Hello World, Marc Here: I thought I’d tell you about something I did which is a little dumb and I am kind of regretting my wasted time on said activity. At work, I’m lucky enough to get to wear headphones to help my day along. However, what I have coming through those headphones may or may not help me through the day. Case in point: I have always wanted to listen to the commentaries on movies I own but just can’t stand sitting in my living room and watching a movie and having to endure what may end up being a boring account of the film’s creative process. So to…
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G-S-T Review…Michael Jackson's "This is It"
Hey all, Rob (the resident JP editor) chiming in with a very rare post. Yes, I should contribute more, I know, but Marc writes so well! 😉 Ahem, today though I’d like to give a “mini-review” about Michael Jackson’s “This is It”. I say mini-review, because to tell the truth, I think to do a full GST review would not be fair to this movie due to a variety of reasons. 1. Most people going to see this movie are going to be biased. I mean, come on, it’s Michael Jackson, if you don’t like him, you won’t see it. 2. It’s a pseudo documentary as well, so to review…
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Avatar – James Cameron's (14 year old) Baby…
I think everyone (geek and non-geek alike) has, at least, heard about James Cameron’s upcoming AVATAR. It’s not out our for another 45 days and it’s already being hailed as “the greatest movie ever” and “will change the way we watch films“. Well that’s all well and good but just remember what hyping something does for a movie…or anything really. I wrote a post some months back (read it here) all about how hype can create unattainable expectations. Now I agree with Andy Warhol (little culture for you all) when he says “The idea of waiting for something makes it more exciting” but to a certain extent. It goes without…
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Off the Netflix Queue…’Assassination of a High School President’
Assassination of a High School President, though morbid sounding, is nothing like what you’d imagine. This movie is like Brick “lite” for those who have trouble keeping up with the noir style of film. While Brick is a absolutely fantastic film, this was a superbly crafted imitator, but features it’s own brand of humor and wit to make it an admirably comparative stand alone. I thoroughly enjoyed every element in this film. It’s a fun quirky detective flick bordering on Chinatown, but with enough off-the-wall humor to entertain people who aren’t film buffs or who don’t particularly like film-noir. I can’t put my finger on why this is, but the…
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Trailer…'Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins Ball'
Well I never saw this coming…and being that its a straight-to-DVD sequel prequel, I know why. I saw this on Wednesday and pondered whether or not to post it, then said “what the hell“, it’s Friday. Just a little empty entertainment to get us to the weekend. But really, how many of us were asking for anything more from Aces? I know I was content when the movie ended (and the end was pretty sweet I’ll admit). Smokin’ Aces was moderately entertaining and a fun movie, however it did fall way short of the Snatch doppelganger it was trying to be. Now as film fans, we really should expect more…
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G-S-T Quick 5 – Hollywood’s finest working (foreign) actors
I’ve often said that some of the best American actors aren’t even from America. Without much more reasoning, other than I immensely like these actors and the varied parts the play, I present G-S-T’s latest Quick 5 list. Let me clarify, right off the bat, that this list is not some pretentious or whimsical list touting praise for the likes of near acting gods such as Sir Anthony Hopkins, Sir Ben Kingsley, Gary Oldman, Bill Nighy etc. What I am attempting to do here is celebrate great actors (which I love) who may one day reach the heights and milestones those legendary actors have already garnered. So in no particular…
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Sweet (Fake) Trailer…’The Wrestler’
Hello World, Marc Here: Not a whole lot going on this week. It’s pretty rainy (again) and with nothing absolutely screaming to be posted, I did find this clever little video on /Film that I thought deserved a mention. This takes The Wrestler and attempts to interpret it as trailer for a 70’s era “Grindhouse” flick. Decent attempt if I do say so myself and the vaugery created from select scenes of the film really help play up the (fake) trailer’s intent. That said, have a look. Pretty appropriate as the feeling of the trailer mirrors the dreary weather precipitating outside my office window… They certainly got the narrator’s voice…
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Sweet Trailer…’Black Lightning’
Well, “Sweet” may be misleading – interesting is more like it. Below is the trailer for the upcoming Timur Bekmambetov film Black Lightning. Now I don’t want to get hyped up yet since my past experience with Timur’s other film Night Watch didn’t turn out near as I expected. Although I have to say that Wanted was pretty sweet and this trailer looks closer to the latter than the former. That said, this trailer has definitely accomplished what it was designed to, which is to get me to say, “Hmm, I want to see more of that“. So for your visual enjoyment (sorry, the trailer is not dubbed or subtitled) here…
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Off the Shelf…'Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels'
Without Guy Ritchie, I don’t think American audiences would be aware of British gangster films and their seedy criminal underground that is almost a new-aged noir. One of the most fun, excitingly humorous and well written cult-classics in the last 10 years, Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels is an absolute favorite of mine and has been for a long time. If you love guns, humor, dry wit and great characters then look no further than this gem from Guy Ritchie.
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Off the Netflix Queue…'L.A. Confidential'
I would say I am a sucker for anything considered a period piece and set in the American 30s, 40’s and 50’s. There’s just something cool and almost mythical about the way people dressed, spoke and lived. Technology was nothing compared to what we have today but certain things like a radio and TV in every living room were the “hi-tech” and coveted items of that day and age. L.A. Confidential was a film I had been meaning to see but never got around to seeing it before now. I’m a big Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce fan so this seemed like a one, two punch of talented Aussie acting…