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
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.
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.
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?
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.
Posted in: The Reel World by M. W. Phillips on June 1st, 2012
“First, I will take your life, my lord, then I will take your throne.”
Is it wrong for me to watch Snow White and the Huntsman and root for the evil queen? How about disagreeing with the magic mirror on the wall about Snow White (Kristen Stewart) being the fairest of them all, when Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron) is absolutely ravishing? I’m sorry, Twihards, but Stewart isn’t even in the ballpark compared to Theron’s stunning beauty, not to mention acting chops. How do I reconcile these feelings with the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed this gothed-up version of the beloved and culturally ubiquitous Snow White fairy tale?
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on May 25th, 2012
"I promise you the secrets of the universe, nothing more..."
It's been an astonishing 15 years since Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones first teamed up as Agents J and K respectively for the intergalactic police force Men In Black. The film was like a breath of fresh air. It combined top flight science fiction fantasy with whimsical humor. It was a hit at the box office, and like most wonderfully original hits it was quickly followed by a sequel that had almost none of the cleverness and freshness of the original film.
Posted in: The Reel World by M. W. Phillips on May 25th, 2012
“Aside from the sketchy van situation, if you promise that the tour is safe, I think it could be kinda cool.”
Chernobyl Diaries… so many bad choices to make and so little time. Imagine we are clueless Americans abroad in the Ukraine, so instead of visiting the major metropolitan areas, why not go on a tour of the Pripyat, the ghost town evacuated due to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant meltdown in 1987? Nothing says vacation more than exploring the scene of the worst nuclear disaster in history.
Posted in: The Reel World by M. W. Phillips on May 18th, 2012
“My dad said they’d come, said it my whole life. He said one day we’ll find them or they’d find us. Know what else he said? He said, ‘Hope I’m not around when that day comes.’”
Director Peter Berg kneels at the altar of Michael Bay and lovingly creates a clone of his most bombastic, military-fetish, slo-mo obsessed, whiplash-cut-driven movies with Battleship, based on the Hasbro (the same company behind the Transformers movies and yes, it definitely shows) board game of the same name.
Posted in: The Reel World by J C on May 16th, 2012
There's obviously nothing funny about the atrocities committed by some of history's most notorious tyrants. So why have these men proven to be such a surprisingly fertile source of comedy? Whether it's (Puppet) Kim Jong-il crooning forlornly about being lonely (actually "ronery") in Team America: World Police or Adolf Hitler being saluted by a chorus line of high-stepping stormtroopers in The Producers, there's certainly a precedent for mocking these reviled figures. With The Dictator, Sacha Baron Cohen appears to be taking his patented inappropriateness to a new level.
