Tag Archives: Film

Character trumps mindless action in The Grey

Posted on February 1, 2012 by | Leave a comment

The Grey star Liam Neeson and director Joe Carnahan have both been living it up in Hollywood productions for the last several years.  Neeson continues to pop up as some grizzled badass who will kill your childhood puppy, and Carnahan has been making zany slick action flicks like Smokin’ Aces and A-Team after making a big splash in 2002 with his gritty cop drama Narc (Ray Liotta, Jason Patric).  With The Grey, Carnahan and Neeson both return with less pomp and more dramatic flavor. Continue reading →

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The Artist: The silent film you never heard coming

Posted on January 30, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Am I dreaming? I just walked out of a movie theater that had more people in attendance than any I’ve been in all year (save Harry Potter at midnight). The audience refused to talk throughout the 100-minute-long picture.  We hesitantly munched our popcorn, or opened our candy, afraid to disturb the tranquil silence which had descended upon us. We laughed in unison, gasped together, and when the lights came back up, all of us, and I mean all, applauded.  I just saw a silent film with more than a hundred people and all of them loved it more than I’ve ever seen an audience love any movie, including the final installment to the largest franchise in movie history.  I just saw The Artist. Continue reading →

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The Best of 2011 so far

Posted on August 17, 2011 by | 2 Comments

We’re a little more than half-way through the year and given the plethora of films I, Remington Smith, and writer co-hort Ben Creech, review, we thought it would be a good time to chat about our favorite films of the year so far.   Here’s that conversation: Continue reading →

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Mercy for Monsters: Humanizing child killers and Nazis in M and Inglourious Basterds

Posted on April 20, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Next to Metropolis, Fritz Lang’s M is one of his most famous films. The film’s narrative (police and criminals alike searching for a child killer), the noir lighting, its breakthroughs in sound (introduced a mere four years prior), and Peter Lorre’s infamous monologue all cement M as a classic, even nearly a century after its release.  Meanwhile, Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds is unjustly infamous for its manipulation of history. What I find most fascinating about the two films is how they treat their respective monsters (child killers and Nazis) and how their stories reflect attitudes toward societal ills.

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Awards Show Rewind: The Oscars

Posted on February 28, 2011 by | Leave a comment

After a long night of laughs, cries, spectacle, and surprises, the Oscars have come and gone once again. Who walked away with the gold and who left empty handed? The Oscars went to…

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Black Swan Aronofsky’s weakest

Posted on December 18, 2010 by | 6 Comments

Anyone who has seen a film by Darren Aronofsky is not likely to describe it as a completely pleasurable experience.  My first experience with Aronofsky’s work was seeing Requiem for a Dream on the big screen.  It was good – but I avoided it for the next two years because of its intensity.

For Aronofsky is it not enough to show us the hardships of a protagonist. He has to actually make us feel the experiences of our protagonists.  In Black Swan Aronofsky continues to force us to suffer with our onscreen hero – and this time around you’ll be hard pressed to figure out why you should care. Continue reading →

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Trailer released for Terrance Malick’s Tree of Life

Posted on December 17, 2010 by | Leave a comment

Director Terrance Malick (The Thin Red Line, The New World) has a new film being released in 2011, The Tree of Life.  Previously only attached to screenings of Black Swan, the trailer for Tree of Life was released online yesterday. Continue reading →

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The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Posted on December 13, 2010 by | 2 Comments

In the wake of the film adaptations of Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia have always felt like adorable younger siblings to these other fantasy epics.  Despite this, on the franchises’ third outing with Voyage of the Dawn Treader, it ranks almost as good as Harry Potter 7 pt 1.  Continue reading →

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The Tourist lacks spark

Posted on December 11, 2010 by | 1 Comment

Just look at this poster for The Tourist (right).  Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp’s faces take up 2/3 of the space.  You see those faces and you’re supposed to start sweating money for the studios – even when it’s not worth it. Continue reading →

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Blue Valentine no longer rated NC-17

Posted on December 9, 2010 by | Leave a comment

After initially earning an NC-17 rating from the MPAA, the romantic drama Blue Valentine has won its appeal for an R rating.

The MPAA spokesperson stated:

“the rating was lowered after the group’s appeals board viewed the film and heard arguments from Harvey Weinstein, whose Weinstein Co. is releasing it.”

An NC-17 rating is regarded as box office poison with many cinemas refusing to play such films.  Director Derek Cianfrance stated he had support from The Weinstein Company to release the film with the NC-17 designation if need be.  Fortunately for him and film fans, it did not come to that.  Blue Valentine hits theaters December 31.

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