Archive for April, 2009
‘Sugar’ moves outside the lines
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
Miguel “Sugar” Santos is a cocky Dominican kid who sees himself as a bona fide Big League prospect. Unlike most youngsters who dream of someday shaming the world’s best hitters, Sugar has reason to believe in his future. He’s been selected to participate in a Dominican-based baseball academy: [...]
Interview with Andrew Cockburn of American Casino - Tribeca Film Festival
Rating 4.00 out of 5
[?]Written by Black Entertainment USA
The following interview was taken at the Direct TV Tribeca Press Center, on April 27th during the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival.
The interview is with Andrew Cockburn, producer of the independant documentary American Casino. The film is about the mortgage crisis, the people affected, and some of [...]
More from the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival
Rating 4.00 out of 5
[?]Written by Black Entertainment USA
As I continue to edit and prepare the interviews that I had at the Tribeca Film Festival, I wanted to give my readers a heads up on what are some of the top movies at the festival. There are several that I noticed everyone speaking about, and [...]
Tribeca Film Festival 2009 - April 27th
Rating 4.00 out of 5
[?]Written by Black Entertainment USA
This will be a bit short as I am about to go into an interview with Abigail Disney, executive producer of Pray The Devil Back To Hell and Playground.
This has been a very exciting day so far as I have had video interviews with Andrew Cockburn (who [...]
Baseball dreamin’ — Dominican style
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
If you’ve seen “Half Nelson,” a searing 2006 drama about a drug-addicted junior high school teacher who befriends one of his students, you know that it’s gut-wrenching enough to have earned its star, Ryan Gosling, an Oscar nomination for best actor. When you see “Sugar,” the story of [...]
‘La Dolce Vita’ in LA; fisticuffs in Brooklyn
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
Aside from the fact that both involve images on celluloid, “The Informers” and “Fighting” have little in common. I lump them together because both happen to occupy the fringes of pop-cultural consciousness on a Friday in late April. The prognosis: “Fighting” may draw a bit of crowd; I [...]
Animals — up close and personal
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
Dad is out searching for food. Meanwhile, Mom is hanging with the kids, who are just beginning to wobble their way into the wider world. If we were talking about people, neither of these statements would generate much excitement. But we happen to be talking about polar bears. [...]
Movie Preview: The Princess and the Frog
Rating 4.00 out of 5
[?]Written by Michael Vass
Ok, so call me late to the party. I don’t follow kid’s films much, nor do I follow Disney. So I missed a bunch of the controversy that is The Princess and the Frog. Perhaps you missed it as well.
The film will be released in December of this [...]
The summer movies of 2009
Rating 4.00 out of 5
[?]Written by Michael Vass
The season is upon us, and Hollywood is ready. Well they hope they are at least. Because this year the summer season of blockbusters and mega-hits has consolidated into a morass of retreads, prequels, and revisioned ideas. And the timing is perfect, since this is also a summer [...]
The sobering punishment of “The Hunger”
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
You’d rather go naked than wear the clothes you’ve been given. You smear the cement walls of your cell with your own excrement. You’ve run a gauntlet, screaming and fighting as merciless guards beat you with their batons. After being moved to more commodious quarters, you reject even [...]
Russell Crowe keeps the presses rolling
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
The new thriller “State of Play” should make newspaper folks happy — not because it’s a great movie, but because it’s packed with dialog that sings the praises of old-school journalism as opposed to blogging and other forms of Internet flotsam.
For me, the most moving part of the [...]
‘Skills’ is poised to become a Denver hit
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
This looks to be a banner weekend for Denver filmmaking with two Denver-based films playing at the Starz FilmCenter.
“Skills Like This” – which opens Friday — was directed by Monty Miranda, who worked in Denver and studied film at the University of Colorado, but has since moved [...]
The art-house shuffle, a preview
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
Here’s the early verdict on this weekend’s art-house fare: The forecast calls for the arrival of a nimble bit of French romance and a very strange movie about the city of Tokyo.
THE IMPORTANCE OF FRENCH KISSING
First up: “Shall We Kiss?” This trifle of a comedy from director Emmanuel [...]
Movie Preview: The Escapist
Rating 4.00 out of 5
[?]Written by Michael Vass
As I have been bored beyond my wit’s end by Hollywood over the last decade I have turned to some overseas movies for theatrical entertainment. More and more I see that innovation is coming from either the independents here, or overseas. And there are gems out there.
On such [...]
The harrowing journey of ‘Sin Nombre’
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
“Sin Nombre” — which translates to “without a name” — has an abundance of an important movie ingredient: pulse. Although it expands our knowledge about the problem of illegal immigration, “Sin Nombre” shouldn’t be regarded as a medicinal dose of socially oriented cinema.
Director Cary Fukunaga believes in big-screen [...]
‘Observe and Report’ — or don’t
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
Right away I’m in trouble. When it comes to “Observe and Report,” a dark and deeply twisted quasi-comedy starring Seth Rogen, I can’t give you much advise.
Is it a go or no? Should you see it or should you stay home?
I can’t supply that kind of opinion because [...]
The verdict is in: ‘12′ is gripping
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
The idea of remaking Sidney Lumet’s 1957 drama, “12 Angry Men,” in a contemporary Russian setting seems a bit bizarre. Lumet’s movie, which had its roots in the cauldron of live American television of the ’50s, can be seen as a kind of triumph of liberal values. In [...]
Prepping for “Hannah Montana: The Movie”
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
Here’s how I prepared for “Hannah Montana: The Movie,” a film that this weekend could knock “Fast & Furious” off its No. 1 perch.
– I watched the trailer and learned that the story puts Hannah in touch with her roots and helps shrink her swollen pop-star ego. To [...]
Red Tails - George lucas does the Tuskegee Airmen
Rating 4.00 out of 5
[?]Written by Michael Vass
Back during WWII tens of thousands of Americans fought bravely to preserve American ideals and defeat Nazi rule. Since that time, literally hundreds of films, video games, and books – plus a few television shows – have been created to celebrate and honor those men and women. Except [...]
Audiences race to “Fast & Furious”
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
So what did America do this weekend? Did it pore over baseball previews in the nation’s newspapers? Was it glued to the NCAA basketball semifinals? Was it nervously tapping its toes in expectation of Sunday evening’s return of HBO’s “In Treatment?” Or maybe it was quietly — or [...]
Amusement parks, aliens and the movies
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
COMING-OF-AGE IN AN AMUSEMENT PARK
I grew up five blocks from Palisades Amusement Park, a long-gone amusement park in Cliffside Park, N.J. I even worked there for part of a summer. As a former age guesser, I was particularly interested in “Adventureland,” a slight but pleasant coming-of-age movie about [...]
Car sick: “Fast & Furious” returns
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
Back in the ancient days of popular culture — that would be 2001 — director Rob Cohen found himself at the helm of a movie that made lots of noise at the box office. “Fast & Furious,” which plunged us into Los Angeles’ street-racing scene, had plenty of [...]
A brief history of LA’s most feared gangs
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed
Before he’s done, Stacy Peralta may wind up exploring every known subculture in southern California and a few we’ve yet to unearth. Peralta started with skateboarding (”Dogtown and Z-Boys”) and advanced to big-wave surfing (”Riding Giants”). In what amounts to a major expansion of previous interests, Peralta now [...]
Movie news: April 1st 2009
Rating 4.00 out of 5
[?]Written by Michael Vass
Ok, in more serious news that you may not have noticed today I saw that Calvin Broadus, best known as Snoop Dogg, has joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name to Snoop Y. I would say I am shocked, but then again, its all Fo Shizzle [...]
