Columns
Under The Radar | Song of the South
God bless my father. He has instilled in me the love of films and to appreciate the classics. That said, he managed to obtain a bootleg copy of Song of the South on DVD and I mouth wateringly needed to see it. Mainly because I don’t understand why the hell Disney is so afraid of this film and it’s release to the masses. All those kids who love the “Splash Mountain” ride at Disneyland have no f**king clue about the origin of its characters. Man up Disney, we all have demons from our past, and we shouldn’t be afraid of them. Proceed.
Under the Radar | Monsters
Following article is not a review, but more of a stance on why I believe Monsters is an underrated film. It does contain minor spoilers for the film, so if you would like to read a spoiler free review be sure to check out Mr. Edens’ review here. Otherwise, by all means, continue on.
Last year a small independent film called Monsters made its way on to my top ten films of 2010. It starred no “names” and was shot with no more than a crew of six people. There was no shooting script and only a loose outline was used as a guideline for the actors to understand the scene. Some were mislead. After all a film with the ambiguous, yet straightforward, title Monsters, yields certain expectations. However, director Gareth Edwards abandoned the traditional monster disaster movie extravaganza in favor of a somber character piece. With Andrew (Scoot McNairy) and Sam (Whitney Able) taking center frame, we are able to see a road film romance used as a parable for all humanity. Read the rest of this entry »
Bad Habits: The Art of Listening to a Film | Love and Other Drugs
An "apparently" hilarious scene I never saw...
I have an extremely bad habit of doing other things while movies are on, but I still get the enough information from hearing it to follow the flick. I call this the “art of listening to a film”…it’s kinda like listening to an audio book, but the “cliff’s notes” version. I don’t really recommend it, but I had the lady-wife watching a movie I didn’t really have any desire to see…and it was Love and Other Drugs. Continue!
Read the rest of this entry »
In the Spotlight/Under the Radar – Eric Bana
Bana and Saoirse Ronan in "Hanna"
Joe Wright’s Hanna seems to be the movie to see this weekend for several reasons, one of which is the criminally under-cast Australian actor Eric Bana. The chance to see him in what people are calling the best action sequence of 2011 has got my blood up, especially given the fact that Wright filmed it all in one long take. (His idea of rebelling against the Bourne shakycam syndrome) Having seen Bana in several action oriented roles in his decade long film career I’m sure he can handle anything that’s thrown at him. Yet, what makes him truly fascinating to watch as an actor is the way he balances this with a quiet sensitivity that sucks you into his character’s world. I’m primarily thinking of Steven Spielberg’s Munich (in which he was robbed of an Oscar nomination) but that’s ok because it led to his being the catalyst for the hit Judd Apatow movie Knocked Up…
Read the rest of this entry »
Tasteless | Freejack
...I don't even know what that means!
Back in 1992 when Freejack was released, it hyped the fact that Ronald Shusett, one of the people responsible for Alien, had written and was producing this “action packed” sci-fi thriller. That’s all it really has going for it, because the clunky pacing and the typical and repetitive sci-fi locations and ideas are what you are in store for.
Read the rest of this entry »
Oscar Week Movie of the Day | Fargo
With the 83rd Annual Academy Awards quickly approaching, I will be offering Filmdog’s Oscar countdown by recommending a film every day of the week up until the awards this Sunday. All of the film recommendations will be Academy Award winning movies from various categories. So, watch some great films and enjoy the Academy Awards this Sunday.
Saturday’s Oscar winning film is The Coen Brothers quirky crime film, Fargo. Read the rest of this entry »
Oscar Week Movie of the Day | Training Day
With the 83rd Annual Academy Awards quickly approaching, I will be offering Filmdog’s Oscar countdown by recommending a film every day of the week up until the awards this Sunday. All of the film recommendations will be Academy Award winning movies from various categories. So, watch some great films and enjoy the Academy Awards this Sunday.
Friday’s Oscar winning film is Antoine Fuqua’s cop drama masterpiece, Training Day. Read the rest of this entry »
Oscar Week Movie of the Day | Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
With the 83rd Annual Academy Awards quickly approaching, I will be offering Filmdog’s Oscar countdown by recommending a film every day of the week up until the awards this Sunday. All of the film recommendations will be Academy Award winning movies from various categories. So, watch some great films and enjoy the Academy Awards this Sunday.
Thursday’s Oscar winning film is Peter Weir’s Napoleonic War film, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Read the rest of this entry »
Oscar Week Movie of the Day | Nashville
With the 83rd Annual Academy Awards quickly approaching, I will be offering Filmdog’s Oscar countdown by recommending a film every day of the week up until the awards this Sunday. All of the film recommendations will be Academy Award winning movies from various categories. So, watch some great films and enjoy the Academy Awards this Sunday.
Wednesday’s Oscar winning film is Robert Altman’s 1975 epic look at country music and politics, Nashville. Read the rest of this entry »
Oscar Week Movie of the Day | The Apartment and Talk to Her
With the 83rd Annual Academy Awards quickly approaching, I will be offering Filmdog’s Oscar countdown by recommending a film every day of the week up until the awards this Sunday. All of the film recommendations will be Academy Award winning movies from various categories. So, watch some great films and enjoy the Academy Awards this Sunday.
To catch us up, having missed Monday, I have picked two very different (but outstanding) films that I hold close to my heart. Monday’s film is Billy Wilder’s The Apartment and Tuesday’s is Pedro Almodóvar’s Talk to Her. Read the rest of this entry »
