Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on November 4th, 2012
“Quirky, messy women whose problems only make them endearing are not real.”
On the surface, Ruby Sparks could be mistaken for the Manic Pixie Dream Girl biopic no one asked for. In case you’re not familiar with this particular cinematic archetype, MPDG derisively describes any unabashedly artsy, quirky young female character that inevitably brightens the life of a brooding, young male protagonist. However, the quote at the start of this review only hints at the fact that this whimsical romantic comedy isn’t afraid to stare down the ugly side of relationships.
Posted in: The Reel World by J C on November 2nd, 2012
Can a scumbag also be considered a hero? Lance Armstrong fans probably mull that question each time a new, unsavory revelation about the now-disgraced cyclist comes to light. The issue was addressed in 1992’s Hero, which starred Dustin Hoffman as a low-life who saves a group of passengers on a crashed airplane. Flight also takes to the not-so-friendly skies to examine whether it’s possible to reconcile a lifetime of destructive behavior with an extraordinary act of valor.
You wouldn’t necessarily guess that from the film’s punchy trailer — see below — which paints Flight as a cynical gloss on the Sully Sullenberger story. (The movie’s protagonist even has a similarly folksy, alliterative name: Whip Whitaker.) Instead, Flight is an R-rated drama that presents one of the most unflinching portrayals of drug and alcohol addiction you’re likely to ever see in a mass-appeal film from a big-time director and starring one of the world’s most famous movie stars.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 30th, 2012
Whether you’re into their music or not, The Doors: Live at the Bowl ’68 gives fans a chance to see a band (and a rock icon) at the height of their powers. Admittedly, The Doors didn’t have the longest shelf life — the band was formed in 1965, released their self-titled debut album in 1967, and frontman Jim Morrison was found dead in a Paris apartment in 1971 — but their impact can be felt to this day. Of course, when I say the band was at the height of their powers, you should understand that means there’s a pretty good chance Morrison was on acid.
That’s not irresponsible guesswork on my part; drummer John Densmore makes the claim himself in one of the behind-the-scenes documentaries on this disc. (For what it’s worth, keyboardist Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger pass up the chance to confirm Densmore’s statement.)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 28th, 2012
“I think we all knew it was good. But it was only when we started getting hits, which is sort of a rare thing in my life, that you start thinking, 'Maybe we’re gonna sell something here.'”
Peter Gabriel was one of the founding members of late ‘60s prog rock pioneers Genesis and released four untitled/self-titled solo albums in the late 1970s and early ‘80s, which spawned hits like “Solsbury Hill” and “Shock the Monkey.” But it wasn’t until 1986 that the British rocker enjoyed the greatest success of his career.
Posted in: The Reel World by J C on October 26th, 2012
“When creating art, there’s a fine line between greatness and nonsense.” You know who said that? I did as soon as the end credits for Cloud Atlas started rolling. The sci-fi adventure/historical drama/mega-budget drag show has modest aspirations: all it’s trying to do is tell an epic, centuries-spanning story about the human condition. Needless to say, Cloud Atlas is easily one of the most ambitious and audacious films released in the last few years. No wonder it took three directors to wrestle this thing into theaters.
Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) joined forces with the Wachowski Bros. siblings (The Matrix trilogy) to adapt David Mitchell’s 2004 novel of the same name, which seems utterly unfilmable on paper.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 23rd, 2012
The best thing about Gone in 60 Seconds is that the film knows exactly what it is. Just take a look at the breathless blurbs on the Blu-ray case for the latest release. “Over 500 crashes!” “93 cars wrecked in the 40-minute car chase!” No one involved with this movie thought they were making an intimate character piece. I mean the top-billed star is “Eleanor.” Did I mention that Eleanor is a 1973 Ford Mustang?
The plot is little more than a necessary nuisance before the movie’s show-stopping climax, but here we go anyway. Maindrian Pace (what a name!) is an insurance investigator who moonlights as the leader of a car thieving ring. Since Pace is the hero of our story, he only steals cars from people who are insured and subsequently compensated for the trouble he’s caused them.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 21st, 2012
“Patterns are hidden in plain sight. You just have to know where to look.”
You don’t have to be into numbers to enjoy Touch, but it certainly helps. Numerology deals with the mystical or divine meaning behind certain numbers. Detractors believe that people who place too much faith in such things will foolishly find significance in just about anything. Similarly, cynical TV viewers will scoff at some of the coincidences and connections in this Fox drama. Either way, it looks like your high school math teacher was right: you WILL be using some of this stuff as an adult.
Posted in: The Reel World by J C on October 19th, 2012
Whenever the TV spots for Alex Cross promise that the movie features “Tyler Perry as you’ve never seen him before,” I can’t help but snarkily add “…in men’s clothing!” To put it lightly, I had my doubts when I heard the wildly successful actor/producer/director/playwright/crossdresser would be stepping into the title role, previously played on screen by Oscar winner Morgan Freeman. (Especially when Perry replaced the great Idris Elba on this project, though my giant man-crush on Elba possibly clouded my judgment.)
Following Freeman’s portrayal of Alex Cross, the idea was to reboot the character with a younger actor in hopes of kickstarting a new action franchise. Perry stars as Cross, author James Patterson's brilliant detective/psychologist. Cross and Detroit Police Department colleagues Tommy (Edward Burns) and Monica (Rachel Nichols) square off against a murderous psychopath known as Picasso (Matthew Fox), who specializes in pain and torture.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 18th, 2012
“When is everything gonna get back to normal?”
Is a happy, well-adjusted Don Draper a good thing? That’s one of the biggest questions posed during Mad Men’s excellent fifth season, and it’s aimed at the other characters in the show as well as a passionate TV audience that has become seriously invested in Jon Hamm’s suave antihero.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 13th, 2012
Ever wonder what a martial arts epic directed by Baz “Moulin Rouge” Luhrmann would look like? Me neither. But that’s pretty much what we get with Legendary Amazons, (loosely) based on the exploits of the Yang family during the Song Dynasty. The story has an intriguing hook — the men of the Yang clan are massacred in battle, leaving their women to throw on armor and take to the battlefield — but is ultimately bogged down by its cartoonish tone and embarrassingly bad production values.
For the cartoonish tone, we can probably thank/blame producer Jackie Chan since the Hong Kong superstar has crafted a wildly successful career out of injecting comedy into the martial arts genre. (Legendary Amazons even has Chan’s signature bloopers during the end credits; although the actress who fell off a horse and hit the ground hard didn’t seem to be laughing.)
