Archive for January, 2009
« Previous EntriesA massacre forgotten and then relived
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
Judging by the Israeli film, “Waltz With Bashir,” the 1982 massacre at the Shabra and Shatila refugee camps in Lebanon provided many Israeli soldiers with Vietnam-like experiences – flashbacks, guilt, and, in some cases, the obliteration of memory. Working in an often-eerie animated style, director Ari Folman makes [...]
A horror remake that works
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
“The Uninvited” arrives on screen pulling a carload of familiar horror ingredients into view: an evil stepmother, an author father who’s blinded to her conniving ways, and two sisters who want to uncover the truth about their stepmom. Add lots of creepy atmospherics, and it all sounds depressingly [...]
Disappointing helpings of violence and love
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
LIAM NEESON GETS TOUGH
I’d been looking forward to “Taken,” mostly because Liam Neeson always has the capacity to be interesting. Playing a character who’s as focused as a heat-seeking missile, Neeson doesn’t disappoint, but the same can’t be said about a thriller in which Neeson’s Bryan Mills — [...]
A-Team: another 80’s television show to become a movie
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Written by Michael Vass
So here is some good news, and bad news. The good news is that Ridley Scott, the director responsible for Alien, Blade Runner, American Gangster and other great films is set to have a film out in 2010. The bad news is that it is yet another television [...]
Supporting. No, leading. No, supporting.
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
Can’t these folks make up their minds? Sunday night the Screen Actors Guild presented Kate Winslet with its award for best supporting actress for her work in “The Reader.” Oscar has nominated Winslet in the best-actress category for her work in the very same movie. The Golden Globes? [...]
A story that fails to stir the emotions
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
Put actors such as Helen Mirren and Jim Broadbent in the same movie and you should be half way toward coming up with a winner. That’s what I would have thought until I saw “Inkheart,” the big-screen adaptation of a popular novel by Cornelia Funke. It appears as [...]
And one more thing about Oscar
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
In its story on the Oscar nominations, The Los Angeles Times noted: “These may have been the selections of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, but the major nominations resembled the Film Independent Spirit Awards. Only two of the best picture nominees are studio releases — [...]
Oscar’s biggest surprises
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
The biggest surprises among this year’s nominations can be found in the acting categories. Here are some of them:
Best actor:
Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor.” Jenkins, best known as a character actor, found the role of a lifetime as a repressed college professor who learned how to drum.
Best supporting [...]
Oscar nominees announced
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
If you’re looking for a list of Oscar nominees, why not head straight to the source, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences? More on this year’s nominees later. OK, one quick observation. I’m surprised to see “The Reader” on the list of best-picture nominees, and not [...]
The Razzie Award nominations are out
Rating 4.00 out of 5
[?]Written by Michael Vass
Ah, what is January without the annual Razzie Award nominations. Not that 2008 was a year lacking actors, actresses, and films aplenty for the nominations. In fact I’m sure the judges had quite the time trying to narrow the field.
But the Razzies generally pick the top of the [...]
The story fascinates, but the film doesn’t
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
“Defiance” is one of those year-end prestige pictures that opened in New York and Los Angeles in late December, and now is beginning to trickle around the country. Director Edward Zwick’s look at the Bielski partisans — Jewish renegades who hid in the forests of Belarus and fought [...]
“Notorious,” the story of Biggie Smalls
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
He was born Christopher Wallace, but became known in the world of rap as “Biggie Smalls” or “Notorious B.I.G.” He started as a straight arrow Brooklyn kid whose mom called him “Chrisiepoo,” veered into drug dealing and eventually found a path toward the major money and gangsta glamor [...]
Emma and Dustin, together again
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
Emma Thompson’s lovely, generous smile lights up her face and everything in its vicinity. As Kate Walker, Thompson is the best thing about the anemic romantic comedy, “Last Chance Harvey.” In fact, she may well provide the movie’s only saving grace. Kate, who lives in London, enters the [...]
Kung Fu kicks its way toward Bollywood
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
The title alone is enough to make movie marketers nervous. “Chandni Chowk to China” doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, and if the movie’s name proves challenging, its Bollywood blend of slapstick and martial arts doesn’t always go down easily, either. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy the [...]
Oscar’s foreign-language short list
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
Oscar’s short list of films qualifying for this year’s best foreign-language film has been released, according to Variety. I’ve seen three of the nine movies. If I had to bet, I’d put my money on director Ari Folman’s animated “Waltz With Bashir” to win the Oscar, but the [...]
The Golden Globe’s, ‘We’re so humbled’
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
I watched as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association handed out the Golden Globe awards in a long and often boring show that demonstrated at least two things: First, Kate Winslet — shockingly, I think — seems to have studied at the Halle Berry school of awards acceptance. An [...]
A few last words (for now)
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by DVD Panache Blog
You know that scene in Summer School where the one student suddenly shows up for the final exam after leaving to go to the bathroom on the first day? And his excuse is “my zipper got stuck”? Well, I’m sorry to say that my zipper is stuck, [...]
Iron Man 2 update
Rating 4.00 out of 5
[?]Written by Michael Vass
OK, while I am still highly upset over the Oscar Grant murder the fact is that there are other things I can write about. Perhaps I can let my blood pressure come down for a bit. But have no doubt that I will still be following this case.
But [...]
Wedded to mediocrity
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
Contrived as it is unconvincing, “Bride Wars” casts Kate Hudson (the aggressive one) against Anne Hathaway (the pliant one) as long-time friends who have a falling out when their weddings accidently are scheduled for the same day. Candice Bergen signs on as a wedding planner and each of [...]
Mickey Rourke wrestles with pain
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
Is Mickey Rourke still part of the human race? Watching Rourke in “The Wrestler,” I wasn’t entirely sure. Rourke’s head seems too large for his body. His face looks swollen, as if he’s gobbled massive doses of steroids or taken one too many punches. His body appears to [...]
The BFCA announces its 2008 winners
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
The Broadcast Film Critics Association Thursday announced the winners of its 2008 awards. For the record, I vote in this election, and although the outcome doesn’t totally reflect my sentiments, I thought I’d share the final results. Note the tie between Meryl Streep (”Doubt”) and Anne Hathaway (”Rachel [...]
The Expendables - 2010 movie
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Written by Michael Vass
Now here is a concept that I am looking forward to seeing trailers for. A movie with action as its complete drive. Plot be damned, this will be fast-paced and sure to provide a pounding.
The Expendables is a film featuring Sylvester Stallone, Mickey Rourke, and Dolph Lungdren. With [...]
Quantum Quest - its NASA in 3D. Doesn’t that sound fun?
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Written by Michael Vass
In more mundane news there is something that sounds a bit special. Can you imagine a movie that combines Star Trek, Star Wars, samurai, a moon walk, and Grey’s Anatomy?
A daunting task for anyone on their best day. but that is exactly what will be available when [...]
Something fishy about this list
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
A reader asked what I thought about a recent blog entry at the New York Times Web site. Here goes: Stanley Fish Sunday listed what he regards as the 10 best American movies ever. According to the Times’ biography, the compiler of this particular list serves as the [...]
America likes quality not color in movies
Rating 4.00 out of 5
[?]Written by Michael Vass
I just want to back track for a moment. At the end of 2008 there was a top of 2008 list that I think most have never heard of nor are they aware of who made the list. While this list is mostly for acting entertainers, movie studios [...]
