Why I Love Film - #4 (nsfw... at all)

Well, this could be safe for work, if you work at home. But, since I'm going deep into The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974, not 2003) here, you might want to read this entry when you clock out.

now you know why.

More after the cut--

In Theaters This Weekend

Travelocity meets Tragedy

Four films, three days, one weekend. Which one will you go see? Adam Sandler's latest romantic comedy Just Go With It, Disney's Gnomeo and Juliet, Channing Tatum's swords-and-sandals epic The Eagle, or... Justin Bieber. 

More after the cut -- 

Sanctum

Richard Roxburgh searches for the point of the film...

The most depressing thing about Sanctum is that, quite literally, it's pointless. And, being a film produced by James Cameron, it's also the most disheartening. But, his involvement was minimal: it flows like a Cameron film, the characters are Cameron-esque characters that speak Cameron-esque dialog, but... it's more like another director doing an impression of a Cameron film. There is no heart, there is no movie magic, just a poor man's version of The Descent, with bad 3D. And no emotional involvement. 

More after the cut -- 

God Save the King, Book II

In preparation for the new adaptation of The Stand, due in theaters... sometime in the next few years (the project has only just been announced), I'm taking a look back at Stephen King's contribution to the world of film - the good, the bad, and the 'wtf'. Last time, we focused on the good: Carrie, The Shining, on down to The Mist. Overlooking... several. 

He's laughing because Maximum Overdrive still makes money.

More after the cut -- 

Life as We Know It, Paranormal Activity 2, and Others on DVD Tomorrow

As the studios keeping pumping out their sure-to-be failures into theaters, sometimes DVD release weeks are a bit... lackluster, rather than blockbuster. #horriblepun

Life as We Know It, Paranormal Activity 2, You Again, My Soul to Take, It's Kind of a Funny Story, and Wild Target all get a release onto shelves tomorrow, but which one is more worth your time and money? Almost unanimously based on the critical reception, you might as well skip this week. And, I  haven't seen any of these, so you can't really take my word for it either. But, we'll look into each release, just to see what we have on our hands. 

At the very least, you can still go see The Roommate, right? 

yeah, no, I didn't think so. 

More after the cut -- 

Why I Love Film - #3

In 2006, a small film came out called Alpha Dog, and I was reintroduced to an actor I came to know when I was a kid watching the Disney channel. Ben Foster was in a goofy "sit-com" called Flash Forward with a girl named Jewel Stait, who went on to achieve her own fame through Firefly. She grew to be the same adorable actress I was used to, but... Ben Foster?

from the Disney channel?!

More after the cut --

Season of the Witch - Part II

In my initial review of Season of the Witch, I promised a second part, after going into detail about why it's not so bad, as long as its not taken seriously. Much like Nic Cage's other outings recently (notably, The Wicker Man) the comic gold mined from the project is invaluable. But, here in this, I want to take a closer look at what it is exactly that makes this film something special. Not something good, but... special.

It's the hair. 

More after the cut -- 

The Mechanic

Victory loves preparation 

The Mechanic, based off of the 1972 Charles Bronson movie of the same name, is an interesting film. In Micheal Winner's original, the storyline is the same, the performances are weaker, and the direction is inept. With this slick remake, however, everything is polished and put neatly into its place. I was reminded of 2008's Taken more often than not, and any movie that can get me to remember that one is solid in my book. Taken, by all means, is a beautiful film. 

However, this is The Mechanic we're talking about. A Simon West film, of which Roger Ebert said "this film is so well made, that one forgets to ask why it even had to be made at all?" To him, I pose another question "why the hell not?" 

More after the cut -- 

In Theaters This Weekend

Single White Meester

There isn't much happening this weekend in terms of releases. We have a Single White Female rip-off called The Roommate, a James Cameron produced underwater (shocker) thriller, a Natalie Portman marriage melodrama, and a mystery experiment from director Aaron Katz called Cold Weather. 

More after the cut -- 

Let Me In, Monsters, and Others On DVD This Week

I do my best to post these entries on Mondays, and sometimes on Tuesdays if Mondays do not permit.

But, I had to work at 4am yesterday, and I woke up about two hours ago. So, ... the DVD's this week have been released, whether or not I blog about them. Let's take a look at what came out, yeah?

Let Me In, Monsters, Conviction, and Welcome to the Rileys were released yesterday. I warmly enjoyed the first three, and have yet to see Welcome to the Rileys. But, now that it's on DVD, I can pick it up and get to it. I love Kristen Stewart, especially her indie work, and the combo of Melissa Leo and James Gandolfini is bound to be intense.

Outside of that, though, which is worth your money? My money will be spent on probably either Monsters or Let Me In, but I want to talk about each.









More after the cut --

God Save the King, Book I

Stephen Takes a "Stand" in Theaters Soon

Petition to bring Molly Ringwald back to the big screen.

It's happening again. Stephen King is letting another one of his books be adapted for the big screen. But, this is a bit different - technically, it's not a remake, by general standards. The Stand has never been a feature film before, but it has been a miniseries. Granted, that was back in 1994.

So, in honor of this King classic being rebirthed for the filmgoers in all of us, I want to take a look back at the man's contribution to the world of film. The good, the bad, and the wtf. From the top. In four parts.

More after the cut --

Let Me In

From the director of... Cloverfield?

In 2008, Tomas Alfredson gave audiences a nervous peek at the life of two lonely people - one, a young boy with an interest in vengeance and knives. The other, a child, who feeds off of human blood. Both children walk through life feeling alone, though seeking very similar things. They both need comfort, they need togetherness, they need each other. In any way they can get it. 

Director Matt Reeves, of Cloverfield misfortune, tackles not just the screenplay by, but also the novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist "Lat den ratte komma in (Let the Right One In)". Lindqvist wrote the 2008 adaptation.

More after the cut --

The Company Men

If Ben Affleck keeps this up, he'll never have to look for work.

When critiquing a film, there are a handful of things you have to consider - the tone of the film, the depth of the performances, how it flows as a whole, key moments that help the film develop an emotional resonance, so on and so forth. At least, that's how I do it. One should judge the story presented, and how it fits into the world the film assumes. The Company Men, for all intents and purposes, is a perfect film. Nothing is out of place. But, even though the film sets out to do what it achieves and has no sense of pretense about it, there is something in the mix that just doesn't ring true. 

More after the cut --

In Theaters This Weekend

Upon his escape from Shawshank

This weekend seems to bring us quite the haul in terms of what to go see. There's our annual exorcism thriller, The Rite, with Anthony Hopkins doing what he does best - intimidating*. There's The Mechanic starring Jason Statham and Ben Foster, and then there are three smaller releases, most likely in larger cities.

Javier Bardem, who recently recieved a Best Actor nomination at this year's Oscars, stars in Alejandro Gonzales Innaritu's Biutiful. A smaller comedy called From Prada to Nada, and Gregg Araki's Kaboom, all in limited release.

More on these films, and their trailers, after the cut -- 

The 83rd Annual Academy Award Nominees

Apparently he has lice or something...

Oh my. What a morning. My alarm clock went off at 5:20am, even though I had nothing to do until around 8:30 or so, for one specific reason - Oscar nomination day. 

Should be its own federal holiday; I swear to God. 

More, and the full list of nominees, after the cut --

RED, Saw 3D, and others on DVD tomorrow.

Retired, and extremely dangerous

It's Monday night. Who knows what that means?

that tomorrow is Tuesday? yes. But, that also means that we get a new shipment of DVD's in to help get us through the week! What are we going to get? Well, we have a choice of five -

Red, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Saw 3D, Nowhere Boy, and Secretariat.

The real question is "which is more worth my money?". Let's take a closer look at each.






More after the cut --

The King's Speech

G-g-got any k-k-k-kings?

It's the type of film we've all seen before - the "high brow British drama", the man who overcomes adversity, the "buddy" movie, etc. The thing that separates The King's Speech from, say... The Queen, or The Deal, or any Stephen Frears pic, is that this film has no pretense. That isn't to say that a certain amount of pretense is a bad thing (I quite enjoy The Queen and The Deal, and most Stephen Frears pictures), but it's to say that this film most certainly knows where its boundaries are, and there isn't a need to ever cross the lines to make a "movie" out of it. It's a storyteller's film - it's a true story. 

More after the cut --

Why I Love Film - #2 (nsfw)

Another slow news day - which means I get to sit back for a moment and remember why it is I do this in the first place, what it is that drives this passion of mine, and how exactly all this came to be.

Doug protects his family, at all costs.

I've always been a fan of justice in film. Fathers going on war paths to protect their families, men standing up to do the right thing, people truly getting what it is they deserve - and, in 2006, I fell in love with the idea all over again. Alexandre Aja's too underseen, and sorely underrated, The Hills Have Eyes remake touched me on a deep personal level.

More, and some spoilers, after the cut --

Catwoman and Saddam - A Match Made in Casting Heaven

Every now and then, a casting director and their team wind up making brilliant decisions that wind up leaving us with devastating and altering performances. From Al Pacino in The Godfather, to Natalie Portman in Black Swan, we've been given the gift of transcendence several times. And, next year, in 2012, we're most likely going to get it again.

More after the cut --

In Theaters This Weekend

Reason #412 why I hate Ashton Kutcher

Two wide releases (The Company Men and No Strings Attached), and a "wider" release of Peter Weir's The Way Back hit cinemas this weekend. Which are you going to see? 

A closer look at all three after the cut --