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Showing posts from May, 2010

Indie Gems: Snow Cake

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With stunning performances by Alan Rickman, Sigourney Weaver and Carrie-Anne Moss, this is one of the films that really defines "Indie Gem." How it managed to be so "under the radar" is beyond me. Alex (Rickman) is fresh out of prison and on a road trip across Canada. He picks up an eccentric hitchhiker Vivienne (Emily Hampshire) along the way. He eventually starts to enjoy her company when a deadly car crash cuts that short. Alex feels the need to apologize to Vivenne's mother directly, he gets her address from the police files, and brings a gift (light up balls that play music) that Vivienne had bought for her. We meet Linda (Weaver), she's autistic. She likes her house clean, sleeping in bunk beads and eating snow. She works part time stocking shelves at the grocery store. She convinces Alex to stay with her so he can take her garbage out. She doesn't do garbage, that was Vivienne's job. Alex agrees to that, and also to help with the funeral. L...

New Pics from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

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Wow! These are some shots from the epilouge, which takes place 19 years later. Very cool to see the actors as "adults." Can't wait to see the finished product! Thanks Snitch Seeker!

DVD Review: My Sister's Keeper

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This isn't a movie I would normally watch. In fact, I ignored it quite well in theaters. I just happened upon this at midnight on HBO last night and decided to give it a shot. This film isn't meant to be enlightening, it's not meant for you to feel hopeful. It's here to tell you that sometimes life just really, really sucks. The premise of the movie is Anna (Abigal Breslin) was born to basically be a doner to her older sister who has leukemia. All her life she's been giving bone marrow, stem cells, she's been hospitalized 6 times in her 11 years. Now her parents (Cameron Diaz and Jason Patric) want her to donate her kidney. Anna has had enough, she seeks a popular lawyer (Alec Baldwin) and sues her parents for Medical Emancipation. In all this weepy, cliched nonsense there really is some credit due. Sofia Vassileva who plays sick daugheter Kate is wonderful. She really is. This movie doesn't dumb down cancer, it shows you how sick and painful it really ...

DVD Review: Fragments

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This is what happens when a bad script happens to good actors. 'Fragments', originally titled 'Winged Creatures' (A far better title, in my opinion) is about the survivors of a random shooting in a Los Angeles diner. They all come together, yet they are all dealing in very different ways. Carlie (Forest Whitaker) survives a gun shot wound to the neck and believes his luck as turned around. He goes on a gambling spree, and doesn't tell his daughter, Kathy (Jennifer Hudson) where he's gone. Anne (Dakota Fanning) hides under a table with her best friend Jimmy (Josh Hutcherson) while her father is shot and killed. Her mother (Jeanne Triplehorn) is obviously heartbroken, but Anne turns to religion to heel. Jimmy on the other hand is withdrawn, he doesn't talk to his father (Jackie Earl Haley) or anyone else for that matter about what happened. Carla (Kate Beckinsale) is a waitress that survives, but ends up with survivors guilt. She can barely take care of her...

Indie Gems: Me and You and Everyone We Know

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I'm normally not a fan of movies that have loads of intertwining stories. Many of them simply get lost within each other and end up not being very interesting. Miranda July's little film 'Me and You and Everyone We Know' is not one of them. Miranda July directs and stars as Christine, a lonely aspiring artist working in the shoe department at a retail store. We follow her life, and the lives connected to her. The woman she's trying to submit her art too, Nancy. (Tracy Wright) The man she's suddenly infatuated with, Richard (John Hawkes) a recent divorcee and his children Pete and Robby. (Miles Thompson and Brandon Ratcliff) Pete's innocent neighbor, Sylvie (Carlie Westerman) and his not so innocent classmates Heather and Rebecca. (Natasha Slayton and Najarra Townsed) When this film first premiered Miranda July said she was afraid she would never get it made due to some of the explicit content involving the young children (ie Robbie, not realizing what he...

Random Ramblings: 10 Things I want to see in Deathly Hallows part 1

I just got done reading 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' (again) and it got me thinking about the film. I thought I'd make a list of things I really want to see, then on Nov 18th when the film comes out, I will re-visit this list and see if I got any of my wishes. Of course it will be impossible to incorporate every little detail from the book into the movie, so I'll try to be as fair as possible with my "demands". Also after I see the film I'll write up another column of 10 things I'd like to see in part 2. 1) The opening sequence : There are certain parts of the book that really don't need to be toned down for film. This is one of them. Members of the Order of the Phoenix are trying to get Harry safely from his home on Privet Dr. to random portkeys. (objects that essentially teleport you to another place) These portkeys will all lead them to a safe place. Ron, Hermione, Fluer, Fred, and George are all dressed as fake "Harrys" an...

DVD Review: The Men Who Stare At Goats

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My initial thought when I was done watching this film was: "Wow..that was stupid." Although as weird as it will sound it wasn't a bad stupid. The cast is so amusing and it was quite obvious that they were having fun with the "out there" script. Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) is a reporter from Ann Arbor, MI. He's in Iraq to prove to his recently estranged wife that he's got something to offer. He meets Lyn Cassidy (George Clooney) who claims he's a "psychic soldier" in a top secret military division. He tags along with Lyn to learn more about his interesting operation. Along the way he meets the founder Bill Django (Jeff Bridges) and the bitter Larry Hopper. (Kevin Spacey) This movie was plagued by horrible reviews when it first came out, after watching I think that some of those people were perhaps taking the film too seriously. Yes, psychic soldiers who can stare at a goat and stop it's heart is a weird thing. So is the fact that they kee...

Review: Iron Man 2

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The Summer Blockbusters kick off with the highly anticipated 'Iron Man 2'. This has been on my "must see" list all year. Being a comic reader, I never cared much for Iron Man in the comics, that is until Robert Downey Jr. brought him to life on screen. Sure there's some inconsistencies, but I honestly couldn't care less. Downey made a character that I never liked, likable. That's just how great of an actor he is. 'Iron Man 2' starts 6 months after the original. In the first few minutes we get a ton of different stories thrown at us. We see that the military wants Tony Stark to hand over his suit, he refuses and assures everyone that no one else will be able to build a model like his. Then we switch over to Russia. Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke, doing his best Viggo Mortensen impression from 'Eastern Promises') is a jilted son of a former scientist that worked with Tony's father. He's got revenge on his mind, he thinks Stark is respon...

Review: A Nightmare on Elm Street

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I have a love/hate relationship with horror movies. I love The Exorcist, The Shining, The Omen. I love Alfred Hitchcock and Dario Argento. I love the campy horror like the Evil Dead series, Any Zombie movie and the absolutely hilarious (albeit unintentional) 80's slasher films. Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees and Freddy Kreuger were staples of my growing up. Then comes the hate part: Horror Movie Remakes. I admit, I do dig a few. I loved The Ring (It's also the only PG13 horror movie I liked, the original was awesome too) I actually enjoyed the Amityville Horror and House of Wax remakes. Most of them however, suck. Most people agree, but then again, they have that demographic of people that are too lazy to find the originals so they embrace the remakes. Some of them end up being quite successful. Last years 'Friday the 13th' remake had a strong box office, but other remakes such as 'The Last House on the Left' and 'The Hills Have Eyes' failed (hint: Nobody...