Lock, Stock, and Two Film Geeks

“Taking Stock,”  is our crystal ball for the movies coming out this weekend in which the entire staff tells you what they think of the movies coming out this week based on very little knowledge and first impressions.

The Book of Eli

James:  Looks kind of cool but I feel like we’ve seen this approach to post-apocalypse before, whereas the serious take that The Road did seems more preferential to me.  Probably  something I’ll catch on Blu-Ray.

Benn:  I’ll see anything post-apocalyptic.  Also, considering the book in question is the last copy of the Bible on the planet, it might delve into the battle between spirituality/ faith and the power/misuse of religious establishment.  Also, Denzel + sword= awesome.  Plus, I give you Gary Oldman.

Dylan: What can I say? I’m a sucker for the post-apocalyptic/ dystopian films. Add a little Denzel Washington, mix with a dash of Gary Oldmen, stir with Mila Kunis’ boobs and you have a movie I probably won’t have the time to see. SPOILER ALERT: the book is actually the last copy of “Hop on Pop.”

Fil: I’ve been looking forward to a Fallout 3 movie for a long time and this looks like the closest I’ll get.  I’m 100% excited about this.  Plus Post apocalyptic Gary Oldman.  Need I say more?  I’m going to, I don’t care what you want.  This movie look beautifully shot and as far as I can tell, has subtle CG use (See Legion for the opposite).  Who wants to go with? Continue reading

After seeing the film Inglourious Basterds, I found I had a craving for more films focused on antagonizing the Nazis.  As such, I thought it would be great to spotlight a recent film that many people missed, Valkyrie, and possibly compare it to Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece a bit as well.  Valkyrie, the collaboration between Bryan Singer and Tom Cruise, was meant to be Bryan Singer’s small film but became a bigger budget spectacle once Cruise became attached.  Turned off by the lack of accents (I’ll get to this later, don’t worry), many people didn’t end up seeing this movie, and it’s considered to be a box office failure.  But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not worth a rental.  Let’s take a look at it.

For a while I thought Bryan Singer could do no wrong.  First, he was responsible for the first two X-Men films, which at the time were among my favorite comic book adaptations ever made.  Then I went back and looked at his previous work, which of course included the classic The Usual Suspects and the lesser known gem Apt Pupil.  And let’s not forget he helped create and was very involved with one of my favorite shows, House.  While I hadn’t seen everything he’d done, everything I’d gotten a hold of seemed to be good.  I was disappointed when he left the X-Men series to do Superman Returns, but wasn’t as disappointed with the actual product as many were.  I think he achieved what he was trying to do, and it was overall an enjoyable film, just not really the film I wanted to see out of Singer or Superman. Continue reading

You may remember my Top 10 Favorite Movies of the First Half of 2009 post that covered ten movies selected from the months of January to August of 2009.  Now that the year is done, I’m writing this sequel to that article, and it will cover any movies released between September and December of 2009.  For those wondering, there will be a top 10 covering the complete slate of films from this year, and Benn will most likely share his top 10 of the year as well.  But for now, enjoy this less comprehensive list, as it will go deeper into the movies released during the latter months. Continue reading

The Ladykillers, Miller’s Crossing, and Fargo take the stage as we go over the work of what might be our favorite filmmakers, Joel and Ethan Coen.  It’s just Benn and James this week, but that gives us a chance to really go in depth and elaborate, and we’ve really got a lot to say.

As usual the podcast is available for download on iTunes and Podcast Alley. Please leave a review there if you haven’t yet, we need more listeners. And you can always listen to it right here on our web page.

Right click and “Save Target As…” to download mp3 file directly.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

I always thought he had just finished slicing an orange with the knife...

You’d think after taking a vacation for New Year’s I’d be happy to be back here helping telling you all what to think about movies.  As it turns out, being chained to your computer desk for two weeks with no food or running water isn’t a very good vacation.  Journalism never sleeps, my friends.  What I do is journalism right?

Anyways, this week it’s back to my normal reviews of movies that are older than I am.  A Clockwork Orange was made in 1971 – so that’s like…thirty-seven years before my time.  No wait, thirty-eight.  This movie is fun to watch by yourself at 4 in the morning when you’re able to really immerse yourself in the terrible realities Kubrick (Stanley, not the Japanese block-building toy of the same name) throws into your mind.  Nothing like a little existential pondering to make you fall comfortably asleep.

Wow, writing those two opening paragraphs was murder.  Remind me never to take a vacation again.

Continue reading

We enter our third week of “Taking Stock,” our weekly column in which the entire staff tells you what they think of the movies coming out this week based on very little knowledge and first impressions.  Fil and Dylan haven’t gotten to this just yet this week, but check back to this article and you may find their opinions added.

Daybreakers

James: Vampires mixed with The Matrix is the kind of thing that looks great on paper, and with a cast like this you’d think it might be good.  But why does the trailer give me a bad feeling?  The fact that it’s January is probably enough reason not to see this.

Benn: I’m pretty vampired out, to tell you the truth, but the premise does look interesting, and the vampires don’t appear to sparkle in daylight, which is always a plus.

Dylan: It’s been a while since a vampire movie came out in which the vampires weren’t total pussies or dipshits. I like the direction this film is taking. The trailer looks exciting, and this will be a good break from the serious, academy films we’re being blitzed with.

Fil:I’ll be honest.  This does not look like a good movie at all.  I don’t think I particularly want to see it.  But the premise looks interesting enough and is a nice reversal of the “creatures of the night” stereotype we get for vampires.  I just don’t see this going far.  Fun to watch though. Continue reading

Films that are visually stunning tend to be explosion-ridden action vehicles or art house yarns with little content to support its surreal imagery.  A Single Man rises above and beyond expectations due to Tom Ford’s artistic vision and Colin Firth’s complex, emotional performance.

As a very successful fashion designer, there was probably a lot of cynicism towards Tom Ford’s decision to try his hand at directing A Single Man.  Granted, it would look pretty, but, not unlike photo spreads and fashion shows, the actors would be as lithe and well dressed as they were devoid of all human emotion, and the story would be lost behind glitz, glamour and Dolce and Gabgana.  Who would have thought the A Single Man would emerge as one of the fines films of the year?

Continue reading

Early in 2008, Universal Studios and Hasbro arranged a six-year partnership, which will result in series of films based on a number of popular board games.  Ladies and gentleman, Hollywood has officially run out of ideas.  Or, at the very least, has run out of clever producers.

Continue reading