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18 articles
[DVD Review] North by Northwest - 50th Anniversary Edition
12 hours ago
I’m gonna explain my real feelings on North by Northwest as carefully and explicitly as I can. Of course, my opinions are for you to take or leave. If you’re as understandably attached to the film as so many people still are, please have at it, I encourage you to enjoy it as many times as you can before the next 5 or 10-year anniversary comes along to celebrate with a new release. Though honestly, despite my feelings on the film itself, I sincerely doubt a more impressive release will be seen on this format.
North by Northwest is a relic of a bygone age of cinema to me. More than most of Hitchcock’s works, North by Northwest feels far too much like a movie to work as an effective thriller for me. Antiquated effects sequences, bizarrely cut sequences which are distracting to the modern cinematic eye and »
- Saul Berenbaum
[DVD Review] The Dead
6 November 2009 2:08 PM, PST
If there’s one type of film that simply doesn’t float my boat, it’s the late 1800s/early 1900s period European costume drama. I’m not into it, I feel I can’t relate to many of the characters. The films which fall into this category that I can watch at length are few and far between, and if anyone mentions Brideshead Revisited to me I’ll likely slip into a light coma.
John Huston’s final film, The Dead, falls under this heading. It was the immortal director’s dream project for many years. He did not live to see the film’s release. Directing from an oxygen tent, he meticulously adapted James Joyce’s short story in the most non-indulgent manner a director of his stature and ability could endure. With the help of an Oscar-nominated screenplay penned by his son, Tony Huston, and with his »
- Saul Berenbaum
[TV] Three Sheets: Seasons 1-3
6 November 2009 11:33 AM, PST
Three Sheets is a show that follows Zane Lamprey, a happy go lucky seeming guy, around the world. Zane does what many shows do. He goes and tries the local food and meets the local people and learns the local customs. But don't let that fool you—this is not your usual show. Zane Lamprey is all but a licensed alcoholic, and this show is all about booze. Sure, the people are interesting, and sure the customs are fun, but booze is booze, and this show doesn't attempt to appeal to anyone but its most basic audience: drinkers.
Whether Zane Lamprey is hanging out in Taipei drinking a variety of snake parts (blood, bile, and poison...right, and soaked testicles) or merely binging his way through the country of Belgium, several things can always be guaranteed with Three Sheets:
1. Zane Lamprey will eat local food and start drinking.
2. Zane Lamprey will drink some more. »
- Max Alexis
[TV] Justice League: The Complete Series
6 November 2009 8:30 AM, PST
Before I start gushing about just how great this cartoon and, by connection, this set are, let’s establish two things. First, for every good thing I have to say about the entire set I include a single footnote: this should be available in a Blu-ray release as well, the animation would be sharper and bolder, the audio would be stunning and the entire package would have had that much more relevance considering the current trends of digital media. Second, this is so much more than just a ‘cartoon’. As is said a few times in the extra features of the series, Justice League may be the greatest superhero animated series to have ever existed. So what does that imply about this complete series set? One of the best ever?
Bruce Timm, the animation giant who gave Warner Brothers Batman: The Animated Series, their first commercial animated success that didn »
- Lex Walker
[Movie Review] The Box
5 November 2009 11:17 PM, PST
It’s a simple question with a not-so-simple answer.
If someone asks you to command the death of another human being you don’t know for a million dollars, would you do it? It’s not a question of options, smarts or assessment. It is a yes-or-no morality that has only one answer. You either place high value on a stranger’s life, or you don’t.
This is the question that drives the story in The Box, a movie by Donnie Darko writer/director Richard Kelly and based on a short story by Richard Matheson that casts a very harsh judgment on humanity. In Langley, Virginia, the year 1976, Nasa scientist Arthur Lewis (James Marsden) and his wife Norma (Cameron Diaz) are visited by a stranger named Arlington Steward (Frank Langella), who gives them a box with a button inside. Push it, and they’ll receive one million dollars, but »
- Arya Ponto
[Movie Review] A Christmas Carol
5 November 2009 3:52 PM, PST
If you don’t already know the story of A Christmas Carol by now, well… It might not be your fault, but it is an impressive feat. As one of the most well-known stories in the world, Charles Dickens’ 166-year-old story of redemption is one that has been adapted into countless plays, movies and television specials; including a Disney cartoon I fondly remember (with Scrooge McDuck playing the part of Ebenezer Scrooge, of course).
Even if you don’t know the story, surely you recognize elements of it. The grumpy Scrooge, the three Christmas ghosts, the poor family with a dying kid, the scary confrontation at a graveyard, the sickeningly sweet ending. It is the very definition of a classic. Scrooge, played by Jim Carrey, is a rich grinch desperately in need of learning the spirit of charity and giving embedded in Christmas. He does one Christmas Eve after a »
- Arya Ponto
[DVD Review] Il Divo
5 November 2009 11:59 AM, PST
Watching movies is fun. Two hours to watch others partake in their version of reality, so we may escape from our own. We can watch anything we want. Usually we watch movies for fun, but sometimes we watch for an interesting story. For me, subtitles tend to take away the fun. Even if you're a speed reader, you will never catch everything the characters are doing on screen because you are wasting so much time with your eyes glued to the bottom. Constantly scanning from the bottom dialogue, to the middle and top for the picture, can be draining. It can really take away from the fun. Unless of course, the movie and story are just so good that reading subtitles feels like a small hurdle you’re willing to jump just for the two hours of fun. Il Divo is not like this at all. Perhaps if I spoke Italian, »
- Erin Burris
[TV] Zorro: The Complete Second Season
5 November 2009 11:00 AM, PST
By the time that Zorro had completed its first season, the Disney company had virtually cornered its television demographic through various programs, not the least of which were Zorro, Walt Disney Presents, and the Mickey Mouse Club. Uncle Walt having the dedication to perfection that he did, he set the bar pretty high for the second season, wanting to maintain everything that had made the show so popular (granted, most shows face such a challenge, but many producers are content to allow their product to suck as much as it did the first time around). Back again to kick around some more bad guys are Diego de la Vega (Guy Williams) the young, rich son of a don whose alter ego should be painfully obvious to anyone in the immediate area, his faithful manservant Bernardo (Gene Sheldon), who speaks only through pantomime, and Sergeant Garcia (Henry Calvin), the obese, villainous comic relief. »
- Anders Nelson
The "Dollars Trilogy" Free on Hulu
5 November 2009 10:27 AM, PST
A quick heads-up for Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood fans. All three of their "Man with No Name" westerns are now up on Hulu for free viewing. Hulu is only going to have these movies up until the end of November, so don't waste time, pilgrim. You can watch all three films right here.
A Fistful of Dollars originally followed the trend of remaking Akira Kurosawa's samurai films as westerns. I say trend, but really there was only, what, The Magnificent Seven? Fistful uses the plot of Kurosawa's Yojimbo as its premise, then reshapes it into Leone's own signature style. Then came the pseudo-sequel, For a Few Dollars More. Leone never meant for the three films to be a trilogy, but it just turned out that way due to Eastwood's same look and acting style in all three. The Good, The Bad and the Ugly is a prequel of sorts, »
- Arya Ponto
[TV] Zorro: The Complete First Season
5 November 2009 9:00 AM, PST
Not long ago, I sort of chastised Disney for a series of DVD releases of older material on the basis that they did not have a clear idea of who the set was intended for. I felt a little bad about it, but that was before I took a look at their new Disney Treasures collection of the new season of Zorro. It’s become somewhat vogue to criticize the Disney company (Lord knows how many times Family Guy has held up their product as an object of ridicule), but there’s really no two ways around it: when they set their mind to it, they really have no serious competition, and this new Zorro set speaks to that tradition of excellence. It’s really, really cool.
For many Americans (particularly those of the ‘television generation’, as Leonard Maltin repeatedly refers to it in his introduction), the Disney primetime television »
- Anders Nelson
[DVD Review] Who is Kk Downey?
5 November 2009 6:00 AM, PST
“There's this hilarious dive karaoke bar with this like one-armed waitress that totally hits on everybody.”
This is just one of the many pearls you will hear in Who is Kk Downey?, a very indie flick devoted to the hilarity of hipsterdom. That this “hilarious dive karaoke bar” is the perfect place for a funeral's after-party is the tabasco-flavored icing on the vegan cake that reads “Congratulations on a Short Parole!” for no reason.
Who is Kk Downey? revolves around two über-hip twenty-something losers, Terrance and Theo (played by co-creators Darren Curtis and Matt Silver, respectfully). They live together, play in a band together, and more or less fail at life together. After Theo's manuscript about Kk Downey, a southern boy with a sordid past, is rejected by his manager because no one wants to buy a book by a chubby white boy from the suburbs, he and Terrance concoct »
- Jess Goodwin
[DVD Review] March of the Penguins - Limited Edition Giftset
4 November 2009 12:00 PM, PST
March of the Penguins, Luc Jacquet's 2005 documentary about Antarctica's emperor penguins and their harrowing annual journey to complete the circle of life, will melt even the iciest of hearts. It showcases an odd dichotomy — unbearable cuteness and sniffle-inducing sadness — that will pull at your heartstrings no matter how many times you watch it. If you don't shed a tear or two, out of sorrow or otherwise, you're probably a sociopath.
Narrated by Morgan Freeman (before there was any question about whether or not it was okay to be Morgan Freeman), the story appeals to a number of emotional triggers; you'll laugh, you'll cry (hopefully), you'll worry. The movie's stance on its subject matter is for the most part objective, but the content is delivered in such a way that you can't help but feel for these penguins. As Freeman points out, “They're not that different from us, really.” They're mating rituals echo our own, »
- Jess Goodwin
[DVD Review] March of the Penguins - Limited Edition Giftset
4 November 2009 12:00 PM, PST
March of the Penguins, Luc Jacquet's 2005 documentary about Antarctica's emperor penguins and their harrowing annual journey to complete the circle of life, will melt even the iciest of hearts. It showcases an odd dichotomy — unbearable cuteness and sniffle-inducing sadness — that will pull at your heartstrings no matter how many times you watch it. If you don't shed a tear or two, out of sorrow or otherwise, you're probably a sociopath.
Narrated by Morgan Freeman (before there was any question about whether or not it was okay to be Morgan Freeman), the story appeals to a number of emotional triggers; you'll laugh, you'll cry (hopefully), you'll worry. The movie's stance on its subject matter is for the most part objective, but the content is delivered in such a way that you can't help but feel for these penguins. As Freeman points out, “They're not that different from us, really.” They're mating rituals echo our own, »
- Jess Goodwin
[DVD Review] Night Watcher
4 November 2009 10:00 AM, PST
Night Watcher is one of those independent horror flicks Lionsgate picked up as of late. I think it upset me a bunch, really. Mainly because it represents a missed opportunity for something that might really stand out. Intercut with some of the most tedious and underwhelming stalking sequences I’ve seen in a while are moments of drama that honestly touched me. The human story in Night Watcher is way better than anything about it the title might suggest, but it’s just such a shame that it’s squandered on a horrid reveal, bewildering technical screw-ups and an infuriating final shot.
First, that reveal I was talking about. I would think that a film possessing such a unique and captivating visual style as Night Watcher would pride itself on its ability to tell a story though images. For a while, it really does well there, but when it comes time to reveal whodunit, »
- Saul Berenbaum
[TV] Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1970s Volume 2
4 November 2009 8:15 AM, PST
Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1970s Volume 2 is definitely a blast from my past. I grew up watching reruns of these shows when they aired on the Cartoon Network at my grandmother’s house. I remember thinking that they were so funny and such great entertainment. These thoughts must have been caused by the thrill of watching cable, which we didn’t have at home, because this time around I was not at all impressed.
Perhaps my sense of humor has gotten more complex over the years. At least, that’s what I like to tell myself. Surely there is no way that I enjoyed the hijinks and mayhem of Shazzan, with the flying camel Kaboobie and the all-powerful genie that couldn’t get Chuck and Nancy home. The over the top antics of the Hair Bear Bunch, who converted their cave to more fancy digs with a touch of the wall, »
- Jessica Guerrasio
The Good, The Bad And The Wtf: Sands of Not My Freakin' Dime
4 November 2009 1:09 AM, PST
It's the mid-week report of the good, bad and you-know-what-the-what here, as we compile the movie news from the past week and a half. Yes, you'll have more at the end of the week—but for now, let us all cringe together as we see stomach news of the 2012 motion sickness experience, an Mib without Will Smith, and the audacity of some people to shoot a barely visible topless scene and hype it up like it was Basic Instinct 3.
The Good
• For years, there have been several attempts to do a sequel to Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, none of them ever came close to moving ahead. Speaking to MTV last week, director Robert Zemeckis set the record straight: that this time he is personally involved and really excited to do the sequel, and that he has commissioned original scribes Jeffrey Price and Peter Seaman to write the screenplay. Let's hope »
- Arya Ponto
[TV] Get an Ivy League Education on "The Wire"
2 November 2009 11:51 AM, PST
At a panel last Thursday night, Harvard professors were joined by the stars of HBO's cop drama The Wire in announcing the plan to introduce the milestone TV show as credited course next year at the Ivy League school, Harvard's paper The Crimson wrote.
A class on The Wire is not an all-new idea, as several other colleges will tell you, but they're usually writing/media classes. Harvard's The Wire course will be taught by William J. Wilson, a professor in sociology and African-American studies, who will use the series as a case study for poverty in America.
The goal of the meet was to discuss the show's potency in revealing the urban problems plaguing today's inner-city lives. During the sold-out panel, Wilson, a big fan of the show, gave it high praise:
The Wire has done more to enhance our understanding of the systemic urban inequality that constrains the »
- Arya Ponto
[DVD Review] Medicine for Melancholy
2 November 2009 7:43 AM, PST
Sunday morning in San Francisco: two people wake up together in a bedroom. We find out that they just had a drunken one night stand in someone else's apartment—a party was involved—without knowing who's who. A nervous introduction and a very awkward breakfast later, they part ways. But Micah (Wyatt Cenac), the guy, feels compelled to get Jo (Tracey Heggins), the girl, to like him. He tracks her down, convinces her of his charming earnestness, and off they go to spend a day together in the city, discovering that there's romance behind the one-night-stand after all.
Movies with this date-out-on-the-city premise tend to grate because they rely on the prerequisite that we relate to the characters and enjoy what they enjoy. We're supposed to bloom in the heart when they discuss the bands we'd like to discover, or old crap from the 80's we ironically love, or visit »
- Arya Ponto
18 articles
