Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on July 6th, 2012
When I first saw the trailer for Savages I was more than a little unimpressed; in fact I was beginning to accept that there were no more great films to come from one of the directors I believe was in the top five working directors of the 80s and the 90s. Over the past decade he’s managed to churn out some decent films, but nothing that can measure up to Platoon, JFK, The Doors, Natural Born Killers or Nixon. With Alexander he took a big gamble and it was a commercial bomb, and since then it seems he’s been playing it safe. What I always respected about Stone was that he never used to play it safe; he took bold chances whether it be with the topic of the film or with the style of the film, but it seemed the commercial failure of Alexander took its toll.
One piece missing from Stone’s crew that I feel has made an impact over the years has been the absence of cinematographer Robert Richardson. Could this be the key ingredient missing all this time? Richardson has done some great work with other directors most notably with Tarantino (Kill Bill and Inglorious Basterds) as well as Scorsese (Hugo). But for me when I look at some of the great director and cinematographer relationships over the years, the one with Stone and Richardson seems to be the perfect marriage of talent put to the screen. After working on several films without Richardson at his side, I feel Stone has found a suitable fit for him with Daniel Mindel (Domino, Star Trek) as his shooter this time around.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on July 3rd, 2012
"There's rumor of a new species in New York."
It would be easy to say that The Amazing Spider-Man is a remake of the first Sam Raimi Spider-Man film. It certainly looks that way. After just a single decade Sony Pictures has decided to go back to the origins of the popular comic character and pretty much start over. This film takes us back to the proverbial origin story. Once again we get to see young Peter Parker, this time played by Andrew Garfield, get bitten by that nasty spider and find himself with wonderful powers, and of, course great responsibilities. The reboot does tend to beg at least two questions up front. Why the quick turnaround, and what could you possibly do to improve upon at least the first two Raimi films? Let's answer each of them, shall we?
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on June 29th, 2012
What if your favorite childhood toy were to not only come to life but also be your best friend for life? This is the scenario writer/director Seth Macfarlane (creator of Family Guy and American Dad) set out to explore in his first live action venture behind the lens in this summer’s comedy Ted. With the freedom of an R rating I was curious to see what Macfarlane would bring us and what I came away with was something of a surprise.
The film opens in 1985 with the Narrator (Patrick Stewart) introducing us to the young John Bennett who it turns out is the most unpopular kid in the neighborhood. He’s like most kids from this time with his Indiana Jones poster on the wall and his astronaut-themed bed sheets. But what John craves most is friendship. It’s on Christmas morning that his parents give him a giant teddy bear that he wastes no time in naming Ted. Though he loves his toy, John can’t help but wish that the bear were his “real” friend, and it’s that night while under the sheets with Ted, John makes the wish for Ted to become his best friend forever.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on June 24th, 2012
"The ancients spoke of it. It is the heart of this fierce land. It is carried in the wind. Born of our legends, and when we are put to the test, it is the one thing that we must always be."
Readers of this site already know that I have a particular fondness for most of the films that have come from Pixar. The studio pretty much invented the computer-animated feature film, and they've been setting the bar higher with each new release. I've always thought it was rather fitting that the studio ended up as part of Disney. After all, it was the Mouse House that invented the animated feature to begin with. It all has a certain poetic destiny feel for me. Pixar is still leading the cutting edge. My favorite to date has been Monsters, Inc. and I am eagerly waiting for the Monsters University prequel, which is now only a year away. In the meantime, the powers that be over at Pixar have tossed us yet another original story: Brave.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on June 22nd, 2012
"History prefers legends to men. It prefers nobility to brutality, soaring speeches to quiet deeds. History remembers the battle, and forgets the blood. However history remembers me if it remembers anything at all, it shall only remember a fraction of the truth for whatever else I am: a husband, a lawyer, a president; I shall always think of myself first and foremost as a hunter."
It's been almost four score and seven years ago, it seems, since there's been a really good vampire movie. I'm not talking about the brooding angst-filled pretty boys that populate the television screens and the cinemas these days. I'm talking about a good vampire movie filled with equal parts terror and compelling drama. Certainly, there have been more than a few entertaining vampire films to come along. But who'd have thought that it would take old Honest Abe Lincoln to scare up the best vampire movie of the new century? Apparently Russian director Timur Bekmambetov did.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on June 22nd, 2012
Expectations can mean everything when you go into a film. That's usually a problem for that certain class of movie which defies definition at almost every turn. It's the kind of movie that often flows from a first-time director and writer. It's also the kind of film that plays best in the festival circuit where the audience isn't really looking to so much pigeonhole a movie as much as a mainstream audience does. When Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World decided to join a crowded summer of blockbuster anchor films, it invited such expectations. I won't deny that I had them. And this is a case where I walked away from a film very much unlike what I expected...for the better.
The world is about to end. An asteroid named Matilda (huh?) is careening toward the Earth, and the last effort to pull an Armageddon-style rescue plan has failed. Mankind has about three weeks until the next extinction event on planet Earth. People react differently to the news. There are the expected riots and chaos, of course. Some use the news as an excuse to party, as if they really needed one. Some reexamine their lives, while others turn to spirituality. Some just want someone to spend the end with.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on June 15th, 2012
Ever since his departure from Saturday Night Live, Adam Sandler has become one of the most successful comedians of all time. Granted not all of his movies have been great; in fact, some are better left forgotten, but he has a loyal fan base that will keep returning to the theater to see the funny man with hopes of the next big hit. Sure, he had success with Grown Ups, but when looking over his films from the past decade I can’t help but wonder what happened. I’m a big fan of Funny People; it was a more serious role for Sandler, and I appreciate when actors and film makers step outside their comfort zone and try something different. But in the end the fans still want what got us to love them in the first place. With That’s My Boy it’s Sandler returning to his roots, and he’s cranked it up.
Joining Sandler is Andy Samberg, who recently left SNL after being a cast member with the show for seven years. With That’s My Boy being the first release since his recent departure we’ll soon see if he will have a life after the long running sketch series or fade into obscurity like many other cast members that have left the show over the years. Though there is only a 12-year age difference between Samberg and Sandler, the two play father and son in this crude raunchfest.
Posted in: The Reel World by J C on June 15th, 2012
Even those of us who enjoy movie musicals concede there's a certain degree of eye-rolling that comes with the territory. Some of the greatest musicals of all time — from classics like Singin' in the Rain and West Side Story to more modern hits like Chicago — are not immune to audible groans from jaded audiences whenever dialogue is interrupted by a showtune or a preposterously choreographed dance sequence. No one is going to confuse Rock of Ages with one of the greatest movie musicals of all time, but the best thing about director Adam Shankman's bloated, star-packed film is that it has a pretty good idea of how cheesy and phony it is.
The film is based on the successful Broadway musical of the same name and follows a small town girl (Julianne Hough) and a city boy (Diego Boneta) as they pursue their dreams of music superstardom in 1987 Hollywood. A lot of the action takes place in The Bourbon Room, a popular bar/club owned by Dennis Dupree (Alec Baldwin), that is the object of scorn for Mayor Mike Whitmore (Bryan Cranston) and, particularly, his morally uptight upright wife Patricia (Catherine Zeta-Jones, in a role invented for the movie). Of course, the story is just an excuse to feature as many classic rock hits from the 1980s as possible. I counted almost 25 songs — including the ones that were mashed up into single performances — which means that any tune from this time period that wasn't included in the film should be seriously offended.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on June 9th, 2012
"Do you want me to give it to you straight?"
When last we left our main characters from the first two Madagascar films they were stranded in Africa after being shipped from their home in the New York Zoo. We knew the sequel was coming. They couldn't have left it any more wide open than they did. Of course, the reasonable questions were already being asked by the time the second film began. Do we really need another Madagascar film? Is there any new territory to explore? What could they possibly add to make us want to come back for more?
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on June 8th, 2012
"In space no one can hear you scream."
It was the tagline that brought us by the droves into our neighborhood cinemas in 1979 to see one of Ridley Scott's two classic science fiction adventures. Alien was one of the scariest science fiction films we've ever seen. It wasn't just the wonderfully organic H.R. Giger designs that had us on the edge of our seats. Scott delivered a claustrophobic nightmare that caged us with this remarkable killing machine. Much the same feeling I had recently trapped in a mini-van with a large spider on the prowl. It was an instant classic and holds up just as well today. It was, of course, followed by one worthy sequel and another two that I choose to pretend never happened. More recently, the franchise was paired with the Predator universe for another two films, the second of which was actually a pretty good film. Still it has been with bated breath that many of us were waiting for Ridley Scott to return to these classic roots and scare us all over again. The result of that 30 + year wait is Prometheus.
