Archive for the ‘Movies’ Category
Terminator Salvation
I wanted to cry ‘Mercy’ several times while watching Terminator Salvation, the latest installment in a franchise that opened with one of the most innovative action movies ever made; followed with a film that redefined the boundaries of special effects with the liquid metal T-1000, which sounded even cooler when described by Ah-nold; and then [...]
In: Movies · Tagged with: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Self Aware, Terminator, Terminator Salvation
Moon
I never like to say that I prefer one movie genre to another (when asked what types of movies I like, I usually say good ones. Glib, perhaps, but true), but good Science Fiction movies are the rarest of all new releases. A new horror film seems to battle the latest comedy every weekend at [...]
In: Movies · Tagged with: 2001, Adaptation, Blade Runner, Duncan Jones, Moon, Sam Rockwell, Solaris, Spaceballs, Star Wars, The Fountain, WALL E
Waltz With Bashir
Waltz with Bashir is the first movie I have seen that centres on the 1983 massacre in the Sabra and Shatila Palestine refugee camps, which was one of the darkest days of the The Lebanon War. The massacre was an act of revenge in the wake of President-elect Bashir Gemayel’s assassination, perpetrated by the Lebanese [...]
Summer 2009 at the Movies
I began my summer movie season with a double feature, Wolverine and Star Trek, which I imagine cost Hollywood around $300 million to produce, market, and distribute and provided me with about $1.50 in entertainment. Both movies had lazy scripts, lavish effects, and loud noises, and so I am happy that I at least watched [...]
In: Movies · Tagged with: Bruno, Crank 2: High Voltage, Death Race, District 9, Inglorious Basterds, Julia and Julia, Ponyo, Star Trek, The Hangover, The Hurt Locker, The Taking of Pelham 123, Up, X-Men: Wolverine
The Watchmen
Following months of hype and a studio battle over distribution rights, The Watchmen have arrived, and to my pleasant surprise, I am very happy that they have. After seeing director Zack Snyder’s visually stunning but ultimately brainless 300, I had little enthusiasm for his next directorial effort, but The Watchmen stimulates the mind and the [...]
In: Movies · Tagged with: 300, Alan Moore, Dr. Strangelove, The Watchmen, Zack Snyder
The Visitor
A movie like The Visitor is a shining example of the importance of Arts and Culture, which helps us to avoid seeing issues in black and white – in this case, America’s immigration policy. Politicians often focus on this issue because a strong stand against illegal aliens can help them to win an election, especially [...]
In: Movies · Tagged with: Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
Frost/Nixon
Ron Howard has made a career directing good and very good movies. Frost/Nixon falls into the Very Good category. Anchored by a fine performance from Frank Langella as Richard Nixon and using source material from the Broadway play of the same name, the movie looks at a series of TV interviews Nixon granted to British [...]
In: Movies · Tagged with: A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13, Cinderella Man, Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon. Ron Howard, Kevin Bacon, Michael Sheen, Oliver Platt, Ransom, Richard Nixon, Sam Rockwell, The Queen
Revolutionary Road
Watching Revolutionary Road is a frightening experience. Its protagonists, or perhaps I should say antagonists, Frank and April Wheeler, engage in psychological warfare amidst a failing marriage in deliberate attempts to humiliate each other, with complete disregard for the other’s sanity, and their frequent irrational acts leave lasting scars on their relationship.
Taking place in the [...]
In: Movies · Tagged with: American Beauty, Denial of Death, Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Revolutionary Road, Road to Perdition, Sam Mendes
Milk
The recent inauguration of Barack Obama has been regarded as a leap forward for human rights in America. Obama, one of the better politicians in recent memory, has the potential to favourably impact the world in many ways, yet he is a man whose physical characteristics would have prevented his historic rise to the White [...]
In: Movies · Tagged with: Barack Obama, Emile Hirsch, Gus Van Sant, James Franco, Josh Brolin, Milk, Sean Penn
The Reader
In a strangely prophetic guest appearance on Ricky Gervais’ sitcom Extras, Kate Winslet indicated that she was starring in a film about the Holocaust to better her chances at winning an Oscar, because that’s what the Academy wants to see. What was a very droll joke at the time may turn into reality at this [...]
In: Movies · Tagged with: Extras, Kate Winslet, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Daldry, The Reader
