CHARACTER CHIAROSCURO: Movie Reviews of Little Accidents, Appropriate Behavior and Son of a Gun by Howard Casner

Posted: January 28, 2015 | Author: Donald | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Alicia Vikander, Appropriate Behavior, Boyd Holbrook, Brenton Thwaites, Cecilia Frugiuele, Chloȅ Sevigny, Desiree Akhavan, Elisabeth Banks, Ewan McGregor, Halley Feiffer, Jacob Lofland, John Collee, Josh Lucas, Julius Avery, Little Accidents, Matt Noble, Nash Edgerton, Sara Colangelo, Scott Adsit, Son of a Gun | 281 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

and check out my Script Consultation Services: http://ow.ly/HPxKE

Warning: SPOILERS

Three movies have opened recently that are driven by characters studies, even in the case of the one that is also driven by a prison break and robbery of a gold refinery. It’s not a bad way to start the new year, even if one of them, as far as I’m concerned, doesn’t work on any level.

Little Accidents takes place in a small town that depends on coal mining for its existence. When a cave in leaves a sole survivor, he gets caught between two factions: the miners who want him to blame the company so they can be sued for compensation, and the miners who want him to say it was an accident because if the mine owners are held at fault, the mine will close and there’ll be no more work.

Meanwhile, the teenage son of the mine manager continually bullies the son of a miner who has died. When a fight ensues, the miner’s son accidentally kills the manager’s son and hides the body, causing a city wide search.

Finally, the wife of the manager, upset over the disappearance of her son and her suspicion that her husband was responsible in some way for the cave in, finds her life slipping away from her.

The three characters, Amos, the survivor; Owen, the miner’s son; and Diane, the manager’s wife, slowly find their lives intersecting as they become involved in some way with each other: Amos and Diane have an affair while Owen does yard work for Diane while Diane begins to treat him as a surrogate son and Amos becomes a kind of father figure to Owen.

Little Accidents is written and directed by Sara Colangelo and is one of those small movies that are rich in depth of characterization. The people are leading lives of quiet desperation, but Colangelo shows them such understanding and sympathy that you can’t help but be deeply moved in how they work through the difficulties that have suddenly shown up in their lives. Read the rest of this entry »

THE BEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING: Movie Review of Paddington

Posted: January 22, 2015 | Author: Donald | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Ben Whishaw, Geoffrey Palmer, Hamish McColl, Hugh Bonneville, Matt Lucas, Michael Bond, Nicole Kidman, Paddington, Paul King, Peter Capaldi, Sally Hawkins | 1,235 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

The opening scenes from Paddington, the new film about the eponymous English toy bear called, well, Paddington, appropriately enough, has some incredibly gorgeous and glorious animation. When a bear first appears, it’s as if every single whisker and individual hair of his fur is alive and moving, gracefully flowing even.

The animated movement of the bear and the intermix of animation of real live actors is just about faultless and the filmmakers have contributed some marvelous bits of magic as well, such as a doll’s house that reveals the house Paddington lives in and shows what is going on in the other rooms when the doors swing open, or a wall with paintings of trees on it with leaves that flutter away when the weather, symbolically, changes inside the house.

The movie, with a screenplay by Hamish McColl and the director Paul King (based on the character created by Michael Bond) is also witty. In fact, it’s often very witty. It’s almost a cliché that English films are going to outwit their American counterparts these days. It just seems to be part of the British character that they can’t escape. Read the rest of this entry »

REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST: Movie reviews of the movies Beloved Sisters and Predestination by Howard Casner

Posted: January 19, 2015 | Author: Donald | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: All You Zombies, Beloved Sisters, Daybreakers, Dominik Graf, Ethan Hawke, Florian Stetter, Friedrich Schiller, Hannah Herzsprung, Henriette Confurius, Michael Spierig, Noah Taylor, Peter Spierig, Predestination, Robert A. Heinlein, Sarah Snook | 3 Comments »

Warning: SPOILERS

Beloved Sisters is the story of a sorta, kinda love triangle between the great playwright and poet Friedrich Schiller (one of the dramaturges from whom we get the phrase stϋrm and drang of which there is more than enough of in this period piece, thank you very much) and the two sisters whom he loved, one of whom he married, and both of whom he slept with.

It’s also one of these films in which the only reason the women have for existence is their love and passion for a man and when they can’t get him, they cry, beat their breasts, wail against the injustices of the universe, throw tantrums, have nervous breakdowns and finally have what is known in impolite society as a knockdown, drag out cat fight.

No, I’m not joking, they have a cat fight.

But even that’s not the worst of it.

The worst of it is just how slow, tedious and, well, to be ruthlessly honest, how…boring the whole thing is.

I mean, it may be German, but you ain’t gonna find no blitzkrieg here. Read the rest of this entry »

LAST BUT NOT LEAST: Movie reviews of Selma and Big Eyes by Howard Casner

Posted: January 16, 2015 | Author: Donald | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Amy Adams, Ava DuVerney, Big Eyes, Carmen Ejogo, Christoph Waltz, Danny Huston, DAvid Oyelowo, Jason Schwartzman, Krysten Ritter, Larry Karaszewski, Margaret Keane, Oprah Winfrey, Paul Webb, Scott Alexander, Selma, Terence Stamp, Tim Burton, Tim Roth, Tom Wilkinson | 9 Comments »

Warning: SPOILERS

The title of these reviews is called Last But Not Least because Big Eyes and Selma are the final two movies I’m going to include under my 2014 reviews. After this, all films will fall under my 2015 reviews, no matter whether they were released in 2014 or not.

So off we go.

The strongest aspect of Big Eyes, the new bio-com written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski and directed by Tim Burton, is the art direction and production design.

Beginning in the 1950’s, the sets, the costumes, the look, the colors all have a poodle skirt playfulness about them that gives the movie some much needed energy.

This should probably be of no surprise since Burton has always had one of the more striking visual eyes in movies today, from Edward Scissorhands to Ed Wood to Alice in Wonderland. If nothing else, his films can be fun to watch.

But outside of that, there is almost nothing that works in this movie. Nothing, and almost amazingly so. Read the rest of this entry »

MAN AT WAR or THE CERTAINTY PRINCIPLE: Movie review of American Sniper by Howard Casner

Posted: January 2, 2015 | Author: Donald | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: American Sniper, Bradley Cooper, Chris Kyle, Clint Eastwood, Jason Hall, Jonathan Groff, Sienna Miller | 2 Comments »

Warning: SPOILERS

Every war has its heroes who are used to symbolize the conflict and try and bring it meaning in some way.

The Great War had Sgt. Alvin C. York who led a raid on a German machine gun nest, killing 28 soldiers and taking captive more than 100 others.

His story was turned into a movie starring Gary Cooper that was used to support American’s entry in World War II (it was playing in the theaters as Pearl Harbor was being bombed).

The Second World War had Audie Murphy, who became a hero after holding off a company of German soldiers and then leading a counterattack, all the while wounded and out of ammunition.

Murphy became a movie star after the conflict was over, starring in such films as The Red Badge of Courage and The Quiet American, as well as a series of B westerns. He also played himself in the film To Hell and Back.

In the Viet Nam war we had Ron Kovic, memorialized in the book and movie Born on the Fourth of July, and played by Tom Cruise in the film. Read the rest of this entry »

THE ROAD TO PYONGPANG: Movie review of The Interview by Howard Casner

Posted: December 31, 2014 | Author: Donald | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Dan Sterling, Diana Bang, Eminem, Evan Goldberg, James Franco, Kim Jong-un, Lizzy Caplan, Randall Park, Seth Rogan, The Interview | Leave a comment »

Warning: SPOILERS

About a third of the way through the new, and unexpectedly controversial comedy, The Interview, I had this odd feeling of déjà vu, as if there was something strangely familiar about the movie.

And then I realized what it was: The Interview, the movie about a celebrity interviewer (with a wicked, fun moment when Eminem comes out of the closet) and his producer who get a chance to go mano a mano with the leader of North Korea, is basically a Road movie.

And by that, I don’t mean one of those sub-genres about two people who get in a car and keep driving and driving encountering various eccentrics along the way until you’re begging for a lobotomy.

No, this is basically a modern day version of a group of movies made famous by Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour (The Road to Singapore, The Road to Zanzibar, The Road to Utopia, et al.), in which two contrasting characters have a bromance as they make their way through a series of ridiculous adventures. Read the rest of this entry »

FANTASY ISLANDS: Movie Reviews of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies and Into the Woods

Posted: December 30, 2014 | Author: Donald | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Anna Kendricks, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Dion Beebe, Emily Blunt, Fran Walsh, Guillermo del Toro, Hugo Weaving, Ian McKellen, Into the Woods, James Horton, James Lapine, Johnny Depp, Martin Freeman, Meryl Streep, Orlando Bloom, Peter Jackson, Philippa Boyens, Rob Marshall, Stephen Soundheim, The Battle of the Five Armies, The Hobbit, Wyatt Smith | 6 Comments »

Warning: SPOILERS

The latest entry of The Hobbit franchise is called The Battle of the Five Armies, and I guess I have to first say that I found the title a tad puzzling because I only counted four…armies, that is. There were elves, dwarves, man and orcs.

I guess the fifth comes about if you divide those orcky things into two different factions, but, I don’t know, that sorta felt like cheating to me.

At any rate, I think the story of J.R.R. Tolkien’s prequel to The Lord of the Rings could be used as a metaphor for filmmaker Peter Jackson and his production of this final installment of the adventures of a little person called Bilbo Baggins. Read the rest of this entry »

THERE WILL BE WEED or THE GRASSTER: Movie review of Inherent Vice by Howard Casner

Posted: December 19, 2014 | Author: Donald | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Benecio Del Toro, Eric Roberts, Inherent Vice, Jack Kelly, Jeannie Berlin, Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Martin Short, Maya Rudolph, Owen Wilson, Paul Thomas Anderson, Peter McRobbie, Rese Witherspoon, Thomas Pynchon | 2,716 Comments »

Warning: SPOILERS

I’m afraid that when it comes to me, myself and writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson, the honeymoon may, at last and alack, be over.

I mean, this was no one night stand.

When I first met Anderson, he took me with his Hard Eight. And we then spent many Boogie Nights together. I did think that with Magnolia we didn’t quite come together as we once did. Still, though it may not have totally worked, it was far, far…far more stimulating than many films that did. And with Punch Drunk Love he just, well, punched, drunked and loved me.

I was delirious.

But time marches on and, like so many relationships, people change, circumstances change, conflicts emerge until the relationship starts hitting some rough shoals. Read the rest of this entry »

THE MOORE THE MERRIER: Movie reviews of Still Alice and Maps to the Stars and why Julianne Moore will win the Oscar this year by Howard Casner

Posted: December 14, 2014 | Author: Donald | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Alec Baldwin, Bruce Wagner, David Cronenberg, Evan Bird, Hunter Parrish, John Cusack, Julienne Moore, Kristen Stewart, Maps to the Stars, Mia Wasikowski, Richard Glatzer, Robin Pattinson, Still Alice, Wash Westmoreland | 1,396 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

Julianne Moore is destined to win the Best Actress award at the 2014 Academy Awards. It’s written in the stars (pun intended) as much as any plot in a drama by Aeschylus or Shakespeare. Far and wide it has been announced that it is Ms. Moore’s year. And who am I to argue with the stars, metaphorical or not?

Now, the question that remains is, “why”? What confluence of events, both within and without anyone’s control, has lead Moore to this momentous precipice?

I’m glad you asked. I shall try and enumerate the reasons.

Read the rest of this entry »

POLITICAL THEATER: Movie reviews of Diplomacy, Viva la Liberta and Citizenfour

Posted: December 11, 2014 | Author: Donald | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: and Raul Nording, Andre Klaussner, Angelo Pasquini, Citizenfour, Cyril Gely, Diplomacy, Edward Snowden, General von Choltitz, Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras, Niels Arestrup, Robert Andó, Toni Servillo, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Valeria Mastandrea, Viva la Liberta, Volkor Schlӧndorff | 1,367 Comments »

Warning: SPOILERS

Did General von Choltitz, the Nazi governor of Paris during its final days of occupation, and Raul Nording, the Swedish counsul-general, really meet cute the night before von Choltitz was to blow up the major cultural buildings of Paris and cause the Seine to overflow and kill millions of people? And did Nording actually talk him out of doing so?

Some people say “yes”, some say “no”.

Of course, petty details like that have never stopped dramatists before (see Schiller having Mary, Queen of Scots confront Queen Elizabeth I). And either way, it’s hard not to see the potential for a fascinating confrontation and battle of minds.

So who cares if it really happened or not. Read the rest of this entry »

and check out my Script Consultation Services: http://ow.ly/HPxKE

Warning: SPOILERS

Three movies have opened recently that are driven by characters studies, even in the case of the one that is also driven by a prison break and robbery of a gold refinery. It’s not a bad way to start the new year, even if one of them, as far as I’m concerned, doesn’t work on any level.

Meanwhile, the teenage son of the mine manager continually bullies the son of a miner who has died. When a fight ensues, the miner’s son accidentally kills the manager’s son and hides the body, causing a city wide search.

Finally, the wife of the manager, upset over the disappearance of her son and her suspicion that her husband was responsible in some way for the cave in, finds her life slipping away from her.

Warning: SPOILERS

Warning: SPOILERS

No, I’m not joking, they have a cat fight.

But even that’s not the worst of it.

The worst of it is just how slow, tedious and, well, to be ruthlessly honest, how…boring the whole thing is.

I mean, it may be German, but you ain’t gonna find no blitzkrieg here. Read the rest of this entry »

Warning: SPOILERS

The title of these reviews is called Last But Not Least because Big Eyes and Selma are the final two movies I’m going to include under my 2014 reviews. After this, all films will fall under my 2015 reviews, no matter whether they were released in 2014 or not.

So off we go.

The strongest aspect of Big Eyes, the new bio-com written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski and directed by Tim Burton, is the art direction and production design.

Beginning in the 1950’s, the sets, the costumes, the look, the colors all have a poodle skirt playfulness about them that gives the movie some much needed energy.

This should probably be of no surprise since Burton has always had one of the more striking visual eyes in movies today, from Edward Scissorhands to Ed Wood to Alice in Wonderland. If nothing else, his films can be fun to watch.

But outside of that, there is almost nothing that works in this movie. Nothing, and almost amazingly so. Read the rest of this entry »

Warning: SPOILERS

Every war has its heroes who are used to symbolize the conflict and try and bring it meaning in some way.

The Great War had Sgt. Alvin C. York who led a raid on a German machine gun nest, killing 28 soldiers and taking captive more than 100 others.

His story was turned into a movie starring Gary Cooper that was used to support American’s entry in World War II (it was playing in the theaters as Pearl Harbor was being bombed).

The Second World War had Audie Murphy, who became a hero after holding off a company of German soldiers and then leading a counterattack, all the while wounded and out of ammunition.

Murphy became a movie star after the conflict was over, starring in such films as The Red Badge of Courage and The Quiet American, as well as a series of B westerns. He also played himself in the film To Hell and Back.

In the Viet Nam war we had Ron Kovic, memorialized in the book and movie Born on the Fourth of July, and played by Tom Cruise in the film. Read the rest of this entry »

Warning: SPOILERS

About a third of the way through the new, and unexpectedly controversial comedy, The Interview, I had this odd feeling of déjà vu, as if there was something strangely familiar about the movie.

And then I realized what it was: The Interview, the movie about a celebrity interviewer (with a wicked, fun moment when Eminem comes out of the closet) and his producer who get a chance to go mano a mano with the leader of North Korea, is basically a Road movie.

And by that, I don’t mean one of those sub-genres about two people who get in a car and keep driving and driving encountering various eccentrics along the way until you’re begging for a lobotomy.

Warning: SPOILERS

The latest entry of The Hobbit franchise is called The Battle of the Five Armies, and I guess I have to first say that I found the title a tad puzzling because I only counted four…armies, that is. There were elves, dwarves, man and orcs.

I guess the fifth comes about if you divide those orcky things into two different factions, but, I don’t know, that sorta felt like cheating to me.

At any rate, I think the story of J.R.R. Tolkien’s prequel to The Lord of the Rings could be used as a metaphor for filmmaker Peter Jackson and his production of this final installment of the adventures of a little person called Bilbo Baggins. Read the rest of this entry »

Warning: SPOILERS

I’m afraid that when it comes to me, myself and writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson, the honeymoon may, at last and alack, be over.

I mean, this was no one night stand.

I was delirious.

But time marches on and, like so many relationships, people change, circumstances change, conflicts emerge until the relationship starts hitting some rough shoals. Read the rest of this entry »

Warning: SPOILERS

Now, the question that remains is, “why”? What confluence of events, both within and without anyone’s control, has lead Moore to this momentous precipice?

I’m glad you asked. I shall try and enumerate the reasons.

Warning: SPOILERS

Some people say “yes”, some say “no”.

Of course, petty details like that have never stopped dramatists before (see Schiller having Mary, Queen of Scots confront Queen Elizabeth I). And either way, it’s hard not to see the potential for a fascinating confrontation and battle of minds.

So who cares if it really happened or not. Read the rest of this entry »

REAL Short Box Subscribe!