Let the battle of the shoot’ em upers begin!! Today we have a film scores telling the tales of a tight-lipped French (but somehow playing an Italian) hitman, a life and death battle for the future of mankind (all played inside an overblown video game), the “how many more characters can you add to an already bloated and dragging plot line? overlapping story of the Feds vs the Mob (basically this a boring version of Snatch), and well the self-explanatory flick called Shoot Em Up (hmm, wonder what that’s going to be about?). But since we’re examining the scores all the flying bullets and big ass guns are only as effective as the music…
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Off the Shelf…’The Last Samurai’
Every time I put this film in my Blu Ray player I am delighted to no end. The Last Samurai is one epic film that I will easily sit myself down for 152 breath-taking minutes and just immerse myself in the beauty and splendor of Edward Zwick’s masterpiece. Not many so-called “epics” can grab and keep my attention but those that do just floor me with the set design, visuals, plot and dialogue which make it all so immensely interesting. Watching this, I feel like I’ve been immediately transported to feudal Japan and it’s like I’m a kid at Christmas.
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G-S-T Top 10 – Movies I’ve Just Plain Worn Out
I so hate to say this but there are some movies on my Sacred Shelves that just don’t inspire, excite, or entertain me anymore. No it’s not because I have grown up, or I think these are sub par films (well a few could be called “guilty pleasures”). Although I’m incredibly fond of these films, I have just seen them too many times and I mean too many. If I find that I can’t sleep I’ll actually put one of these on and it’ll be fast asleep in no time. Most film fans know their collection backwards and forwards. They can play the entire movie their head and quote dialog all the live…
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Sweet Trailer…M. Night Shyamalan's 'Devil'
Well just when you think M. Night was washed up, here he comes with something that looks like he’s still got it. Below is the trailer for DEVIL. This film is all his idea but the first where he isn’t writing or directing it. Sounds like a good idea to me. I think he needs to take a step back and step off the “Lucas-Control-Freak-Express”. Trying to do it all I think has kept his last couple of films from reaching their potential. That said, I’m glad to see he producing this. That’s a perfect idea; have creative control but let someone else steer the boat. Anyways, check this out…it’s…
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Random Film Thought of the Day…07.14.10
I’m not the world’s biggest Nic Cage fan. There I said it. However I will admit although I am so tired of him, some of his of his work has found it’s way on to my Sacred Shelves (National Treasure, Bad Lieutenant and The Rock) and one of them into my heart (just The Rock). I think his over the top acting has its place and one of his goofiest roles has to be in Con Air. That movie is almost the epitome of guilty pleasure and to me some lines just stick out like none other in film history…whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing I’ll never know.…
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G-S-T Review…Predators
In what is both a simultaneous reboot and a sequel to the beloved Predator, Robert Rodriguez and Nimród Antal looked to breathe new life into the severely failing franchise. In short this was a return to the basics and what the series needed, however I was simply underwhelmed. It was a fun outing that I had with some fellow Predator fans, but honestly I was more entertained with the fake Arnold voice-over trailer for the film. PLOT: To me, so much of the film just screamed “fan boy film”. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and in that respect this was highly flattering. The drawback here…
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Calling All Fellow Bloggers: Upcoming Blog Event!!
This is just a reminder that all short-links are to be emailed to me by August 7th/8th. I aim to publish all posts that following Friday, August 13th at 7:00 am (central time) .
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Off the Shelf…’Who Framed Roger Rabbit’
Certain films from my childhood only hold up because of that thing we call “nostalgia”…and this is definitely not one of them. Such a pioneer in terms of animation and well, mostly animation. A wonderfully funny and well acted noir film, this really caters to all ages and is a joy to watch repeatedly. The thing I am curious about is why this method/style of storytelling never caught on or was widely repeated – probably just too expensive I’d bet. However that makes this all the more special as it has neither worthy (key word there) imitators or successors.
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What Is Your ‘Unbelievable’ Threshold For a Film?
In nearly every film ever made and recorded in the Halls of Cinema (that’s not a real place but wouldn’t be cool if it was?) there is at least one element of story that is completely unbelievable. I’m not even talking about giant robots, super powers or things of that nature, no I’m talking about the grounded/real life un-believe-ablilty. Things like running head shots, non-fatal car crashes and hell, even love stories. I’m sure if you were to take any part of any story line out of the movie and set it on its own in the real world, the end result would probably be bland, awkward and even stupid.…
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Happy Birthday Sly Stallone!!
Today is a special day in time. It was 64 years ago, today, that one of my favorite actors, Sylvester Stallone, was born in Hell’s Kitchen New York. He’s had quite a resume and has made an indellible mark in Hollywood with some very iconic characters. Admittedly, like any actor really, he’s taken some missteps but as per the advice he wrote for one of his most famous film heroes, “It ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!“.