A let down to say the least, The Town was full of stereotypes, an unlikely and forced-fed love story and finally a pretty slow “I don’t care how we get there just get there” pace. I may be selling this short and not recognizing the film’s so-called brilliance, but this just wasn’t a story worth telling. Maybe it was me but the trailer gave the feeling that this would be a high-octane bank robbing film (don’t trailers always do that?). But seriously, for a film about bank robbers who were the very best, there was surprisingly little robbery and even less proof that these guys were pros. PLOT: If you start…
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G-S-T Review…DEVIL
OK, let’s get past the fact that this film hasn’t been eagerly anticipated due to M. Night’s association. There now we can evaluate this an appreciate this for what it is; a surprisingly good and pretty cool supernatural “who dun it?“. For those of you remaining rightfully skeptical, in this film Night is really just providing the outline for the story and letting someone else do all the work. Taking him away from the helm seems like the right idea. The good news is that is just what the film needed and really works despite some minor flaws. Right off the bat, this film faces a challenge by setting it in such a contained environment.…
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Off the Shelf…’Master and Commander: Far Side of the World’
In light of the other more commercially successful film about swashbuckling, this Russell Crowe vehicle, I think, stands up to all three Jack Sparrow adventures and still comes out ahead. Further I think this is vastly under appreciated and although not as marketable or appealing to children as Depp’s Sparrow, it is still a solid and(at times) equally exciting film. In short, it is slow but still paced well and is a rousing, seemingly accurate and impressive sea-faring adventure.
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Sweet Contest…The Guardian's "Film Season Video Challenge"
All the way from the UK comes another sweet viral video for a contest they are holding. In the video below you’ll be treated to minimalist references to 26 films in 1 minute and 25 seconds. Think you are a self-professed Movie God?? Well watch this video and then re-evaluate yourself… I’ve been watching movies my whole life and I only got 19 of them (or maybe 21…there are a few I couldn’t quite nail) and the rest went waaay over my head. But how many can you guess?? Oh and if you think you can name them all, then click here to enter the contest at The Guardian…only catch is that…
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G-S-T Top 10 – Scenes I Could Watch Over and Over and Over…
Taking huge inspiration (read: ripped off the idea) from Ruth at FlixChatter, I have decided to compile my own of the scenes I love to watch. These, as the headline suggests, are sequences in some of my favorite movies that I think I could watch on never-ending repeat. But before we begin, I would like to apologize up front for the varying quality of these videos (and in some cases the non-existent video of the sequence I’m referencing)…although it is YouTube after all right? So while this is about all the exposition a post like this requires, let’s get on with it, shall we?
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Hoo-Ah!! AL PACINO Is Coming To Dallas!!!
This goes out to all you fans of good old Al (read: the whole planet). Two months from now the legendary Al Pacino will be coming to Dallas’ AT&T Performing Arts Center to talk about film, life and whatever else he wants to…he is Al after all. The joy of seeing the ad for Al and the news of him coming sure made my commute less boring. Seeing the name PACINO over 10 feet tall just made me smile. For a guy as famous as him, they are certainly going the extra distance…and by distance, I mean they have taken out a freaking BILLBOARD (see image above) for him.
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Sweet Trailer…'The Fighter'
Was going through the hot sheets (read: Sites We Like) and came across this trailer. Frankly I had forgotten about it but now I’m glad that it’s back on my radar. The bizarre teaming of Christian Bale (in another shocking change in his physical appearance) and Mark Wahlberg (of all people right?) seem to have an intersting chemistry for their upcoming film The Fighter. We had written about this last year and I’m actually quite eager to see this. Have a look at the trailer and let me know what you think… The latest effort from David O. Russell (Three Kings, I Heart Huckabees) tells the true tale of Mickey Ward…
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FourScore Match-Up #5: “Another World, Another Time”
When filmmakers tell a story, the visual fantasy is only about as good as the auditory one. It seems the only way to move the story and the characters along with an engaging pace is to really take the audience along for the ride. Annnd how is that accomplished? By composing a score so amazing and moving but at the same time fun and catchy that it is has the ability to make you feel part of the film. But which of these really pulls that off?? Is it the return to Neverland, the long strides for the short legged Willow, the arduous travel from The Shire to Mount Doom, or the seemingly simple task…
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Off the Netflix Queue…’Taking Chance’
Now I just want to start off by saying this is going to be a little different from our traditional Off the Shelf write-ups. This movie was suggested to me by our good friend Castor after my write-up of The Messenger. Though before I start the write up, let me just say that this movie is very eye-opening. It’s a true story and has a way of making you feel more deeply about the war and our brave soldiers fighting for the freedoms we very nearly seem to take for granted. While not a single scene of the war is shown, it sufficiently pulled at my heartstrings. I believe it…
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G-S-T Quick 5 – Favorite Sylvester Stallone Roles
While I originally had this post in place to allow his latest film to take a spot here, sadly that’s not the case. While it wasn’t terrible, it wasn’t good either (check out my review here). So current blockbuster not withstanding, this is the list of Sly’s best roles. Some you know, some you might remember seeing and some just might have you saying “I thought I repressed that“. Anyway, I just love the guy and am willing to forgive a bad film knowing he’ll make up for it with the next one. Since he has just over 50 films on his resume, this is a look at the five…
