To Rome With Love is a light, heartwarming film made for dreamers and lovers that moves between several story lines with witty dialogue and lots of laughs. The film reintroduces us to many of the devices seen in the most traditional of Woody Allen films, including an appearance by Allen himself. The film is constructed of four diverging stories about love, fame and longing. In the first sequence the audience is introduced to Italian newlyweds who’ve come to Rome to meet with the husband’s high-society family. Next we encounter an average, middle-class Roman (Roberto Benigni) and his wife and family whose lives are turned upside down by the media. In another story, Jesse Eisenberg plays a young architect…
-
-
20 Great Movies You (Maybe!) Haven't Seen
Entertainment Weekly recently published their definitive guide to the 50 best movies “you’ve” never seen. Those indiscreet quotation marks have a sincere, innocent purpose; I’m genuinely not sure who this list is meant for. From the sound of the article, it’s for everyone, but I’m fairly confident that really dedicated film fans have at least heard of movies like Idiocracy, Moon, 24 Hour Party People, Bubba Ho–Tep, and Enter the Void. (And also are aware that movies were being made before 1992.) While I’d wager the average moviegoer isn’t familiar with these titles, I’m just as confident that few among that fifty are unknown to serious cinephiles. So how do you challenge bona fide film lovers? I should again stress…
-
Ohhh, Look…Featurette for Sam Fell and Chris Butler's 'ParaNorman'
Next month, Sam Fell and Chris Butler’s ParaNorman will be hitting theaters. These days a stop-motion animated feature, outside the likes of Aardman Animation, is a rare thing to find. Why? Well because of just how long it takes to produce; something like a week’s worth of prep work and staging just to get 4-6 seconds of screen time. Well, Fell and Butler’s tenacity have endured and ParaNorman (Laika Studio’s follow-up to Coraline) looks to be as intricate as you’d expect in this medium. Have a look at the following time-lapse featurette which takes a breezy look at the intricacy required to bring just one character to life. Enjoy! Norman (voiced by Kodi Smit-McPhee), a boy…
-
Ohhh, Look…Scoring 'Looper' Featurette with Nathan Johnson
This is for all you film buffs out there with an interest and/or passion for film music. Composer Nathan Johnson has something special cooked up for Rian Johnson’s upcoming sci-fi actioner Looper and it sounds quite awesome. I won’t say much more about it but instead allow Mr. Johnson to tell about his highly unique concept for the music you’ll find in Looper…enjoy! I just have to have to say that is just all kinds of awesome! Like Zimmer did with Inception, this alternative approach to music is not just interesting but unique and likely going to make the experience that much more, as he puts it, atmospehric. So far…
-
FourScore Match-Up #14: “No Sword, No Sandals, No Service”
The FourScore battle today will focus on the ambitious and landmark period piece films pictured above. They sit atop a heap of sword and sandal imitators and show us that an epic is ever grander than a mere four letter word used to describe it. Summer’s just begun and it already feels like it’s in full swing (read: IT’S HOT). Even though it’s sweltering outside, we film fans can always retreat to the cool comforts of a theater (or home theater). That said there’s something majestic and enjoyable about seeing our on-screen heroes do battle in the harsh sun-cooked sands that really makes for some truly memorable and iconic cinema. So which humble…
-
G-S-T Review…Savages
In one of the most memorable and quotable lines from South Park, Mr. Mackey tells the class that “drugs are bad, mkay“. But that’s an understatement because in the drug world, whether you’re the dealer or the user, illegal dealings always seem to end in tears. In Savages, Oliver Stone brings to the table one highly combustible cast to deliver his adaptation of Don Winslow’s novel of the same name. A story that’s as complicated as the actual war on drugs it’s a sordid tale, one more colorful and breezier than Steven Soderbergh’s similarly themed film Traffic, but delivered with Stone’s unflinching style that’s become his trademark. Marijuana growers Ben (Aaron Johnson) and Chon…
-
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…
-
Ohhh, Look…First Teaser Poster for Disney's 'Oz the Great and Powerful'
One of the great things that’s happening in Hollywood is the exploration of ideas behind films we love. Back stories, prequels and the like show us a side to films/characters we thought we know and, when they’re done successfully, give much more depth and intricacy. However this isn’t the first time our understanding of Oz has been altered or enhanced as the Broadway musical Wicked is highly entertaining as it takes huge liberties with L. Frank Baum’s beloved story. But while Wicked focused on the little seen (and misunderstood) Witches, now we get a story from the side of another character who is just as important in the film, the actual Wizard of Oz: When…
-
Interview…’Beasts of the Southern Wild’ Writer/Director Benh Zeitlin
Benh Zeitlin‘s acclaimed Sundance and Cannes bayou fantasy hit Beasts of the Southern Wild is more than a unique exploration of familiar themes in extraordinary situations. It stands as one of the few current films sure to inspire formal discussion and wide-ranging opinions. Earlier this month I had the chance to sit down with the film’s two stars and director for a roundtable discussion and, below, you can find a talk with director Benh Zeitlin — it covers working with Quvenzhané Wallis, the affect of the BP oil spill on the set, difficulties in editing, favorite moments, and getting to work at Skywalker Sound. ———————————————————————————————————————- When dealing with this young cast — especially so many that haven’t acted before…
-
Interview…’Beasts of the Southern Wild’ Stars Quvenzhané Wallis and Dwight Henry
Roaring into limited release this weekend is Benh Zeitlin‘s bayou fantasy Beasts of the Southern Wild. To call it a unique exploration of familiar themes in extraordinary situations is just a scratch of the surface; Beasts also stands as one of the few current films sure to inspire formal discussion and wide-ranging opinions. Earlier this month I had the chance to sit down with the film’s two stars and director for a roundtable discussion and, below, you can find our chat with the film’s stars Quvenzhané Wallis and Dwight Henry — the talk discusses camerawork, improv, and why Henry brought so much passion to his first film appearance. ———————————————————————————————————————- How are you taking to all of these interviews? Were…
