Judd Apatow’s This Is 40 puts a hysterical spin on the fact that everyone gets old. In fact, the comedy is so refreshing that it must have taken a lesson or two from his 2009 film Funny People; if you’re gonna make a movie with somewhat depressing subject matter, put some humor in it (especially if the word funny is in the title!). Just because you’re dealing with some very heavy emotions and situations doesn’t mean the audience doesn’t need to laugh. You may know this by now but Apatow doesn’t make rom-com fluff. Instead he gets to the heart of the matter and focuses on relatively down-to-earth people (foul-mouthed though they…
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G-S-T Review…Les Misérables
There’s little use in trying to disguise my frustration with Tom Hooper’s sluggish interpretation of Les Misérables, though in the interest of full disclosure I should acknowledge immediately that I have never seen the musical on which it is based. (And it’s been years since I read Victor Hugo’s original novel.) Put another way, I have no personal ideal of what Les Mis should be, so as far as it concerned me, Hooper– who successfully directed a strong cast of performers to Oscar gold two years ago with The King’s Speech— had the floor here. A shame, then, that he squanders the opportunity by muting his strengths as a filmmaker…
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On Second Thought, Bill's Take: G-S-T Review…The Hobbit
Bagginsis? What is… Bagginsis? Is it chewy? Is it crunchy? There’s a sense of familiarity throughout The Hobbit that never quite plays in its favor. Whether it is the musical cues we are so familiar with after his first three Lord of the Rings films, the insertion of characters that never appeared in the source material to help us remember the other films, or the painfully similar arc The Fellowship of the Ring has to The Hobbit, director Peter Jackson is giving us exactly what we expect. Which is precisely why I’m so disappointed with his latest journey into Middle Earth. While it never rings of phoning it in because of the production values and the…
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G-S-T Review…The Hobbit
Nine years, eleven Academy Awards, and two massive cinematic disappointments. Since wowing the world in 2001 with The Fellowship of the Ring, the first entry in his adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy series The Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson has amassed an impressive tally of goodwill and squandered the lion’s share; as a consequence, his return to Middle Earth, a similar treatment of Rings precursor The Hobbit, has been speculated over with alternating degrees of trepidation, iconoclasm, anticipation, and blatant excitement. Given Jackson’s previous artistic and commercial success playing in this particular fantasy sandbox, as well as his subsequent failures (2005’s King Kong, 2009’s The Lovely Bones), it’s difficult to imagine a scenario where…
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G-S-T Review…Playing for Keeps
Technology is evolving at such an exponential rate that movies are now made in a matter of weeks, rather than months. Obviously there are some exceptions like Avatar and other heavy CG films. Technology hasn’t just shortened the time it takes to produce movies, it has increased the sheer volume of movies exponentially. In 2011 there were over 200 movies released to the theaters. That doesn’t count straight to video movies. In 2001 there were only 150 movies released to theaters. Keep in mind, these stats are only for the United States. The point is…with so many movies being released each week how do the studios keep coming up with…
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G-S-T Review…Hyde Park On Hudson
Hyde Park on Hudson recounts the royal visit of King George VI (who you may remember from Colin Firth’s portrayal in The Kings Speech, depicted here by actor Samuel West), and Queen Elizabeth (Olivia Colman) to Hyde Park from the perspective of Daisy Suckley (Laura Linney), who at this time has recently become FDR’s (Bill Murry) mistress. Unbeknownst to Daisy, she’s not the only secret Roosevelt is keeping. The screenplay is based on actual events discussed in diary entries and letters that belonged to Daisy. The correspondence was found after her death, and the affair she had kept a secret for most of her life was finally revealed. The royal visit begins with…
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G-S-T Review…Killing Them Softly
Not every crime film has to appear the same. There can be grace and beauty, even in death, and time and time again, director Andrew Dominik proves this in Killing Them Softly. Raw, thought-provoking in unexpected ways, and supremely well acted, this is a crime film that stands out from the crowd for good and bad reasons. There’s a filthiness to one character in particular who you actually root to get knocked off. In fact, he gives such a disgusting and down-and-out performance you are left with a bad taste in your mouth. The amount of perspiration he seems to conjure up compared to everyone else is mesmerizing and loathsome…
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G-S-T Review…Hitchcock
Sacha Gervasi’s Hitchcock tells the story behind the making of the 1960’s horror flick, Psycho. Beyond that however, it uncovers a story behind the film, and behind the man himself. Some synopses refer to John Mclaughlin’s script as a love story, and this is certainly one aspect that exists within the multi-layered plot. Alma is the wife of Alfred Hitchcock. She is also a writer, producer and sometime-director, and according the film, the final say behind every script that Hitchcock turns into a film. It is Alma’s notes that he eagerly awaits on the set of Psycho, Alma who saves the movie when Hitchcock gets sick and shooting is three days…
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G-S-T Review…Life of Pi
Editor’s note: GoSeeTalk is trying something new with this review of Ang Lee’s Life of Pi. Since there’s so much to enjoy Marc and Bill split up the review to focus on its two greatest strengths. Bill addresses the narrative structure/success of Life of Pi while Marc tackles praising its technical/visual achievements. In Ang Lee’s latest film Life of Pi, an impressive adaptation of Yann Martel’s popular novel of the same name, a young man, Pi (Suraj Sharma), who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor…a fearsome Bengal tiger. Though the premise of Life of Pi might…
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G-S-T Review…Rise of the Guardians
Thinking about Rise of the Guardians, Dreamworks’ latest offering, I can’t say for sure whether Pete Ramsey mixed a heart-warming, energetic childrens’ film with a story of secular subversion or vice versa. Most likely, it’s the former; there’s little doubting that Rise of the Guardians exists first and foremost to entertain and dazzle theaters full of tykes and adults alike with impressive panache. In that respect, the film succeeds in overwhelming fashion, boasting a bright, colorful visual palette and a much-improved style of animation while giving its world life through excellent voice casting. (If, of course, your concept of Santa Claus involves Jack Donaghy’s Russian half-brother.) Put simply, there’s no denying that the…