Django Unchained is the latest from Quentin Tarantino and the results are what you expect with him; great performances, engrossing dialogue and a lot of stuff most people have never seen before. [Read more...]
Looking Ahead to 2012 – Quarter 4 (October – December)
10/01/2012 by 2 Comments
Alright people, it’s almost the end of the year – which means some big releases are coming out. Some of the biggest albums, movies, and video games are slatted for release, making for one incredible last quarter in 2012. Enough of this, let’s get to our selections. [Read more...]
For Your Renting Pleasure
10/02/2011 by 3 Comments
This week I apparently decided to go with slightly older creature features (also reading Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot, which both stays in the same vain and explains why I have only gotten two movies in). Both films wear their age in similar ways; however, From Dusk Till Dawn rises above this in other ways by creating a fun B-Film, while The Thing fails to do the same. [Read more...]
Introductions are in Order
02/17/2010 by 7 Comments
Tarantino has hit his stride again with the Basterds
Hello all, I’m Grant and I’ll be doing occasional reviews on this site. This introduction should let you know what I like, and what you can expect from me.
Favorite Film Genre
From Double Indemnity to Brick I love a good Film Noir. I enjoy the expansive plots and confusing narratives that leave me as lost as the protagonist. I love the ambiguous intentions of the characters (be it the protagonist or one of those dangerous ladies). Also, over the years I may have become so disenchanted with the ‘Hollywood Endings’ that I see a pessimistic film with a downer ending as a breath of fresh air.
Thoughts on Quentin Tarantino
He is a huge dork, but this only enhances his craft. It is nice to have a writer/director who is more obsessed about the film than I am. Tarantino has an amazing ability to let his soundtracks guide his films. His interesting and comedic dialogs are thought provoking and very quotable. Tarantino is amazingly refreshing because he continually provides creative narratives and long tracking shots to improve his story telling. It won’t always be a success (Deathproof) but Tarantino sacrifices nothing during his filmmaking and I will gladly see anything written and directed by him.
Now Playing Review – Inglourious Basterds
09/14/2009 by Leave a Comment
Forgive me mom, because I am about to dole out a word you aren’t fond of numerous times. Does it count in my favor that it isn’t spelled correctly?
As far as I am concerned, Quentin Tarantino can rewrite everything we have learned from the history books, as long as he films his version.
Though Inglourious Basterds uses Nazi occupied France as its setting, there is little need to know more than the basics about WWII going into this film. Instead, Tarantino creates a history all of his own in this story of the resistance. The most notable are “the basterds,” a group of Jewish American soldiers whose goal is to kill and scalp as many Nazis as they can, inciting fear as the lore of their actions spreads throughout the German forces. [Read more...]
Review: Inglourious Basterds
08/21/2009 by Leave a Comment
Quentin Tarantino’s latest is the long in development WWII epic that is not really a war film but a dialogue heavy affair like all of Tarantino’s work and the result is slow burn plot that builds amazing tension through fantastic characters all culminating in an explosive final act that could potentially re-write WWII history.
Split into five chapters, ala Kill Bill, there are a trio of characters/groups that are at play here. Fist off is Aldo Raine. Lt. Raine is the leader of the Jewish American platoon of soldiers dropped behind enemy lines in France to do only two things, kill lots of Nazi’s and take each and every one of their scalps. Next we have Hans Landa, or “the Jew Hunter” who is a detective for the Nazi regime seeking out the truth of the regimes occupied countrymen who may be hiding Jewish families from the authorities. One of these families put in question is at risk in the opening chapter of the film and the hate and fear that derives from this encounter produces our third protagonist Shosanna Dryfus. Dryfus owns a movie theater and after catching the attention of a young Nazi soldier, her theater is put into the running to be the host of the world premiere of the perceived German masterpiece, Nation’s Pride. These three paths eventually fall in line and lead them to the premiere where the Nazi high command is in attendance and their intentions lead to ups and downs along the way. [Read more...]
Review: Not Quite Hollywood
08/14/2009 by Leave a Comment
This documentary’s look at the genre film scene of Australia is a crazy and fun look into the world of over the top cinema and how it greatly helped Australia’s film community thrive and survive.
Now, first and foremost, if you are offended by cursing, gore, sex, male genitalia, female genitalia, ultra violence, and lots and lots of boobs, this movie is not for you. Full of clips and scenes from countless examples of the films in questions there is no shortage of the fore mentioned explicit content. Though, this film isn’t about that though, it is about the films that were about that content back in the day. A walk down memory lane into the boom of Aussie cinema can be thanked to these exploitation pictures that found success both in their native country and even in the U.S.
Full of interviewees from the dozens of films they get into it is actually quite impressive the number of people they were able to get on and talk about these films. And even better, no one is shy or bashful at all about the content or exposure they had in these films. The result is an honest and unfiltered examination of what these films meant to these people and the effect they had on the countries culture and film community in general. [Read more...]
