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…
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[BFI London Film Festival Review]…No
Gael García Bernal stars in Pablo Larraín’s third film to reflect on the brutality of the Pinochet regime in Chile during the almost twenty years they were in power. No, examines the inner workings of war propaganda, and is based on the real-life ‘No Campaign’ against Pinochet, that was established during the 1988 referendum. Once Renè is hired to work on the campaign, he quickly does away with the stories of sorrow and bitterness the opposition has made their focus, and replaces them with jingles, advertising clips showing joyful scenes of ‘happy’ people, and a logo that consists of a large rainbow along side the word ‘no.” The campaign proves…
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[BFI London Film Festival Review]…Ginger & Rosa
Sally Potter’s incredible film explores aspects of female friendship from the perspective of 17-year-olds Ginger (Elle Fanning) and Rosa (Alice Englert, daughter of director Jane Campion), as they attempt to navigate their way through adolescence during Cold War, 1960’s Europe. Ginger and Rosa epitomize the rebel, Beatnik culture of the 60’s; they even dress the part, and their determination not to become their mother’s, both aging housewives who have been left by the men who once loved them, is a nod to the changing times, as well as one of the many aspirations that serve to bond the two girls. At first this bond appears as though it may never…
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[BFI London Film Festival Review]…Midnight’s Children
Over thirty years after the novel’s publication, Salman Rushdie’s film adaptation of his Booker prize-winning novel has come to fruition. With so many years of waiting and anticipation, the film has a lot to live up to, and the complicated nature of the book is a challenging body of work to attempt to fit into 148 minutes of film. Rushdie wrote the screenplay with Oscar-nominated director, Deepa Mehta, resulting in a whimsical interpretation of an epic tale with beautiful imagery and magical powers that gives the story a fairytale quality. The problem with this approach is one that is common in films with story lines spanning several decades, it often…
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Off the Netflix Queue…’The Aggression Scale’
Describing Steven C. Miller’s The Aggression Scale as a violent Home Alone riff feels almost too retro-hip for my liking, but it’s almost impossible not to. The similarities between the two films are clear; pit seemingly defenseless children against brutish home invaders, watch the former embarrass and defeat the latter. But Kevin McAllister didn’t know how to work a pump-action shotgun, and possessed a much cuter propensity for violence. Owen (Ryan Hartwig), his analogue here, favors all manner of sharp objects and potent cocktails of ammonia and bleach. (They both admire the efficacy of a nail through the foot.) The clearer difference, though, lies in pathos– Kevin’s just a self-indulgent…
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[Fantastic Fest Review]…Tai Chi Zero
Editor’s Note: To coincide with its limited release staring on October 19th, we’re republishing our Fantastic Fest review of Tai Chi Zero. Have you ever found yourself wondering “what would a film look like if you threw Street Fighter II Turbo, Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World, Shaolin Soccer and Red Cliff in a blender?” Well if so then you’re in luck because Stephen Fung has just that hybrid combination to offer us at the 2012 Fantastic Fest. A highly stylized period piece it shows its fondness for manga and video games that at times overshadows the story since the gimmick gets old. Still it’s really fun at times and the pick me…
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Vintage Litwak's Arcade Game Commercials From Disney's 'Wreck-It Ralph'
Back at D23 (and then again for San Diego Comic-Con) Disney unveiled the promo arcade game of Fit It Felix Jr. to promote the upcoming computer animated film Wreck-It Ralph. Then a few weeks ago they released one of their fun vintage trailers as if the actual game existed in the 8-bit arcade era. But as Fit It Felix Jr. is just one of the many games (some real, some made up) in the film, Disney has gone the extra mile and created fake trailers for each of the main games featured in the film. Anyway, the trailer for Hero’s Duty (the Halo inspired game that plays a role in the…
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Sweet Trailer…'Tai Chi Zero'
Making waves at the Toronto International Film Festival and surprising lots of genre fans at Fantastic Fest (check out our review) is the insane martial arts flick Tai Chi Zero. A bizarre hybrid of traditional kung fu films (brilliantly choreographed by Sammo Hung) and video games that you have to see to believe. It’s wacky, it’s funny, it’s all kinds of wow and perfect for the ADHD crowd as evidenced by the trailer. Have a look and let absurdity and awesomeness of Tai Chi Zero begin… If that was a bit off putting take a look at the more toned down but impressive first trailer… In the film, the first in a planned series, Yang travels to Chen…
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Some Personal Thoughts on the Legacy and Future of Ghostbusters
Among the many dreadful remakes and reboots (those already released and those in some form of production) there has been one property that, thanks in large part to production snags, has seemingly retained its dignity and integrity. Well, it looks like those hurdles have been removed, or rather disregarded because as of right now, we are going to get *shudders* a third Ghostbuters. But that’s if this ins’t just another rumor/failed promise…ugg, getting so very tired of that. So whether or not this actually pans out I thought, after a long week, I’d use this post as the perfect way to clear my head of the ongoing Ghostbusters concerns and mental threads that have just had the…
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“The CineMagic 8-Ball” – In Theaters 10/19/12
When so many movies are released each weekend and trailers often seem better than the movie itself, what should one do? In this precarious situation, we consult the The CineMagic 8-Ball (TM) to help us see through the nebulous marketing haze. Doing so just might save us all a disheartening trip to the cinema and spare us unnecessarily springing for $7 popcorn. See what the 8-Ball says about this week’s releases… ——————————————————————————————————————————————- ALEX CROSS Young homicide detective/psychologist Alex Cross meets his match in a serial killer. The two face off in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse, but when the mission gets personal, Cross is pushed to the edge…
