Leave a Comment
The Breakdown: Man of Steel Trailer 3
04/17/2013 by Leave a Comment
Not that the others were disappointments or anything, but this was the Man of Steel trailer I’ve been waiting for. Check it out after the break! [Read more...]
TV Without Commercials: Boardwalk Empire 3.10
11/20/2012 by Leave a Comment
Well, it’s been a while (once again) since I’ve written about this season of Boardwalk but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been watching (once again). Last week we saw Nucky in a way we have never seen him before, severly concussed. Not only was he in a terrible state of mind from his injuries, but he is still coping with the fact that Lillian is now dead and he is alone. No one is supporting him in his attack against Joe Masseria and now those closest to him are also planning to leave him. Time, and hope, are dwindling for Nucky and moves will have to be made soon in order to maintain not only his status and fortune, but his survival as well. [Read more...]
TV Without Commercials: Boardwalk Empire Season 3 Premiere
09/19/2012 by Leave a Comment
The third season of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, started off with a bang…or better yet a whack. Several whacks to be exact, Gyp Rossetti. Gyp, from New York, and Dean O’Banion from Chicago, are two new mobsters we have already been introduced to this season, and based on the premiere alone this season practically guarantees to deliver drama and excitement equal to its predecessors. [Read more...]
Film Review: Premium Rush
08/24/2012 by Leave a Comment
When I was little my sister and I spent hours and hours each week riding our bikes around the neighborhood, making up stories to build a world around the simple activity. They obviously weren’t the best stories, but we were kids; so what’s Premium Rush’s excuse? [Read more...]
TV Without Commercials Review: Boardwalk Empire 2.11
12/05/2011 by Leave a Comment
After last weeks ending, I didn’t think there was anything the writers of boardwalk could have done to match that intensity, but boy was I wrong. I love the way Agent Sebso has finally come back to haunt Nelson. He seemed to get carried away in his righteousness at the end of season one, yet we have only seen him being forced to deal with Lucy and their child so far. I always wondered how Agent Van Alden managed to get away with Murder right in front of an entire church congregation. Well it turns out Nucky’s butler was part of that congregation and witnessed the whole thing, and happened to be dusting the room while Nucky’s lawyer was discussing Nelson’s testimony. Jimmy seems to have gone completely off the deep end, and if anyone had their doubts about the relationship between him and his Mother, they were all erased after last night. [Read more...]
TV Without Commercials Review: Boardwalk Empire 2.10
11/29/2011 by 2 Comments
When I first saw that the title of this episode was called Georgia Peaches, I was slightly confused. What could Georgia peaches have to do with Atlantic City, gangsters and liquor? Then it hit me. During the scene where Nucky goes to New York to find a new lawyer, he meets with Arnold Rothstein’s lawyer and is accompanied by Teddy. When the lawyer sees Teddy he hands the young lad a baseball that is autographed by non other than Ty Cobb, the Georgia Peach. The title is a reference to Cobb, but also to Nucky who, like Cobb, isn’t necessarily a good man but he is very good at what he does, in fact he is the best. Not everyone agrees with his methods but his ability to get the job done cannot be argued with. [Read more...]
TV Without Commercials Review: Boardwalk Empire 2.7
11/07/2011 by Leave a Comment
Last nights episode of Boardwalk Empire was even more crazy than the week before, which is something I never thought would be possible. Jimmy now has the power that he has been seeking and it appears that he is in position to lead his group of young gangsters. They all have one thing in common, they have one person standing in their way from complete dominance of their respected cities. It seems that all of them are in complete agreement that Nucky stands in the way of all of them. While Jimmy is confident he will go to jail and therefore be out of their way, no one else shares his confidence. Eli suggests that Nucky should be eliminated and everyone agrees. Jimmy, hates the idea and is clearly torn up with his decision but is afraid to look weak in front of his colleagues so he carries it out but, thankfully, is unsuccessful. [Read more...]
TV Without Commercials: Boardwalk Empire – 201
09/26/2011 by Leave a Comment
Last night was the season premiere of the second season of Boardwalk Empire. With big names like Martin Scorsese and Mark Wahlberg attached to the executive producer roles the show immediately had high expectations. The first season most certainly lived up to those expectations and series premiere last night was far from disappointment. [Read more...]
For Your Renting Pleasure
09/03/2010 by Leave a Comment
That’s right, my write-up for rentals has changed yet again. This time around (and hopefully I will stick to it this time) I will write up little blurbs about the movies I have seen in the past week on Fridays, giving you suggestions for what to pick up and what to avoid when considering what to rent that weekend. On this weeks list we’ve got: The Back-up Plan, The Last Song, Operation: Endgame, Repo Men, The Runaways, A Single Man, and The United States of Tara.
Fight for the Last Copy:
United States of Tara: Season One
This Diablo Cody created, Showtime TV show is about a woman who has recently gone off the medications that have helped to suppress the other faces of her multiple personality disorder (or dissociative identity disorder). Toni Collette plays Tara, and the way in which she moves in and out of these other personalities is pure artistry. Though this is a serious topic, it does not shy away from the humor of it all, thanks in large part to the people she becomes. In the beginning she is aware of three: Alice is a 1950s housewife, Buck is the redneck hick with a heart of gold, and T is basically the teenage slut, but eventually another emerges (but I will not spoil in for those who want to watch) in response to the overriding story arc of Tara digging into her past to discover what caused this disorder to take form during her teen years.
The show does not just stop with how this disorder effects Tara, but shows the strain it puts on her family. John Corbett plays her supportive husband who i leading the search to discover her past and must constantly coral the other personalities (though he is far from ashamed of his wife). [Read more...]
Review: Jonah Hex
06/18/2010 by Leave a Comment
The latest, and possibly most under the radar, comic book film this summer is the adaptation of Jonah Hex and the results are a mixed bag as the films focus seems to be in a lot of wrong places.
Hex is a Confederate soldier of some rank but when he turns on his regiment and shoots his best friend dead the Confederate General Turnbull, and father to Hex’s best friend, hunts Hex down, murders his family, and leaves him for dead with a brand on the face to remind him of who did this to him. We are then given a quick rundown of the next few beats in Hex’s life, Turnbull apparently dies, and Hex is left as a supernatural bounty hunter who can briefly resurrect the dead with his touch. As he reeks havoc on the outlaws he hunts, a bounty is in turn put on Hex and the hunter is also the hunted. As Hex tries to earn his keep and stay alive Turnbull turns up alive and constructing a secret military weapon and the president recruits Hex to hunt down his nemesis and save the country.
Review: The Runaways
04/09/2010 by Leave a Comment
Floria Sigismondi’s The Runaways is a dark, messed up, and insane dive into the depravity and pitfalls of fame destruction of age film that yields three very good performances from, Michael Shannon, Kristen Stewart, and Dakota Fanning.
Before the sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll the members of The Runaways were just young girls that loved, praised, and aspired to be the next gods of rock in a male dominated industry. Joan Jett wanted to be a punk guitar goddess while Cherie Currie wanted to be David Bowie but they would together be a part of something the rock n’ roll community had never seen. When Jett catches the ear of Kim Fowley, who proclaims himself to be a music producing genius, the duo set out to form the first all girl rock band. Filling out their band with ample musicians, Lita Ford, Sandy West, and Robin (a fictional character to avoid the drama surrounding a revolving door of bassists) Fowley needs one final piece before he takes this show on the road; a blonde bombshell to sell the sex side of the band. Enter Currie, a fifteen year old with jail bait sex appeal to spare that is learning the vocal side of things as she goes to become the lead singer and lead icon of the band. From here the group begins cutting their chops and working up the ladder before breaking out in a huge way.
Review: Revolutionary Road
01/12/2009 by Leave a Comment
Sam Mendes’ latest is his darkest film yet, but it really gets you to think about ones own life as you can easily see both sides of the argument laid out by the terrific performances by Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio.
April and Frank hit it off right from the start at a party. Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) is fresh off the boat while serving a tour in the navy, with dreams of returning to Paris and slowly spending time finding what he wanted to do with his life. April (Kate Winslet) has dreams of being an actress in New York and there chemistry just rips through the screen. Flash forward a number of years and the two now have kids, and on the ride home from a decidedly not so great play April is staring in, the two erupt into a vocally violent assault on one another proclaiming how they are trapped in each others fates and both are clearly unhappy in their situation. Oh how things can change. After the dust settles, April begins reflecting on her past and Frank’s dreams and she discovers they have enough money to move and live off of in Paris for close to a year, and she could get a job at a high paying secretary position that would allow Frank to stay home and figure out what he wants to do with his life. [Read more...]
