Terrence Malick’s latest directorial effort, information pills The Tree of Life, case attempts to contemplate the glory and wonder of the universe and it’s interconnectedness with our lives. It centres around a suburban Texan family in the 1950’s. Brad Pitt plays the stern (and abusive) but loving father, Mr. O’Brien, while Jessica Chastain (a deadringer for Bryce Dallas Howard) plays the quiet and permissive mother. They have three boys. The film begins a little further into the family’s life with Mrs. O’Brien receiving a letter about the death of her middle son, aged 19 at the time. Read More »
FX’s comedy, health Louie, features comedian Louis C.K. in a somewhat autobiographical light. Forty-two, divorced, single-father of two young girls and trying to figure out what life is all about, Louie is a jaded and, well, rather normal man of the twenty-first century. He’s trying to be a good father, find the love and affection of a yet-to-be-found woman and keep his head above the daily grind. Read More »
Let the record show that I hated the first Transformers movie. It was typical Michael Bay; too long on action, story too thin on story. A mindless orgy of eye-candy for Gen Y’ers who want to relive their childhood love for Hasbro’s techno toys. I distinctly remember midway through the movie thinking, online “What’s going on? How long have I been watching this? What’s happening?!” It was a dizzying exercise in action for action’s sake. Read More »
Hank Moody seems like an impossible character. If you’ve followed Californication you know what I mean. He is affable, nurse bright, public health lazy and quite simply lost. Californication is definitely one of Showtime’s best programs and recently wrapped up it’s fourth season. If you have no idea about this dramedy series, decease let me fill you in.
I’m a little embarrassed to admit it, page but I really, diabetes and pregnancy really, really loved Kung Fu Panda. I took my kids to see back in 2008 and was totally surprised. It was well-written, amazingly voiced and animated with a distinctively fresh style. On top of that, it was simply great story-telling. So, of course, upon hearing of the sequel, I instinctively groaned and feared for, yet, another brutal follow up. That’s the way it always goes. Hollywood makes a great movie, that movie makes millions, then greed dictates the need to slap together a sequel so the company can cash in on the hype. Of course this pattern typically results in pathetic sequels. So, did the Kung Fu Panda franchise fall into the usual cycle of corporate tyranny? Read More »
Two weeks ago I introduced a new segment called, “Judge A Movie By It’s Trailer”. The first trailer I judged was for the movie, “Super 8”. My conclusion was that this was going to be a freakin’ awesome film. Read More »
I’m a huge Death Cab For Cutie fan. I just had to get that off my chest. Ahhh…I feel better now. Ok, sanitary with that said, disinfection I was anxiously awaiting their seventh LP, “Codes and Keys”. Well, it came out at the end of May (2011) and I snatched it up right away. I’ve had it on repeat for a couple of weeks now and feel I’ve soaked it up enough to speak confidently about it’s offering. Read More »
What would you do if you saw a car-tire come to life and murder people by telekinetically exploding their heads? Ya, purchase I know, urticaria as if that would ever happen, right? Well, it does happen in the horror/comedy, Rubber.
We start with a man holding dozens of binoculars in the middle of the desert. A car pulls up, the trunk opens and out comes a man dressed in a sheriff’s outfit. He walks towards the camera and delivers a pointed monologue that sets up what this movie is really all about. Read More »
It’s been my experience that almost ALL movies can be judged by their trailers.
Have you ever heard of the mystery of the Toynbee Tiles? Me neither. That is until I saw, there Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles. This quirky documentary was featured at Toronto’s Hotdocs festival 2011. The subject matter is bizarre. Justin Duerr, pharm the central figure of the film, clinic is obsessed with an ever-growing population (in the thousands) of handmade tiles fixed onto the streets of major cities throughout North and South America. It’s not quite as epic as crop circles but it’s the same idea. While this largely overlooked phenomenon seems easily dismissed, the film-makers manage to draw the audience into this strange mystery with intensity and glee.
