Editor’s note: The Double Take series has been on hold for a while now, but today marks the return of this two-sided format of perspectives. Here, Bill Graham and Andrew Crump both offer their two cents on the freshly released literary drama, The Words. By Bill Graham: The lesson in The Words isn’t that first-time writer/directors can get in over their heads but that a solid editor might make the difference between a film that gets sidetracked in its own convolution and something worthwhile. The bulk of the narrative plays out with struggling writer Rory Jansen (Bradley Cooper) trying to make ends meet with his wife Dora (Zoë Saldana) rooting him…
-
-
G-S-T Review…The Possession
Good news, horror fans: The Possession contains fifteen minutes of a solid Sam Raimi flick. There’s bad news, of course, and that’s that those minutes find their home in the climax, which is preceded by a mixed bag of demonic possession tropes brought to us by Danish filmmaker Ole Bornedal. The Possession finds itself in an uncomfortable place where it reminds us why Raimi is such a treasure to the horror genre, but for reasons that aren’t necessarily good; when the heavily Raimi-influenced climax outshines the entirety of the rest of Bornedal’s film, it’s something of a disservice to the rest of the picture, a possess-by-numbers yarn inspired by a very real and allegedly…
-
G-S-T Review…For a Good Time, Call…
For those of you who grew up in the 1980’s, or were old enough to experience that period of filmmaking, it was a great era for the movie industry. There were so many movies that made us laugh, cry and feel a myriad of other emotions. One genre really stands out during that period; comedy. Not just comedy, but female driven comedies. Goldie Hawn was the queen of comedy films in the 1980’s. Movies like Private Benjamin, Protocol and Overboard were among the many great successes of that period. Post-1980’s we saw a sharp decline as female comedies seemingly faded into the sunset. Three decades later Bridesmaids comes out swinging…
-
G-S-T Review…Cosmopolis
In a day and age where comic book flicks are hitting the big screen every summer and reboot films are a dime a dozen, it’s nice to see a different type of film. Cosmopolis certainly qualifies as different and then some. Will this movie become a mainstream hit…no. Will people go see the movie just because Robert Pattinson is in it…yes. Regardless of the box office numbers this film achieves, it truly is unique, albeit strange and quirky. Cosmopolis is based upon Don DeLillo’s novel of the same name, marking his thirteenth career novel; published in 2003. It was adapted for the screen by David Cronenberg and directed by David Cronenberg. If…
-
G-S-T Review…Oslo, August 31st
For most of us, a day out in the cities we live in doesn’t represent a strictly dangerous prospect. From street to street, familiarity engulfs us and fosters in us a sense of mundane security; the haunts and locales we visit and patronize become so commonplace that we could never construe them as harmful to our well-being. For Anders, the principal character of Norwegian director Joachim Trier’s sophomore effort, Oslo, August 31st, a single twenty four hour span of time is fraught with the perils of temptation, populated with ghosts from his past, and resonant with the echoes of his guilt and shame. Such are the circumstances of a recovering…
-
G-S-T Review…Lawless
In his latest film John Hillcoat delivers a fantastic period-piece film based on the book “The Wettest County in the World” (an account of the true-life tales of author Matt Bondurant’s family). Titled simply Lawless this adaptation chronicles the events around the Bondurant family at the pinnacle of their prohibition-era moonshine business and how three Virginia brothers became legends unto themselves. Historically party to and at the center of the infamous “Franklin county moonshine conspiracy” the trio faced opposition on many fronts not just from the authorities but also bigger and similarly illegal outfits. A wild ride for any film fan the events depicted become even more engaging as it’s revealed that their story…
-
G-S-T Review…Hit & Run
So, shocking news: Hit & Run is kind of a blast…go figure. Dax Shepard has, in fairness, made a movie before (2010’s Brother’s Justice, which sounds delightfully, suspiciously odd), so the man isn’t totally green in the realms of screenwriting and directing. All the same, permit me my surprised reaction. It’s late August, the film co-stars Tom Arnold, and Shepard remains best-known for his role in the MTV series Punk’d and Without a Paddle. Those aren’t exactly the kinds of credentials that inspire confidence in the jaded, but Shepard and co-director David Palmer use the aces hidden in their sleeves to great effect. Color me tasteless– Hit & Run works.…
-
G-S-T Review…Premium Rush
Every summer we are introduced to some incredible blockbuster movies. Some are memorable and others, not so much. Some fly under the radar and surprise us at a time when we need a refreshing change. There is always a big push during the final weeks of the summer as movies fight for box office attendance. This summer has been nothing less than stellar with some of the blockbuster hits delivering in spades. But what about the smaller budget films, that aren’t Indie flicks, but aren’t of the $200 million dollar variety. Premium Rush falls somewhere in the middle of everything with a modest budget, by Hollywood standards. It’s a refreshing…
-
G-S-T Review…ParaNorman
In the vein of iconic monster/adventure properties like The Monster Squad, Scooby-Doo even The Iron Giant comes Laika’s follow-up to their hit film Coraline. ParaNorman, is a fantastically intricate stop-motion (or “stop-frame” to you film fans in the UK) animated film that follows Norman, a young boy who is more than a little obsessed with the macabre…he can actually see and communicate with ghosts. He takes it all in stride but is most definitely an outcast but like all great outcasts, he’s destined to save the day because of his eccentricities. It’s a common story but from the mind of Chris Butler, this more or less familiar theme is spun just enough and is ‘wonky’ enough…
-
G-S-T Review…Klown
Frank Hvam and Casper Christensen, the stars and writers of Denmark’s Klown, should find themselves in good company among the most prominent members of the raunchy comedy pantheon. Alternately, the remorselessly profane Danish duo might repulse their peers just as easily. Klown, the cinematic evolution of the television show Hvam and Christensen created and featured in together for four years, pushes every boundary of good taste with a smirk and a cackle; there’s gleeful deceit to how the film frequently builds toward redemptive kindness before pulling the rug out from under our feet. But if the film’s primary interest lies in taking the mickey out of Frank, Casper, and the audience, its…