PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE INTENSE: Movie reviews of Good Kill and Tomorrowland by Howard Casner
Posted: May 28, 2015 | Author: Donald | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Andrew Niccol, Brad Bird, Britt Robertson, Bruce Greenwood, Damon Lindelof, Ethan Hawke, George Clooney, Good Kill, Hugh Laurie, January Jones, Jeff Jensen, Jeffrey Kurland, Kathryn Hahn, Keegan-Michael Key, Matthew MacCaull, Peter Coyote, Pierce Gagnon, Raffey Cassidy, Tim McGraw, Tomorrowland, Zoȅ Kravitz | 179 Comments »First, a word from our sponsors. Ever wonder what a reader for a contest or agency thinks when he reads your screenplay? Check out my new e-book published on Amazon: Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader, including my series of essays, What I Learned Reading for Contests This Year, and my film reviews of 2013. Only $2.99. http://ow.ly/xN31r
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Warning: SPOILERS
I have recently seen a movie that, for my money, is more intense, suspenseful and edge of your seat than Mad Max: Fury Road, Furious 7, The Avengers: Age of Ultron and Tomorrowland put together.
But it’s also a much smaller film than any of those; smaller in budget, in size, in CGI.
It’s more than all of those adverbs, I suspect, because it is about a real person put into a real situation, a situation of profound psychological and moral conflict. In the above movies, all the characters had to worry about was the end of their existence.
In the movie I am referring to, Good Kill, our central character has something far greater at stake: the end of his soul.
The basic story line revolves around one Major Thomas Egan, just about the best drone pilot there is. And his job, day in, day out, is to locate the bad guys in the Middle East and blow them up from thousands of miles away. His bliss is basically the same as Chris Kyle in American Sniper, but he gets to do it from the comfort of a chair in an air conditioned unit on a base in Nevada, not far from the R&R resort of Las Vegas. Read the rest of this entry »
A CAMPING WE WILL GO: Movie reviews of Mad Max: Fury Road and In the Name of My Daughter
Posted: May 21, 2015 | Author: Donald | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Adéle Haenel, Brendan McCarthy, Catherine Deneuve. André Téchiné, Cédric Anger, Charlize Theron, George Miller, Guillaume Canet, Hugh Keays-Byrne, In the Name of My Daughter, Jean-Charles Le Roux, Mad Max: Fury Road, Margaret Sixel, Nicholas Hoult, Nico Lathouris, Renée Le Roux, Tom Hardy | 1,216 Comments »First, a word from our sponsors. Ever wonder what a reader for a contest or agency thinks when he reads your screenplay? Check out my new e-book published on Amazon: Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader, including my series of essays, What I Learned Reading for Contests This Year, and my film reviews of 2013. Only $2.99. http://ow.ly/xN31r
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Warning: SPOILERS
I’m sorry. I didn’t get it. I didn’t.
I know, I know. Everybody and their mother loves the new movie tribute to stunt performers and second unit directors, Mad Max: Fury Road. It’s received 98% on Rotten Tomatoes and has made a fortune at the box office.
But I just didn’t get it.
As far as I can tell, the plot of the movie revolves around The Man With No Name who helps an Amazon with one arm rescue a bunch of Playboy playmates from Bane and his army of albino soldiers who all have great six packs in a post-apocalyptic world of little water, and worse, little gas. Read the rest of this entry »
WIIGING OUT: Movie reviews of Welcome to Me and About Elly by Howard Casner
Posted: May 15, 2015 | Author: Donald | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: About Elly, Alan Tudyk, Asghar Farhadi, Eliot Laurence, Golshifteh Farahan, James Marsden, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Joan Cusack, Kristen Wiig, Linda Cardellini, Loretta Devine, Peyman Hoaadi, Shahab Hosseini, Shira Piven, Taraneh Alidoosti, Tim Robbins, Welcome to Me, Wes Bentley | 1,886 Comments »First, a word from our sponsors. Ever wonder what a reader for a contest or agency thinks when he reads your screenplay? Check out my new e-book published on Amazon: Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader, including my series of essays, What I Learned Reading for Contests This Year, and my film reviews of 2013. Only $2.99. http://ow.ly/xN31r
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Warning: SPOILERS
When Welcome to Me, the new comedy written by Eliot Laurence and directed by Shira Piven, began, I instantly became a bit wary. The central character, Alice Kleig (played by the quite funny Kristen Wiig) is bipolar and has just gone off her meds. I felt in these opening scenes the filmmakers were exploiting her condition for laughs and I became a bit uncomfortable.
But then something interesting happens. We stop seeing Alice through the eyes of the director and writer, but through the eyes of her friends, who love her very much, as well as her therapist, who is very concerned for her and also likes her very much, and suddenly all those things she does (like starting any explanation by whipping out a piece of paper and saying, “I have a prepared statement”) now seem charmingly eccentric.
We like Alice and have affection for her and her foibles and are concerned for her because her friends have affection for her and are concerned. Read the rest of this entry »
AVENGERS ONE, SMALL DEFENSELESS EASTERN EUROPEAN TOWN, ZERO: Movie review of Avengers: The Age of Ultron by Howard Casner
Posted: May 9, 2015 | Author: Donald | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Avengers: Age of Ultron, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, James Spader, Jeremy Renner, Joss Whedon, Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Marvel, Paul Bettany, Robert Downey, Scarlett Johansson | 1 Comment »First, a word from our sponsors. Ever wonder what a reader for a contest or agency thinks when he reads your screenplay? Check out my new e-book published on Amazon: Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader, including my series of essays, What I Learned Reading for Contests This Year, and my film reviews of 2013. Only $2.99. http://ow.ly/xN31r
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Warning: SPOILERS
It seems that after razing New York City to the earth more than a few times, the makers of movies from Marvel comics have now decided to turn their eyes on a smaller, more defenseless municipality in the fictional Easter European nation of Sokovia, smashing it to smithereens in the new tentpole film Avengers: Age of Ultron.
And one really has to feel for this poor little town. Not only has it survived World War I, World War II and the Holocaust, the Cold War occupation (under Stalin, even) and the difficult adjustment after the fall of the USSR, it once again is going to be ravaged, this time by a man made robot with sentience.
I mean, I don’t know what this city did to piss off writer/director Joss Whedon, but it must have been really something. It really gets the shit kicked out of it. Read the rest of this entry »
CRIME DOESN’T PAY; NEITHER DOES CRIMINE: Movie reviews of The Connection, L’affaire SK1 and Black Souls by Howard Casner
Posted: May 5, 2015 | Author: Donald | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Audrey Diwan, Beast of Bastille, Black Souls, Cédric Jiminez, Dardenne Brothers, David Oelhoffen, Fabrizio Ferracane, Fabrizio Ruggirello, Francesco Munzi, Frédéric Tellier, Gilles Lellouche, Gioacchino Criaco, Giuseppe Fumo, Guy Georges, Jean Dujardin, La French, L’affaire SK1, Marco Leonardi, Maurizio Braucci, Nathalie Baye, Olivier Gourmet, Peppino Mazzotta, Pierre Michel, Raphaȅl Personnaz, The Connection, The French Connection, Zampa | 1,092 Comments »First, a word from our sponsors. Ever wonder what a reader for a contest or agency thinks when he reads your screenplay? Check out my new e-book published on Amazon: Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader, including my series of essays, What I Learned Reading for Contests This Year, and my film reviews of 2013. Only $2.99. http://ow.ly/xN31r
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Warning: SPOILERS
I saw three movies over the past week that dealt with, shall we say, guys of the not so good variety as well as those trying to stop them. Two were shown at COL-COA, the French film festival, and the other, from Italy, had a regular run in local theaters.
All came to the same conclusion, though, which is somewhat reassuring. Crime is a very dicey way to live one’s life. Of course, being the good guys doesn’t always run that smoothly either.
The Connection (aka La French), the new based on true events crime thriller from France, would be fun to see on a double feature with American’s own The French Connection since the Gallic film is about the efforts of the Marseilles police to take down the villain played by Fernando Rey in the Gene Hackman film and covers events both before and after Popeye Doyle let that wily, bumbershoot totting criminal mastermind slip through his fingers in New York. Read the rest of this entry »
IS IT REAL OR IS IT MEMOREX: Movie reviews of Ex Machina and True Story by Howard Casner
Posted: April 29, 2015 | Author: Donald | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Alex Garland, Alicia Vikander, artifical intelligence, David Kajganich, Domhnall Gleeson, Ex Machina, James Franco, Jane Hawking, Jonah Hill, Michael Finkel, New York Times, Oscar Isaac, Rupert Gold, sci fi, True Story | 7,355 Comments »First, a word from our sponsors. Ever wonder what a reader for a contest or agency thinks when he reads your screenplay? Check out my new e-book published on Amazon: Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader, including my series of essays, What I Learned Reading for Contests This Year, and my film reviews of 2013. Only $2.99. http://ow.ly/xN31r
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Warning: SPOILERS
A critic once said that when you get down to it, there aren’t that many plotlines; after all, Frankenstein and Pygmalion are basically the same story.
This came to mind as I was watching Ex Machina, the new sci-fi drama written and directed by Alex Garland (who also wrote the very involving Never Let Me Go and the highly successful 28 Days Later…). For my money, what he’s done is basically combined both Mary Shelley and George Bernard Shaw’s seminal works into one narrative.
It’s intriguing. But for me, I also found it a bit slow, unfocused at times and, well, to be ruthlessly honest, more than a bit creepy in ways that may not have been intended.
The last is because the more I think about Ex Machina, the more it seems to me that what the movie is about is not what the movie is about. And what the movie is really about made me very uncomfortable. Read the rest of this entry »
THE FRENCH THEY ARE A FUNNY RACE 2015-PART UNE: reviews of movies at COL-COA, The Last Hammer Blow, Atlit, My Friend Victoria by Howard Casner
Posted: April 28, 2015 | Author: Donald | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Alain de Henry, Alix Delaporte, Atlit, Catherine Mouchet, Clotilde Hesme, Gregory Gadebois, Gregory Pascal, Guslagie Malanga, Jean-Paul Civeyrac, My Friend Victoria, Romain Paul, Shirel Amitay, The Last Hammer Blow | 6 Comments »First, a word from our sponsors. Ever wonder what a reader for a contest or agency thinks when he reads your screenplay? Check out my new e-book published on Amazon: Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader, including my series of essays, What I Learned Reading for Contests This Year, and my film reviews of 2013. Only $2.99. http://ow.ly/xN31r
Warning: SPOILERS
Over the last week, I’ve been attending the COL-COA, or French film festival, here in Los Angeles. For those who are Francophiles or into foreign films (and even for those who aren’t), here are my takes on the movies I’ve seen so far.
The title of the new coming of age film, The Last Hammer Blow, is taken from a Mahler symphony and concerns fate or how many times tragic things can happen in life. When Mahler wrote the symphony, it was during a year in which he saw constant death and personal misfortune. He had three “hammer blows” in his composition to imply fate. After his own fateful year, he would never have the orchestra play the last hammer blow in order to defy fate, and now conductors have the option to play the third blow or not.
Victor, the hero of The Last Hammer Blow, is not your usual teenager in films of this genre. He’s not a delinquent or constantly getting into trouble; he’s not into drinking or drugs; he does rather well at school and even helps tutor the little boy of his neighbor—who are Spanish and trying to learn French; and he is very good at soccer and has a chance at a training camp. He also has a thing for the little boy’s older sister.
In other words, he’s not a rebel with or without a cause. Read the rest of this entry »
IT’S NOT THE SIZE, IT’S WHAT YOU DO WITH IT: Movie reviews of Child 44 and Unfriended by Howard Casner
Posted: April 20, 2015 | Author: Donald | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Child 44, Daniel Espinoza, Fares Fares, Gary Oldman, Jacob Wysocki, Jason Clarke, Joel Kinnamen, Levan Gabriadze, Nelson Greaves, Noomi Rapace, Paddy Considine, Richard Price, Tom Hardy, Tom Rob Smith, Vincent Cassel | 234 Comments »First, a word from our sponsors. Ever wonder what a reader for a contest or agency thinks when he reads your screenplay? Check out my new e-book published on Amazon: Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader, including my series of essays, What I Learned Reading for Contests This Year, and my film reviews of 2013. Only $2.99. http://ow.ly/xN31r
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Warning: SPOILERS
Child 44, the new mystery thriller that is about the hunt for a serial killer in post-World War II Soviet Union, has received terrible reviews. I mean, horrendous in some cases. It’s at 25% at rottentomatoes. And very few, so far, have had much too good to say about it.
Well, I’m here to suggest that maybe the movie is being a bit maligned.
That is not to say I think it’s great. I definitely do not believe it quite succeeds on its own terms or rises above what it is.
And it’s also possible that I went in expecting the worst, only to be pleasantly surprised. That’s certainly happened to all of us at one time or another.
But still, I think there is much to like here, especially if you are a fan of neo-noir or crime dramas. Read the rest of this entry »
GROWING UP IS HARD TO DO: Movie reviews of While We’re Young and Cupcakes by Howard Casner
Posted: April 16, 2015 | Author: Donald | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Adam Driver, Amanda Seyfried, Ben Stiller, Charles Grodin, Cupcakes, Eli Bijaoui, Eytan Fox, Naomi Watts, Noah Baumbach, Peter Yarrow, While We’re Young | 7,530 Comments »First, a word from our sponsors. Ever wonder what a reader for a contest or agency thinks when he reads your screenplay? Check out my new e-book published on Amazon: Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader, including my series of essays, What I Learned Reading for Contests This Year, and my film reviews of 2013. Only $2.99. http://ow.ly/xN31r
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Warning: SPOILERS
There is much to like in writer/director Noah Baumbach’s musing on growing older, though not necessarily wiser, in his new film While We’re Young.
It’s almost never less than entertaining. And it’s a technically solid piece of work. Baumbach, as a director, feels fully in control of the how the movie looks. As a writer, the characters are often very well drawn and the dialog has a nice rhythmic feel to it, a sort of stylized realism of people from an intellectual background.
At the same time, I’m not sure the movie really comes together as a whole in a fully satisfactory manner. For me, the story itself seemed to flounder at times as it was trying to figure out just what is was supposed to be about.
Overall, my feelings were often those of puzzlement. Is While We’re Young a modern day version of All About Eve that constantly gets off subject, or is it a generation gap morality tale that Baumbach had difficulty finding a strong structure for and sorta, kinda tried to fit it into that of the great film by Joseph L. Mankiewicz? Read the rest of this entry »
THE THRILLERS OF IT ALL, PART DEUX: Movie reviews of Furious 7 and Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter by Howard Casner
Posted: April 9, 2015 | Author: Donald | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Chris Morgan, David Zellner, Djimon Hounsou, Dwayne Johnson, Furious 7, Gal Gadot, James Wan, Jason Statham, Jordana Brewster, Kumiko, Kurt Russell, Ludacris, Michelle Rodriguez, Nathalie Emmanuel, Nathan Zellner, Paul Walker, Rinko Kikuchi, the Treasure Hunter, Tyrese Gibson, Vin Diesel | 433 Comments »First, a word from our sponsors. Ever wonder what a reader for a contest or agency thinks when he reads your screenplay? Check out my new e-book published on Amazon: Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader, including my series of essays, What I Learned Reading for Contests This Year, and my film reviews of 2013. Only $2.99. http://ow.ly/xN31r
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Warning: SPOILERS
Okay, I admit it. It got me. Furious 7, the latest entrée in the fast car, not so fast women (the film is surprisingly family focused) franchise, and its tribute to the late Paul Walker brought more than a wee tear to my eye.
How could it not?
However, before I go into any more detail here, full disclosure: I have never seen a Fast and Furious movie before.
That’s right. Zip. Nada. Not a single one.
So, take that into account before taking seriously anything I have to say.
Furious 7 is, well, let’s face it: it’s ridiculous, often cheesy, over the top, clunky. In fact, one could make a sound argument that it’s really not a very good film at all.
Still, it’s a ton of fun. It more than gets the adrenaline going. It has so much electric energy that if someone had a heart attack in the theater, the movie alone could get the organ pumping again. Read the rest of this entry »
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