The world surely has no shortage of movies about the
international drug trade or about law enforcement using everything in their
arsenal to take down the cartels. There’s also plenty of movies about the
perils of going undercover to take down a criminal organization. The Infiltrator combines both for a
premise that is not especially original, but which is often enthralling. There’s
something about the story of a person who goes into another world pretending to
be something they’re not. There’s the adrenaline rush of going into the danger
zone. There’s the excitement of getting to be someone else for a while leading
a sort of double life. It’s like getting a chance to be someone and do
something that you’re not. Who wouldn’t like the opportunity to see how that
fits? Of course who wants to take with it the possibility of getting killed?
A blog mostly dedicated to cinema (including both new and old film reviews; commentary; and as the URL suggests - movie lists, although it has been lacking in this area to be honest), but on occasion touching on other areas of personal interest to me.
Friday, July 29, 2016
Sunday, July 24, 2016
Everything I saw in the first half of 2016
So I've maintained some consistency through three years.
I watched a total of 79 feature films in the first six months of 2016. 77 of
those were unique features, meaning there were two movies that I repeat viewed
within the six month period. That’s right on par with the last two years. Additionally,
61 of those movies were first time viewings for me. Once again, that’s almost identical
with January – June the previous two years.
Now, where I’ve fallen off is going to the cinema. I saw
only fifteen feature films at the movie theater in the first half of this year.
That’s down from eighteen last year and twenty-two the year before. And when
you consider that I go to the movies a lot in January and February to catch up
with the last of the best from the previous year, that basically means I’ve
seen almost nothing new in the cinema this year. In fact, I’ve seen only five
2016 releases in the cinema through June. My focus has been much more on
watching things at home, saving the time and money it takes to go out, and
catching up on old favorites.
Ghostbusters Movie Review
In this era of reboots, sequels, re-imaginings, and
reinventions, one thing has consistently escaped the Hollywood executives who
greenlight this stuff. They continue to make blockbuster cinema a boys club,
catering to and casting men in most major action and comedy films. But leave it
to Paul Feig, the director of the hysterically funny female response to the
male gross-out comedy – Bridesmaids
– to bring us the female Ghostbusters. A second sequel in the franchise was
part of Hollywood lore for years with talk of Chris Farley being involved
shortly before his death in 1997. But now we finally, at long last, even though
almost no one was demanding it, have a new Ghostbusters
with the all-lady cast of Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, and
Kate McKinnon.
From My Collection: Swiss Family Robinson Movie Review
So as my son gets older I find myself wanting to
introduce him to the films I found to be magical experiences when I was a boy.
And so he’s seen the Star Wars
trilogy and E.T.
and The Wizard of Oz. But there’s one
that I loved that was perhaps less well-known, certainly less popular compared
to those blockbuster classics. Disney’s live action adventure Swiss Family Robinson won’t be making
anyone’s list of the greatest films, but boy is it fun!
This movie has everything: a shipwreck; exotic locations;
a menagerie of incredible animals; pirates; guns; coconut bombs; and the
coolest fucking treehouse you’ve ever seen. That treehouse is so awesome, so
wondrous that it became a beloved attraction at both Disneyland and The Magic
Kingdom theme parks.
Thursday, July 21, 2016
Midnight Special Movie Review
The enticement of big studio backing, larger budgets, and
wider distribution must be great to successful indie filmmakers. Jeff Nichols
had a string of well-received films that did well on the festival circuit and
then got a lot more money for his fourth feature, Midnight Special. Unlike what often happens with directors who
display talent on the small scale, Nichols didn’t move on to the latest
superhero movie or some other blockbuster. Instead he took the money to make
his own story and make it without the limitations he surely faced in the past
due to budget constraints.
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