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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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…
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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…
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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…
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Sweet Teaser Trailer…'Jack Reacher'
Proof positive that like a good wine, Cruise gets better (and more bad-ass) with age. Behold the official first teaser trailer for Jack Reacher, the latest from writer/director Christopher McQuarrie (remember him?) and the one, the only Tom Cruise. Based on the Lee Child novel/crime series One Shot, Jack Reacher is a homicide investigator digs deeper into a case involving a trained military sniper who shot five random victims. Enjoy… Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects, The Way of the Gun) makes a pretty slick looking return to films as he both writes and directs this adaption from Child’s novel. Along for the wild ride is a pretty stellar A-list crew including…
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Ohhh, Look…Watch An IMAX Theater Prep for ‘The Dark Knight Rises’
Sometimes we humble film fans never really know what goes into putting a film we love on the big screen. No I’m not talking about the studio/director making the movie, I’m talking about the thankless people working behind the scenes in a theater so we can enjoy uninterrupted cinema. With all the advancements and paradigm shifts in film, IMAX has moved from its documentary pics to being utilized in big budget blockbusters and there’s no going back now. The following video gives us an idea of how the 70mm IMAX projection system works…and as you’ll see in the video, 70mm is BIG! For you videophiles, this may be old news but…
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G-S-T Review…The Amazing Spider-Man
In an ever improving and expanding world of comic book super hero films, Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer) give us a new Spider-Man, one that is in many cases, an improvement over what Sony was so desperate to reboot. There’s lots of changes but where to begin? Well everything we’ve previously seen or knew, as to be expected in a “reboot”, has been scrapped. But while this is an almost unnecessary “here’s how we got here” story, meaning that there are marginally few people who don’t know how Peter Parker became Spider-Man, it’s good to see the new blood earn the suit…and earn it he did. A decade ago, we got the the best screen version of…
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[SFF Coverage]…2012 Sydney Film Festival Recap
Between the 6th and 17th of June, the 2012 Sydney Film Festival screened more than 150 films to more than 120 000 Australian film goers…just one of whom was yours truly. Although not quite as large or prestigious Melbourne International Film Festival, there’s no doubt that Sydney’s standing has been improving in recent times. This year, programmers took particular advantage of their festivals convenient placement in the international film festival calendar, snapping up several features hot of their premiere at Cannes last month (and perhaps stealing some of MIFF’s thunder in the process). Amongst the Cannes titles, Michael Haneke’s Palme d’Or winning Amour and Leo Carax’s Holy Motors proved to be two of the highlights…
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G-S-T Review…People Like Us
People Like Us is a very compelling story of two strangers drawn together by a mutual secret. While both of these strangers are on the brink of an emotional meltdown it seems finding one another might be the key to finding themselves. The film takes us through an emotional journey of loss, deep-rooted pain and then a powerful sense of redemption. People Like Us is a dramedy which leans a little more toward drama than comedy. It’s hard not feel a deep emotional connection to the characters in this film. Sam (Chris Pine – Star Trek, Unstoppable) is a salesman on the proverbial ropes who begrudgingly returns to Los Angeles when…
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G-S-T Review…Ted
Ted, the first feature length enterprise by Family Guy brainchild Seth MacFarlane, very blatantly wears its creator’s proclivities on its sleeve. That alone should provide anybody with all the information needed to decide if the film is worth their time or not. Do you enjoy having relentless pop culture references and recreations fed to you intravenously and without context? Are you a fan of clumsy, insecure, and hopelessly lame attempts at shock humor and over-played novelty gags? Do you mind that the Connecticut-born MacFarlane apparently can’t produce locational New England accents that differ from one another whatsoever? Then you’re in luck; Ted may be your Citizen Kane. For everybody else,…
