To start this off, and put things in context, it’s probably best to steal a line from Edward Zwick’s Blood Diamond, “Throughout the history of Africa, whenever a substance of value it is found, the locals die in great number and in misery”. What makes the story of Virunga National Park so disheartening, and yet engaging, is that the events are so current that most of it happened in real time. And things don’t get better once the credits roll. The park is, and has been, in a state of constant conflict. Virunga is home to some of the few hundred remaining mountain gorillas left in the world. They are…
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G-S-T Review…Finding Vivian Maier
Some people get one shot at greatness. If you happen to be as lucky as Vivian Maier however, one of the 20th century’s greatest street photographers, you can get 100,000 of them. The late Ms. Maier, a mysterious nanny with a passion for observing and capturing people at the most banal points in their day, is the subject of this amazing documentary. One of the many bizarre, yet dazzling facts in this eclectic woman’s life is that her work went almost entirely unseen, even by Maier herself. Finding Vivian Maier is a compelling story of discovery that really began as a fluke (you really need to check out the trailer below)…
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G-S-T Review…Whiplash
The film industry is a funny animal. In the name of mainstream entertainment, whether we want it or not, we are constantly bombarded with iterations of a story we saw only a decade earlier, marginally worthless reboots (a filmic term that has only been in existence in the last ten years) and a slew of unflattering, unremarkable sequels. With all the derivative drivel out there, it is easy to lose hope. But once in a great while we get to see something new and exciting that really raises the bar for the industry, and also makes for an exceptional time at the cinema. Whiplash, in many ways, is a horror story reworked to…
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G-S-T Review…The Imitation Game
When it comes to year-end Oscar bait, err, high quality entertainment, you can hardly do better than a film from The Weinstein Company. Granted that’s a playful way of saying they sweep up award season nods this time of year, but The Imitation Game, is a solid and alluring story, and as fine a picture as you’d expect to see. However, its theatrical release has been, like Kobe beef, bred for just one purpose. Consumption by a very select audience – in this case, academy voters. Now there is nothing at all wrong with the picture. In fact, it would be harder to knock it than to find unique ways of…
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G-S-T Review…Unbroken
Angelina Jolie is no stranger to films depicting harsh realities, dour drama, and world issues. She also likes to throw a huge slice of bittersweet human interest pie into the mix. But more importantly, she tries to offer examples of perseverance and fortitude in the very darkest of situations. With Unbroken, like her last film which found sparks of humanity burning against the cruelty of war, the director wants us to feel something. It’s not pleasant, but pain is definitely something we feel. Jolie holds very little back as a story like this doesn’t quite have the impact if you, picking up on a key scene in the film, pull your…
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Christmas Pops with The Dallas Symphony Orchestra Couldn’t Be Jollier
Life is all about experiences, and there are very few things that can rival the thrill of live music. For 25 years, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra has been putting on incredible shows and performances. This time of year, their Christmas Pops series can put even the most grumpy cat in the mood for jingle jangle holiday festivities. The world-renowned Meyerson Symphony Center, replete with its one-of-a-kind of acoustics, and incredible light display, offer patrons a visual journey as fascinating and vibrant as the auditory one. The playlist for this event (click here to view the full set list) has a plethora of old time Christmas favorites, and a good number of modern musical…
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G-S-T Review…Exodus: Gods and Kings
If you’re heading to see Exodus: Gods and Kings, you’d do well to remember one thing. Just because this is from the man behind Gladiator, does not mean this is going to be like Gladiator. That’s a misconception. After all, this is one of the most famous stories from the Bible, so you have to know what you’re getting into. It’s not a sword and sandal pic. In fact, it’s mostly just sandals with the distinction that it’s Ridley Scott behind the camera of this religious epic. This review is not an argument for or against the film. There really is nothing wrong with Scott’s picture except for the expectations the…
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G-S-T Review…The Babadook
Editor’s Note: This review has been republished. It originally posted with the rest of our reviews and coverage at Fantastic Fest this past September. Back in 2012, director Scott Derrickson and writer C. Robert Cargill screened Sinister (click to read our review). Critic Brian Salisbury introduced the film to the eager Fantastic Fest crowd, and, very fittingly, called it “nightmare fuel“. Well, in the same vein as that film (and other modern horror game changers like Insidious, and The Conjuring), Australia’s own The Babadook shows that there are still untapped areas in the human psyche that, when tapped just right, are plenty capable of scaring even hardened horror fans. The Babadook is written…
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G-S-T Review…Birdman
Sometimes, the line between fiction and reality can be blurry; other times however, it is altogether indistinguishable. Alejandro González Iñárritu‘s Birdman is about a former A-list actor now seeking a final shot at fame and, more importantly, relevance through a play he’s adapted, directed and starring in. Only it hasn’t opened yet. Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) has three preview nights to work the kinks out and get a handle on all the things misfiring in his life – from his broken family to his prima donna actors. It’s a story about being behind the scenes of a play, but, more importantly, it’s very self-referential. An exaggerated reflection of all the issues, it’s…
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G-S-T Review…Fury
Even in the short time he’s been directing films, David Ayer has shown he has a no frills approach to storytelling. Just a quick glance at films like Training Day, Harsh Times, and End of Watch, will reveal, consistently, very specific types of characters – ones so gritty, visceral and real that they seem to come through the screen. Now no one ever proclaimed that war is glamorous, but Ayer seems to go to great pains to make sure no one would ever imagine war as anything other than a living hell. Further, it’s hard to call any soldier a “hero” once you learn the lengths some may go to…
