As a kid, I grew up in a house filled with love and reverence for film. Some of my earliest memories were watching the old Adam West Batman show. But before it came on there was always this show about these two guys sitting in a theater discussing (and arguing) about movies. Yes, it was Siskel & Ebert. I was too young to know what movies they were talking about as well as understand their criticisms, but I always understood and loved when they gave their trademark “two thumbs up”. Even at 5 years of age, what really resonated with me were the times when Roger Ebert would throw an arm…
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G-S-T Review…The Place Beyond the Pines
Derek Cianfrance’s The Place Beyond the Pines is a viscerally pensive film and an enthralling multi-generational drama. As equally well-crafted as his highly received Blue Valentine, Pines is a complex and engrossing film that takes a look at legacies and what we leave behind for our kids. Further it shows us that those legacies, whether we want them or not, can sometimes make life choices for us without our say in the matter. It’s an ever-escalating, multilayered, emotionally bold familial drama that has all the makings of an instant classic. Cianfrance’s sophomore effort tells a sobering story about love and family and further one that despite the best of intentions may all end in a dismal trail of…
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G-S-T Review…Evil Dead
There’s a caveat that needs to be applied to any review of Fede Alvarez’s remake of Evil Dead, Sam Raimi’s unassailable 1981 horror staple: the new version isn’t as good as the old. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be, because nobody should reasonably expect genre remakes to live up to or exceed the masterpieces that spawn them. The better news is that Alvarez actually has a great movie on his hands- perhaps one that’s not capable of creating the same lasting, resonating impact within its categorical boundaries as Raimi’s original movie did, but certainly one that brings the blood-soaked goods with the sort of unhinged, fearless…