Based on a book by Paul Lieberman, Gangster Squad tells the true story of the secretive police unit that took down real life mobster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn). In the film, just as it happened in real life, this elite group of officers were assembled for their uniqueness and proved to be the one and only method of freeing up the choke-hold Cohen had on L.A. in the mid to late 40’s. Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland) wastes no time immersing us in what kind of movie this will be. Like a whirlwind we are swept up in a kidnapping in progress that shows us Sgt. John O’Mara (Josh Brolin) and his talent for following his hunches even if it most…
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“The CineMagic 8-Ball” – In Theaters 01/11/13
When so many movies are released each week and trailers often seem better than the movie itself, what should one do? In this precarious situation, we consult the The CineMagic 8-Ball (TM) to help us see through the nebulous marketing haze. Doing so just might save us all a disheartening trip to the cinema and spare us the cost of ridiculous concession stand prices. See what the 8-Ball says about this week’s releases… ——————————————————————————————————————————————- ZERO DARK THIRTY For a decade, an elite team of intelligence and military operatives, working in secret across the globe, devoted themselves to a single goal: to find and eliminate Osama bin Laden. Zero Dark Thirty…
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Time to Meet the Devil: 'Only God Forgives' Teaser Clip
I’m going to hazard a guess here and assume that this clip stands a good chance of getting yanked, so if you want to see twenty seconds of footage from Only God Forgives, Nicolas Winding Refn’s upcoming re-teaming with Ryan “Hey Girl” Gosling, you’d better click the Youtube window below quick-smart. The film has distribution courtesy of Radius-TWC, but it doesn’t have a solid release date as of yet; I’d expect that to change either just before or just after Cannes, when the movie will likely screen in full for the first time. First impressions: unsurprisingly, this looks like a spiritual cousin to Drive between the promise of graphic, brutal…
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Cianfrance's TIFF Hit 'The Place Beyond the Pines' Picked Up For 2013 Release
Hot off the outstanding reviews from the TIFF in Tornoto Canada comes this news about U.S. rights to Derek Cianfrance’s The Place Beyond the Pines. Starring Academy Award nominee Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, and Eva Mendes, the film has just been acquired by Focus Features for a 2013 release. Focus CEO James Schamus and president Andrew Karpen made the announcement today at the Toronto International Film Festival, where the movie is having its world premiere. The Place Beyond the Pines, written by Cianfrance, Ben Coccio, and Darius Marder, is a film that powerfully explores the consequences of motorcycle rider Luke (Ryan Gosling)’s fateful decision to commit a crime to support his…
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G-S-T Top 10 – Movies Off The Beaten Path…
Movies, and the entertainment business, can be highly hit or miss because of ranging tastes in film and how people approach the medium. Sometimes, for whatever reason, you hear about a movie and have no desire to see it and don’t. You may even avoid it at all cost. In other cases you have no idea the film exists until someone points it out to you, years after its original release. The following entries on our new series of Top 10 lists are films I happened to stumble upon or that were recommended to me. I watched, despite not knowing much about them or having initial apprehensions toward them for…
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Sweet Trailer…'Gangster Squad'
Before we ever get Zombieland 2, Ruben Fleischer will treat us to the sweetest noir since LA Confidential or The Untouchables. Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and–if he has his way–every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are under his control. Like Elliot Ness in his fearless pursuit of Al Capone, a small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O’Mara (Josh Brolin) and Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling) come together…
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G-S-T Review…Drive
To those children of the 80’s, Drive might seem like a welcomed trip in the way back machine to the kinds of dramatic films your parents would watch as you peeked through a cracked door. Not a period piece mind you, or even a true 80’s movie, Nicholas Winding Refn’s film just has a timeless look and feel that is both muted and yet bold (like a Michel Mann film). Further, that “look” is made enticing and ethereal thanks to Refn’s stylish visuals and a perfect selection of songs and score from Cliff Martinez. Winner of Best Director award at Cannes, this film has been getting so much attention and frankly it deserves all of it. Hold on tight, Drive is one…
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Sweet Trailer…'The Ides of March'
Just the thing to take our minds off the political/financial turmoil befalling our country; a politically heavy film about seedy side of the business. Is that a bad thing? Well not if it’s directed by and starring George Clooney it’s not. The story focuses on Ryan Gosling’s character who, as an idealistic staffer for a newbie presidential candidate, gets a crash course on dirty politics during his stint with the campaign staff. Have a look at the trailer via Yahoo… The Ides of March is a political drama based on Beau Willimon’s play Farragut North. Hopping on this campaign trail are Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Evan…
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G-S-T Review…Crazy, Stupid, Love
The idea behind Dan Fogleman’s Crazy, Stupid, Love seems to recall the lyric from the Joe song that goes, “bottom line, Love don’t make no sense“. In life, somethings you do are crazy, somethings you do are stupid but more so when you do it because you’re in love. Yet his film is less about going after what you really want. It tries (in typical rom-com fashion) to get you to find out who you are before you can start doing those crazy stupid things. Yeah, I guess that’s the best way to start this all off.