By now a Judd Apatow comedy comes with a certain condemnation: they are far too long. That isn’t to say that his films, and the numerous ones he produces, aren’t funny. That’s a knock on the narrative and how it can get long in the tooth, especially in the middle as an important storyline transition is made. I prefaced this review to note that because it applies far too easily to The Five-Year Engagement. This is the second feature film to be directed by Nicholas Stoller and star Jason Segel, who both broke onto the film scene with their hit Forgetting Sarah Marshall, another Apatow production that suffered none of…
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[DIFF Review]…Juan of the Dead
Considering zombies are the walking dead, it’s surprising to see how popular they have become. They are mindless beasts that are incredibly uninteresting. Maybe that’s why they are perfect targets for horror comedies. Juan of the Dead is clearly a riff on the title of Edgar Wright’s horror comedy Shaun of the Dead, yet Juan manages to be creative enough to keep from feeling like a retread and instead makes a case why two films with similar titles and similar premises can exist in the same universe. Clocking in at 96 minutes, the film is perhaps a bit meandering at points but keeps the story moving forward with laugh after…
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G-S-T Review…The Cabin In The Woods
A love letter should feel familiar. They should have a lot of the same qualities one would expect. But what if that letter was also a loving critique? That’s exactly what Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard did with their horror film The Cabin In The Woods. Yet, despite how smart and searing the film can be as a criticism, it stands as equally entertaining for fans and non-fans of horror. All of that isn’t to say that the film is lacking in thrills or blood. The violence is brutal and creative enough to keep from feeling ho hum. Especially in the first half, while the second becomes something else entirely.…
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G-S-T Review…John Carter
Today’s science fiction has a debt to Edgar Rice Burroughs. The man created what is widely considered one of the first alien worlds that leaved and breathed outside of our own realm. He gave them their own language, religion, culture, and feuds. And he did all of this with the first appearance of John Carter in 1912. Before Star Wars, before Avatar, before Star Trek, there was the Barsoom (what we call Mars) adventures and it was pulpy, light, fantastic fare. They inspired hundreds, if not thousands, of writers to dream big. Now, 100 years later, a big budget film version finally exists and I think it’s a worthy showcase…
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G-S-T Review…The Lorax
You would expect a film called The Lorax to feature a healthy amount of the eponymous creature. The lack thereof in the latest animated feature to take on the whimsical world of Dr. Seuss ended up as my biggest complaint. Having no recollection of ever reading The Lorax, I’m not sure if the fault lies mainly with the source material or the filmmakers but creative liberties are a given considering the book is a mere 45 pages and mostly filled with pictures and small blurbs of text. Yet within this 94 minute romp is a gorgeous setting with a quality voice cast but an ultimately disappointing story. The main quibble…
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G-S-T Review…This Means War
The romantic comedy genre usually has one thing down pat: the comedy. Even if you simply roll your eyes at the romance of it, they are usually genuinely funny. Unless they are This Means War, one of the weakest efforts from the romantic comedy genre I have seen in the past few years. That’s a shame because some of the trailers hint at something that takes a different and fresh approach. For instance, what if two buddy spies fell for the same girl, and used all of the tools available to them to take advantage of the situation? That should be an interesting premise. Turns out what is written on…
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G-S-T Review…The Woman In Black
Editor’s Note: Go,See,Talk presents this review of The Woman In Black from our guest contributing writer Bill Graham. Have a look at what he had to say about the Daniel Radcliffe’s eerie post-Potter film and offer your thoughts below. “Is that all they’ve got?” That’s what I wondered as I sat through Daniel Radcliffe’s first foray onto the big screen since the conclusion of the Harry Potter film franchise with The Woman In Black. He went from dark adventure fantasy to Victorian-era Gothic horror that simply throws jump scare after jump scare at you in the hopes of getting a reaction. For many of the teenage girls in the audience—perhaps fans of…
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G-S-T Review…Man On A Ledge
Editor’s Note: Go,See,Talk presents this review of Man On A Ledge from our guest contributing writer Bill Graham. Have a look at what he had to say about the Sam Worthington led crime thriller and offer your thoughts below. A talented cast does not always equal out to a quality film. While Sam Worthington defiantly clings to the side of a building with threats of suicide, his plight to be found innocent is mostly hollow. Sometimes the withholding of information from an audience can have a great payoff. Then there is Man On A Ledge. Director Asger Leth seems content to hold most of his cards just out of the audience’s reach. That…
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G-S-T Double Take Review…Haywire
Editor’s note: One of the first in a series of new features presented as a sneak peek to commemorate/kick off Go,See,Talk’s upcoming 3 year anniversary we present this, our first, “Double Take” review. Here, both of our writers Bill and Grady give their thoughts on Steven Soderbergh’s all-star action-fest Haywire.
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G-S-T Review…The Iron Lady
Editor’s Note: Go,See,Talk presents this review of The Iron Lady from our guest contributing writer Bill Graham. Have a look at what he had to say about the Meryl Streep’s period piece and offer your thoughts below. There’s little question going into The Iron Lady what to expect from Meryl Streep. No. The mystery is the film surrounding her performance as Margaret Thatcher. That’s, ultimately, the shame. Instead of using a straight-forward narrative tale, it balances flashbacks of her rise from mere grocer’s daughter to the first female Prime Minister of England with her current state of dementia and everything that entails. Phyllida Lloyd is at the helm of this melodrama that seems to merely exist as a textbook of…
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G-S-T Review…Contraband
Editor’s Note: Go,See,Talk presents this review of Contraband our guest contributing writer Bill Graham. Have a look at what he had to say about this Mark Wahlberg actioner and offer your thoughts below. Heist films typically come down to how the protagonists will pull it off. Rarely is there drama about if they will succeed. Which means the idea behind the heist has to be intelligent enough to stand on its own. Everything before and after is just noise in the case of Contraband. Violent and dumb, this material is elevated to passable entertainment because of the actors within. Mark Wahlberg, J.K. Simmons, Kate Beckinsale, Giovanni Ribisi, and Ben Foster pepper the…
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G-S-T Year In Review – Bill's 2011 Wrap Up
Editor’s Note: Go,See,Talk presents this Top 10 post from our guest contributing writer Bill Graham. Writing for movie blogs like The Film Stage and Collider.com, Bill has seen many of this year’s high profile and most anticipated films. In the coming weeks Bill will be writing for Go,See,Talk as a contributing writer but for now have a look at what he had to say abou the best and worst of 2011.
