Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on April 22nd, 2013
“I want to talk to you about the war for the soul of Los Angeles.”
This could easily describe the current rivalry between the surging L.A. Clippers and the geriatric Los Angeles Lakers, but Gangster Squad has slightly weightier matters on its mind. The stylish 1940s and 50s cops-and-crooks saga wants to tell a story about corruption and violent men unable — or unwilling — to turn off their capacity for hurting others. Instead, the film winds up being a somewhat shallow 21st century gloss on The Untouchables. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on April 22nd, 2013
“Whose move is it?”
To be honest, I’m not much of a chess player. I know how all the pieces move and I enjoy the mental challenge, but I never really committed to becoming proficient at the game. (Now, if we’re talking Connect Four, you don’t want to run into me in a dark alley.) Pawn establishes its intriguing chess motif early on, before almost completely abandoning it in favor of becoming more of a generically twisty thriller.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on April 8th, 2013
For better or worse — okay, it’s worse — it’s now impossible to hear the words “Jersey” and “Shore” without thinking of a certain group of knuckleheads on MTV. Down the Shore is a dreary, observant drama set in the region and starring James Gandolfini. If anyone is ever going to restore the area’s good(?) name, you figure the Sopranos star is a better bet than most, having previously dominated the Garden State from a pop culture standpoint by starring in the landmark television drama.
Funnily enough, Down the Shore actually opens in a sunny playground in Paris. The first scene is a meet-cute between French merry-go-round operator Jacques (Edoardo Costa) and American tourist Susan (Maria Dizzia). Fast forward three months later with Jacques traveling to the Jersey Shore to inform Susan’s brother Bailey (Gandolfini) that his younger sister is dead. On top of that happy news, Jacques and Susan had actually gotten married, and Susan left Jacques half of the house where Bailey currently lives. Bailey — who works as an amusement park operator on the Shore (apparently, Susan was drawn to certain types of men) — is understandably not happy about any of this, while Jacques is merely trying to carry out his late wife’s wishes and is willing to pull his weight at the park.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 3rd, 2013
This is a review that I’ve been dreading. It’s been a while since a movie has gotten me so worked up over its thoughtless execution that I struggle to find something redeeming out of it. For those unfamiliar with non-linear storytelling, a simple definition would be a story told out of order, for instance Memento or Pulp Fiction. Those two examples are of films that execute non-linear storytelling and use the structural device as a means to further their story. As for the filmmakers involved with The Devil’s in the Details, they took a decent story and then tore it up into shreds, tossed it in the air, and pieced it together however they saw fit.
I feel sympathy for the performers here; even though what the actors had to work with was flimsy at best, they still deliver. Ray Liotta plays Dr. Bruce Michaels, a former Navy Seal who now is a shrink to soldiers coming home from the war. The performance is subtle and a far cry from the intensity he brought to Narc or his most notable role of Henry Hill in Goodfellas. For those who are fans of Liotta, at least his performance is worth watching here.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on April 2nd, 2013
“The important thing for a writer is to tell a good story.”
Martha Gellhorn, considered by some to be the greatest war correspondent of the 20th century, was extremely adamant about not wanting to be a footnote in someone else’s life. So I’m thinking the writer — who died in 1998 — may have had mixed feelings about Hemingway & Gellhorn. On one hand, her life story gets the prestigious (and mostly sympathetic) HBO Films treatment, and Gellhorn is played by Oscar winner Nicole Kidman in a sensational, searing turn. On the other hand, the film had Gellhorn’s 60-year career covering every major world conflict to draw from, yet largely focuses on her combustible nine-year relationship — and five-year marriage — to Ernest Hemingway. I mean Gellhorn couldn’t even wrangle top billing in the film’s title, for crying out loud!
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 28th, 2013
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure."
These were strong words, and the man who spoke them was certainly a dominant figure in American history. He's been portrayed hundreds of times on film and television. Rarely have any of these efforts been able to capture the true essence of a great man. You can't blame the actors or the production teams. There are those tasks which some say just can't be done. Lincoln heard those arguments himself. I'm sure that Steven Spielberg must have been haunted by the same thoughts when he set out to do Lincoln. Fortunately, he found another remarkable man who was up to the task. Daniel Day-Lewis does get the Oscar for his performance as Abraham Lincoln. We might well believe that all men are created equal. It's a true enough axiom. That doesn't mean that all men process equal ability in all things. Just two and a half hours with Daniel Day-Lewis and you'll find the point well illustrated. The film also took an Oscar for its wonderful production design.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on March 26th, 2013
I tend to shy away from films that have come out before I was born. It’s not a rule, just a habit. The reason for that being because not being from the generation that movie was produced in, I fear that there will be a lot of cultural reference that I will be unfamiliar with and I will have to Wikipedia them all. I also feel that because I am from a different era I am not qualified to render a sound opinion of an older film, because I may judge it too harshly due to my growing up within a time of special effect advancement. Of course I am well aware that this aversion causes me to miss out on quality films like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Apocalypse Now, and as it turns out, Zulu Dawn. Thank goodness for this job for introducing me to films I wouldn’t normally see of my own volition.
Zulu Dawn is a war film covering the Battle of Isandlwana, the first major encounter in the Anglo-Zulu War between the British Empire and Zulu Kingdom in 1879. The film is told mainly from the perspective of the British soldiers and features Hollywood household names Burt Lancaster, Peter O’Toole, Simon Ward, and Bob Hoskins on that side. The film starts off with Lord Chelmsford (Burt Lancaster, Lawrence of Arabia), a commander of British forces stationed in South Africa who is eager for advancement, and Sir Henry Bartle Frere (John Mills, Ryan’s Daughter), the High Commissioner of South Africa issuing a ultimatum to King of the Zulu Empire, King Cetshwayo: dissolve his empire or face the British forces that were looking to expand the ever-growing industrial economy. The King refuses and rallies his people to prepare for war.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on March 25th, 2013
Biblical strongman Samson accomplishes many amazing feats and makes many a powerful enemy along the way. None are able to defeat this champion until his action catch the eye of Delilah, and he becomes the target of her affections. Unbenounced to Samson, Delilah has been tasked to discover the source of his supernatural strength. God granted Samson amazing physical strength, but his heart and mind are weak to the machinations of this sly, deceitful woman and it is only a matter of time before she learns his greatest secret.
Hedey Lamarr's Delilah is a character that we love to hate. Her scheming is fused perfectly into her seductive charms. Meanwhile, Victor Mature is rugged as this Hebrew He-Man. Both play well off of each other although many a time they seem to be treading water with melodramatic dialogue that rallies back and forth and only seems to accomplish extending the run time of the film instead of advancing the plot efficiently.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on March 21st, 2013
Day of the Falcon is a photogenic, lavish reminder that violence and strife in the Middle East existed well before it could be broadcast on CNN. The film — set in the early part of the 20th century — also works as a throwback to the sort of rollicking, epic-scale adventure films David Lean was making at the height of his powers and that no one seems terribly interested in making anymore. Don’t get me wrong: Day of the Falcon is no Lawrence of Arabia or Bridge on the River Kwai, but it’s an accetable 21st century substitute.
Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud — who made the great, underrated WWII sniper drama Enemy at the Gates — the movie features a multi-cultural cast and a relatively hefty budget. (Reports put it anywhere between $40 million and $55 million; either way, it’s one of the most expensive films produced by an Arab — Tarak Ben Ammar — which also deals with that part of the world.)
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on March 20th, 2013
Sometimes you really can judge a book terrible movie by its cover. Beyond the awful Photoshopped shot of the film’s stars, the cover art for House Arrest boasts that the movie comes “From a Producer of You Got Served.” That set off a bunch of questions in my curious mind. Why just one producer? Is this really something a person would brag about? Most importantly, where are all the hip hop dance battles?! Worse than all that, the film itself completely muddles a worthwhile message about faith and the importance of family with shoddy storytelling and a steady stream of substandard performances.
House Arrest quickly introduces us to Chanel (Stacey Dash), a spoiled L.A. rich girl living the high life with her boyfriend, DeAndre (Jayceon “The Game” Taylor). You can tell Chanel is spoiled because she even has a tiny dog named Trixie that she carries around in her purse. While out shopping one day, Chanel and DeAndre are both arrested for the robbery of some valuable computer chips. (The crime is so vague and ultimately pointless that they may as well have been accused of stealing a box of vintage floppy disks.) Prior offender DeAndre is sent to prison while first-time offender Chanel is sentenced to house arrest in a much less ostentatious part of town under the roof of grandma Mee-Mah (Bebe Drake) and Chanel’s daughter Autumn (Kiera Washington). Chanel is innocent, but Deandre asks her to take the fall because she’d probably only get a probation — this guy is a real sweetheart — and because DeAndre’s crimes helped fund their expensive lifestyle.
