For years, I didn’t own a television and,
like many others, was very vocal about stating that fact. See, TV
people get a bad rap because most crap on television is really awful.
Who cares about teenage gypsy brides or toddlers in tiaras? Thanks
mostly to Netflix, I eventually discovered there are enough quality
shows out there to convince me to cross the picket lines, clutch my
remote and melt away into the glowing abyss of my boyfriend’s 56-inch
flatscreen.
(The Lack of Real) Carnage
1 Comment · Tuesday, January 10, 2012
It seems fitting to note that Carnage, the new film from Roman Polanski, is an adaptation based on Yasmina Reza’s play Le Dieu du carnage, which translates in English to God of Carnage. Reza penned the screenplay, and much attention was paid to the omission of the “God of” as Carnage arrived in theaters.
Bolt of Melancholic Blue
Lars von Trier artfully presents the end of the world in Melancholia
0 Comments · Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Jonathan Demme gave audiences Rachel Getting Married,
with its melodramaitc depiction of the pre-wedding battle royale
between two sisters and complex relationship matrix that weaves among
the larger clan and nearly derails the celebration. There would be blood
drawn, but there would also be absolution and an inevitable resolution
for all parties. Dogmatic director Lars von Trier artfully proposes no
such thing.
The Screening of Life
Ten films that made 2011 one for the ages
0 Comments · Wednesday, December 28, 2011
I have
to let you in on a little secret that helps me to define just how
special a year in film has been. If a narrative or thematic thread
emerges, in particular one that laces through the films that end up
earning the top spots on my Top 10, then I have to rank the year in
question as one of the greats.
Is This Real Life?
As usual, compelling documentary films abounded in 2011
0 Comments · Wednesday, December 28, 2011
It irks me to go into a video store that
has separate sections for “dramas,” “comedies,” “action” and then,
somewhere way in the back, “documentaries.” (Blockbuster calls them
“special interest.”) A good documentary can have every bit the drama,
comedy, action, romance, etc., of a fictional film. Often, more.
The Girl Also Rises
David Fincher’s Dragon Tattoo leaves a truly indelible mark
0 Comments · Wednesday, December 21, 2011
The Swedish translation of the first book in Stieg Larsson’s Millenium trilogy is Men Who Hate Women,
and the 2009 Niels Arden Oplev adaptation made sure to lay that hatred
bare, introducing audiences to the Vanger clan, a Swedish industrial
family of the first order with deep and long ties to the Nazis and
unhealthy animosity for any with sympathies aligned alongside the better
nature of man or God.
This Is The End?
In 2011, the most ambitious movies often featured inconclusive conclusions
1 Comment · Wednesday, December 21, 2011
One of the most frustrating things about
movies — good movies, with quality actors playing interesting characters
— is that they too often resort to clichéd endings to wrap up their
stories. That’s why it’s refreshing to see that 2011 brought us a spate
of movies with quizzical, ambiguous endings.
Breakout Breakdown
A look at the film world’s best breakthrough entertainers of 2011
0 Comments · Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Several performers were working overtime in 2011. Brad Pitt planted The Tree of Life, then scored with Moneyball and even had time to lend vocal support to Happy Feet 2. George Clooney multi-hyphenated himself as co-writer/director/co-star of The Ides of March and then vacationed as a mere performer in The Descendants.
Out of the Cloud, Against the Stream
For those who still want a hard copy, 2011 brought an abundance of eclectic, sometimes eccentric DVD releases
0 Comments · Wednesday, December 21, 2011
I get a bit jittery come December. A nervous tick sets in. An anxiety rests deep in the gut. It’s time to pick the best DVD releases of the year. And I have no idea what to choose. Not for lack of selections, of course.
Reframing the Scene
A pair of recent releases recreate on-set movie magic from earlier ages
0 Comments · Wednesday, December 14, 2011
It is an oft-repeated refrain that the
movie industry has settled into what many in the critical circles have
deemed lazy practices and thinking, returning to proven ground with a
flood of remakes from the (not always so distant) past. The thought
process behind remakes is obvious and full of appeal because it is about
embracing that feeling of nostalgia.
Tanner Hall
Anchor Bay, 2009, Rated R
0 Comments · Wednesday, December 7, 2011
No doubt resuscitated this year for a
brief theatrical (and now DVD) release in advance of star Rooney Mara’s
high-profile role in David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,
this previously undistributed coming-of-age tale follows the
melodramatic adventures of four friends on the verge of graduation from
an all-girls boarding school in Providence, R.I.
A Starlet is Born
Elizabeth Olsen gives a star-making performance, but can she follow it up?
0 Comments · Wednesday, December 7, 2011
In an industry always looking for the
next new thing, there might be nothing more exciting than witnessing a
star-making film performance.
The Natural
Shailene Woodley discusses her breakout role in 'The Descendants'
0 Comments · Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Alexander Payne’s
long-anticipated return to the filmmaking scene is another slanted,
deadpan comedy about the ways in which a relatively ordinary man’s life
can go terribly off course. CityBeat recently phoned the 20-year-old actress Shailene Woodley, who plays 17-year-old Alexandra in the film, to discuss the experience of
making The Descendants.
Hugo
Scorsese delivers wildly imaginative 3-D adventure
1 Comment · Wednesday, November 23, 2011
With
Hugo, Scorsese has completely indulged his inner child, the
wildly imaginative free spirit in love with the dawn of the age of
moving pictures, that initial time of wonder and magic, when children
and adults found themselves ensorcelled by the spells and tricks of
showmen like George Melies (Ben Kingsley) who dreamed of life under
the sea and rocket ships blasting off and landing in the eye of the
man on the moon.
Arthur Christmas
Animated holiday tale rides on its lively British voices
0 Comments · Wednesday, November 23, 2011
The old cynic in me, the
one never raised to believe in the commercial or the elfin hokum of
the season, fought valiantly, but thanks to the fantastically lively
British voices and the rollicking international incident caused by a
team of flying reindeer, I found myself glad that Arthur Christmas
cared enough to make this early delivery.
