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Barton Fink

Episode XXV: 'Twin Peaks' pilot ...
By usesoap in Natsukashi
"Film: Twin Peaks (Pilot) (1990) and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992)Rated: (Fire Walk with Me) RDirected by: David LynchWritten by: David Lynch and Mark Frost Starring: Kyle MacLachlin as Special Agent Dale Cooper Michael Ontkean as Sheriff Harry S. Truman Dana Ashbrook as Bobby Briggs Lara Flynn Boyle as Donna Hayward (played by Moira Kelly in FWWM) Madchen Amick as Shelly Johnson Sheryl Lee as Laura Palmer/Madeline Ferguson Ray Wise as LeLand Palmer By Joe Campanella of Cinema-Fist Pre-screeening memories: Growing up I was exposed to many different kinds of films. You see, I had a brother who was 14 years older than me, so naturally I'd pick up on a few things most 10-year-olds didn't. While the kids at school were telling me how great Home Alone was, I was raving about Barton Fink. My God, I was pretentious even back then? As a kid I remember my brother being obsessed with this show because ... " [More]

Warlock: The Armageddon

Warlock the Armageddon (by The ...
By usesoap in Natsukashi
"Title: 'Warlock: The Armageddon'Rated: RWritten by: David Twohy and Kevin RockDirector: Anthony HickoxStarring: Julian Sands as Warlock Chris Young as Kenny Travis Paula Marshall as Samantha Ellison Tagline: "When He Comes...All Hell Breaks Loose!" By Scott Foy aka The Foywonder (and also of Dread Central) Pre-screening memories: Scott bulletted some items that he recalled when he viewed Warlock: The Armageddon on its opening weekend in 1993 (and, subsequnetly, a second time in a bargain theater, where it presumably landed a week later): The film was put out by Trimark. I rather miss that company. For a short while there they seemed to be the heir apparents of Cannon. I recall kind of enjoying the film, even though I was fully aware it wasn't a very good film, certainly inferior to the original that I still think is a very underrated movie. The original had some dumb humor, but the sequel was just plain dumb all the way through. Still better than the thir ... " [More]

President Barack Obama: The Man and His Journey

Review: President Barack Obama: ...
By usesoap in usesoap Blog
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. [What do you think?]
"President Barack Obama: The Man and His Journey Director: Maria Arita Howard CodeBlack Entertainment and Vivendient Films I am always skeptical of what seem to be cash-grabs. You know, those books you see in the supermarket, promising to be a titillating expose on the flavor of the month, only to be duped by works that are at best cobbled together by random facts and stats easily revealed by a quick Google search? When it comes to our latest historic presidential inauguration, I have my fair share of memorabilia (pins, posters, etc). But I am wary of documentaries that seem pre-packaged and ready to ride the coattails of the success for monetary gain, which is why when I sat down to review “President Barack Obama: The Man and His Journey,” I was, at the very least, dubious. It is far from the overnight, stitched-together compilation that it could have been – with interview footage handsomely shot, subtly lit ,and including a wide-range of interviewees. Bu ... " [More]

Friday the 13th

A 'Bloody' good time, as long a ...
By usesoap in usesoap Blog
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. [What do you think?]
"My Bloody Valentine 3-D is a film comfortable in its own skin... even if that skin is either impaled, gouged, filleted or otherwise decimated by its pickaxe-wielding killer. Count me as one of the chorus members who bemoans each and every new "re-imagining" of old horror films. I found the latest Texas Chainsaws to be dull blades at best, the new Prom Night to be just as awkward and unfulfilling as my own, and I really have no real urge to see Jason arrive on his unlucky Friday in a few weeks (but I'm sure I'll still go). But by dressing it with the novelty of 3-D, the creators of Valentine have taken a forgotten, otherwise expendable little slasher film from back in the day and gave it a William Castle-style jolt. For those unfamiliar, Castle was the legendary director who in the '50s resorted to gimmicks like buzzers in theater seats for some of his films to entice audience involvement. The use of 3-D is certainly nothing new for horror films, as everyone from Jaws to Jason has a ... " [More]

Titanic

Nothing 'Revolutionary' along t ...
By usesoap in usesoap Blog
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"Director Sam Mendes does not seem to be a big fan of the suburbs. Between his latest film Revolutionary Road and 1999’s American Beauty, Mendes picks at the scabs of suburbia, allowing viewers to gaze at all that oozes from it. Like Beauty, Road focuses on a couple whose relationship luster is fading fast, as youthful aspirations fall wayside to the compromises of adulthood. But where the former film dealt with the struggles of a modern day, middle-aged couple, Road focuses on a '50s-era husband and wife (played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet) at the earlier stages of their domesticity. And for those fans looking forward to the romantic pairing of the leads from a certain movie about a big boat, let's just say they had it easy with the iceberg compared to what they put themselves through here. Frank (DiCaprio) and April's (Winslet) life certainly begins storybook enough – meeting at a social event, eyes locking across a crowded, smoky room and soon settling into ... " [More]

Dark City

Re:PINEAPPLE EXPRESS DVD Giveaway
By usesoap in Filmgaming
"Two words: "Dark" and "City" (you never said it had to be a good high!). I was paranoid after that one. " [More]

In the Bedroom

Review: "Three Monkeys' (Uc May ...
By usesoap in usesoap Blog
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. [What do you think?]
"So often, when a film is described as 'deliberately paced,' it's can be read as being 'slow.' 'In the Bedroom' initially comes to mind off the top of my head. And while the camera may stay statioary to soak in the scenery, the electrical undercurrent of 'Three Monkeys' (Uc Maymun in Turkish) is anything but lethargic. Cinematographer Nuri Bilge Ceylan uses natural and man-made elements as supporting actors. A rolling storm cloud here, a thundering train there, all signify struggles the main characters face as they attempt to lie and cheat their way out of the dark corners in which they've found themselves. A middle-aged politician (Ercan Kesal) drives down a desolate road, eyes heavy with sleep, when he is jolted awake by his car slamming into and killing a pedestrian. In a panic, he bolts the scene and later persuades his longtime driver, Eyup (played by Yavuz Bingol), to take the fall and and serve the jail time in exchange for large chunks of change for him, Hacer his wife ( pl ... " [More]

The Wrestler

'The Wrestler': Rourke's emotio ...
By usesoap in usesoap Blog
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. [What do you think?]
"Full disclosure: My love for Mickey Rourke is pretty boundless. In college, I devoted an entire expose that even lavished praise on such works as the little-seen underrated gem Homeboy (which Rourke wrote) and the misunderstood Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man. It is almost as though he has tried throughout the years to pummel away at his good looks, and prove to someone (himself?) that there was much more to the man than his Brando-esque visage suggested. At a time in his career which many of his peers were bruising their bodies in an attempt to reverse time, he decided to step into the ring as a semi-pro boxer, subjecting himself to beatings no film critic could ever bestow upon him. That personal history is quite possibly the reason why The Wrestler resonates with such humanity and humility, as Rourke does not portray so much as inhabits the character of Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a man hopelessly devoted to the '80s-era heights of his fame that have long passed him by. And y ... " [More]

Cloverfield

REview: 'Diary of a Bad Lad
By usesoap in usesoap Blog
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"Who are these people?" is what I repeatedly asked myself when perusing the press release pages of accolades bestowed on the British thriller, Diary of a Bad Lad. Chris Bernard called it “Absolutely superb...and completely inspiring” across the top of the promotional materials. Who is Chris Bernard? Good question, since the press packet did not attribute his name to anything. According to “the Google,” he's either a model from Lexington, Kentucky, a married software designer from Chicago, the author of Drop Shipping Sucks, or the founder of the Las Vegas Institute of Noetic Sciences Chapter. And as insightful as any of those Chris Bernards may be about film, I am not sure how much I trust their and value their opinions. Perhaps it's time to rethink my credentials as a paid film critic, but color me bored. I just could not enter the groove that Diary of a Bad Lad was trying to create. It unfurls as yet another 'found footage' pic, supposedly spliced together f ... " [More]

Twilight

The best and the rest in 2008 m ...
By usesoap in usesoap Blog
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"Make no mistake, 2008 was the year of the woman. From politics to multiplex, they were the most newsworthy. At the box office, week after week brought about stories about how, mother of all shockers, women enjoy going to the movies too. From summer “event movies” (usually an exclusive boys tree house where "No Gurlz Allowd"), to record-breaking such as best opening for a female director, women were the new black at the box office. In 2008: Twilight was the highest-grossing film opening by a female director (at $70 million); It received the second-largest advanced ticket sales, trailing only The Dark Knight; Sex and the City was the best opening ever for an R-rated comedy; The SATC gals also debuted as the fifth best R-rated film of all time; The film also bested Mission Impossible as the best debut of a film based on a TV show. Now, perhaps next year we can do the same with good movies. Sex in the City was the female equivalent of Iron Man, replacing magical gad ... " [More]

Gran Torino

Eastwood's motor still revs in ...
By usesoap in usesoap Blog
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"Clint Eastwood directs two different types of films, both with a steady, sturdy hand and pinpoint focus. And while they may not all be million-dollar babies, they are reliable and marked with a love of the craft. Occasionally he'll swing for the fences, such as with his epic, both-sides-of-the-coin World War II-fer, Flags of Our Father and Letters From Iwo Jima, and the sweeping Unforgiven. Other times, he seems to just want to get things off his chest, such as in Gran Torino, his second release in as many months. For those who long for his Dirty Harry days, you've got it, punk. In Torino, he's Dirty Walt (Mr. Kowalski, as he likes to be addressed), a hardened veteran whose world is becoming increasingly smaller — squelched by his alienated sons, who connect with him only in times of need, and his neighborhood, with its increasing foreign population and gang violence. Walt is first introduced to us at the funeral of his wife. Filled with pain and anger, Walt takes every oppor ... " [More]

Penn serves up warm 'Milk'
By usesoap in usesoap Blog
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"I'm not sure what is more sad: politician Harvey Milk's life being cut short by an assassin's bullett, or the recent passing of the California's reprehensible Prop 8 Bill, making it seem this man's death may have been in vain. Sean Penn inhabits the lead role in 'Milk', and through him we can see just how magnetic a man the San Francisco candidate was and how easy it must have been to warm to his cause. But Penn does not lionize the man, unafraid to show his fears, doubts and flirtation with hubris as his voice begins to reverberate across the state and the nation. To see Penn, who often appears pensive and prickly on talk shows and in public of late, return to the type of performance that is sweet, sensitive and thoroughly endearing is rewarding enough. But he is surrounded by thoughtful, passionate performers who all seemed so moved by Milk's legacy, they were determined to do him justice. Milk arrives in San Fran at the start of the swingin' 70s, frustrated and ready to start hi ... " [More]