Tag Archives: Reviews
The Last Unicorn
1982. 92 minutes. Rated G.
Heroes know that things must happen when it is time for them to happen. A quest may not simply be abandoned; unicorns may go unrescued for a long time, but not forever. A happy ending cannot come in the middle of the story.
If you have had the pleasure of reading Peter S. Beagle’s classic book of the same name, you will be more than happy to see it brought to life in this animated story.
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Tagged Alan Arkin, angela lansbury, animated, Christopher Lee, Family films, Jeff Bridges, Mia Farrow, Noelle Boc, Reviews, Tammy Grimes, THE LAST UNICORN
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Primer
2004. 77 minutes. Rated PG-13.
“What’s worse: thinking you’re being paranoid or knowing you should be?”
If that line is vaguely puzzling to you, you will probably have a hard time figuring out Primer. In addition, if you do not have an advanced degree in physics, you will probably have a hard time figuring out Primer. This movie is like Memento for people who thought that Memento was too simplistic, or, for that matter, too fantastical. What we basically have here is an extremely low-budget piece of “realist science-fiction” (if such a thing can exist) that tries to avoid the usual tropes and cliches of time travel cinema.
Zardoz
1974. 105 minutes. Rated R.
Quote: The gun is good. The penis is evil.
Do you like Sean Connery, adult diapers, weapons, giant floating heads, psychedelic drugs or dystopias? Why not? Okay, if you like even a few of those things, have I got a movie for YOU. Now Sean Connery has already been raised to cult status, but this gonzo film truly has to be seen to be believed, and deserves a status of its very own. But just what kind of status? Cult? Trash? Insane John Boorman movie of yesteryear that makes even the most staid teetotaler seem like they just drank something from a medical marijuana dispensary? Probably. Arriving on DVD in 2001 (I bought it right away, judge me if you will) this movie fits the glut of science fiction films that littered the 1970s, and brings many of those real-world elements to play in the costumes, set design and facial hair.
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Tagged Charlotte Rampling, dystopia, Jason M. Bloom, John Alderton, John Boorman, post-apocalyptic, Reviews, science fiction, Sean Connery
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Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
2012. 94 minutes. Rated PG.
Rowley: I’ve never actually played tennis before…
Greg: We’ve played Ultimate Tennis on the Wii. It’s basically the same thing.
The majority of people in the world will tell you that most movies don’t live up to the book. Sure, you have your handfuls of movies that are just as good (i.e. The Godfather, To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Rings, etc.), but most of the time, we are left disappointed. However, in the case of Jeff Kinney’s wildly popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid series of books, I find the movies exceed expectations.
Bran Nue Dae (Brand New Day)
2010. 88 min. Rated PG-13.
Quote: There’s nothing I would rather be / than to be an Aborigine / and watch you take my precious land away.
In the interest of full disclosure, I play the Didgeridoo. Now I know what you’re thinking, what the heck is that, and why does it matter? Well, to answer the first question, it is an ancient Australian Aboriginal wind instrument. The answer to the second part might explain why I had such an interest in this particular film. Aside from its many accolades (chiefly the Audience Award winner at the Melbourne International Film Festival and an official selection of the Berlin International, Dubai International, Sundance and Toronto Film Festivals) I had actively sought this film out, having purchased the soundtrack many years ago during a trip to every Didgeridoo players’ Mecca.
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Tagged Aborigine, Australia, Ernie Dingo, Geoffrey Rush, Jason M. Bloom, Jessica Mauboy, musical, Ningali Lawford, Reviews, Rocky McKenzie
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Parker
2013. 118 minutes. Rated R.
I don’t steal from anyone who can’t afford it, and I don’t hurt anyone who doesn’t deserve it.
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Tagged action, Emma Booth, Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez, Micah Hauptman, Michael Chiklis, Nick Nolte, Noelle Boc, PARKER, Reviews
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Critters
1986. 83 minutes. Rated PG-13.
Quote: We’re here for the Crites.
Not only was I a child of the 1980s, I was also woefully left unattended growing up, which meant one thing: I watched an insane amount of 80′s movies, most of which were wildly inappropriate for a nine-year-old. This movie is no exception, and holds many good memories from my childhood: fuzzy, rolling aliens, space guns, intergalactic bounty hunters, melting faces, and bloody gore galore. As I look back at this vivid decade, I realize just how many cool tiny monster movies there were: Ghoulies, Puppet Master, The Gate, Child’s Play, Troll, Munchies, Night of the Creeps, even The Garbage Pail Kids movie. These ten years packed them in: tiny, ravenous, and deadly. But Critters, hot on the heels of another awesome tiny creature flick, Joe Dante’s 1984 hit Gremlins, had a bit of editing to decrease the similarity between the two, and it really shows.
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Tagged 1980s, Aliens, Billy Green Bush, Billy Zane, Bounty Hunters, Comedy, CRITTERS, Dee Wallace Stone, Ethan Phillips, horror, Jason M. Bloom, Outer Space, Reviews, Scott Grimes
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Brazil
1985. 132 Min. Rated R. “Mistakes? We don’t make mistakes.” 
In my search for non-traditional Christmas movies, I came across the satirical cult classic, Brazil, written and directed by Terry Gilliam. Gilliam is more well known for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Twelve Monkeys, and Monty Python projects. There is, no doubt, a darkness in his heart, which is conveyed beautifully in this story, one of three imaginative stories beginning with Time Bandits. You have to hand it to a guy who named his company PooPooPictures, just to imagine board execs sitting in a room and having to discuss it.
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Tagged BRAZIL, Jessica Lamarre, Johnathan Price, Kim Greist, Reviews, Robert De Niro, science fiction, Sid Sheinberg, Terry Gilliam
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Silver Linings Playbook
2012. 122 minutes. Rated R.
“The only way to beat my crazy was by doing something even crazier.”
Technically speaking, American film has added three distinct genres to the scope of international cinema: the western, the film noir (although the French figured it out and named it for us), and the screwball comedy. While the western has lived a long, durable existence, re-emerging every few years from the dead, the latter two are arguably completed cycles, beginning and ending roughly in the 1940s and 1950s. While remnants of film noir elements are constantly popping up in both Hollywood and world cinema, even to the point of leading scholars to create the “sub-genre” of the neo-noir (think Chinatown, LA Confidential, even Memento), what is the modern day equivalent of the screwball comedy? What is currently known as the romantic comedy generally involves goofiness, clichéd plot lines, a sappy romance and Matthew McConaughey. This is all fine and good for the masses, but what about the serious connoisseur of cinema? Where is our It Happened One Night?
ParaNorman
2012. 92 minutes. Rated PG.
You think just because there’s bad people that there’s no good ones either? I thought the same thing for awhile. But there’s always someone out there for you. Somewhere.