Tag Archives: movie director

5 reasons

Posted on June 26, 2016 | Leave a comment

Has the movie Swiss Army Man opened in your town?

swissarmyman

When it does, go see it! Here are five reasons.

1. The title. It brilliantly encapsulates the film yet is never spoken in it. Bonus points.

2. The premise. A man shipwrecked on an island finds a corpse who ‘helps’ him find his way home (and becomes his best friend along the way). Original? Uh, yeah.

3. The cast. Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe fully commit to their respective roles as suicidal loser and farting corpse. I was blown away [rimshot].

4. The soundtrack. Led by two music video directors, the movie soundtrack is almost a third cast member. It’s that good.

5. The farting. It’s pretty important to the plot. And you’ll laugh at all the farting. Heck, we’re all still 12 years old at heart — am I right?

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Posted in Celebrities, Comedy, Entertainment, Humor, Movies

Tagged celebrities, comedy, corpse, Daniel Radcliffe, entertainment, farting, farting corpse, farts, Humor, loser, movie cast, movie director, movie title, Movies, music video, Paul Dano, shipwreck, soundtrack, suicide, Swiss Army Man movie

One-track mind

Posted on October 11, 2015 | Leave a comment

The Coen brothers, while creative geniuses, have overused the ransom plot line in their movies.

It appears in Fargo. And No Country for Old Men. And The Big Lebowski. Even Raising Arizona.

Enough already.

Then today I see a trailor for their next movie…about a kidnapping and ransom.

Okay. This looks pretty funny.

But let’s stop here with this theme, okay?

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Posted in Celebrities, Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Movies

Tagged celebrities, Coen Brothers, commentary, film, Hail Caesar movie, Humor, kidnapping, movie director, Movies, ransom

I spy a fun film

Posted on September 6, 2015 | Leave a comment

I finally saw The Man from U.N.C.L.E. today.

I’m so glad I didn’t let the critics dissuade me.

Since the stylized spy thriller opened counter to Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, critics seemed hell-bent to compare the two. I’ve seen both; there’s really no comparison.

MI:RN was a wonderful sequel in the Mission Impossible franchise, but the storytelling and action sequences are distinctly modern. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is a homage to the 1960’s television series, and the look, feel, pacing, soundtrack — you name it — are true to that era.

I also loved the very dry, British humor that director Guy Ritchie brought to the production. I’m not sure everyone in the theater today got it, but that simply made me feel smarter…and laugh all the louder.

As the trailers promised, everyone in this film is beautiful to gaze upon. Russian spy Armie Hammer is deadly gorgeous, especially in the close-ups, and American agent Henry Cavill is so chiseled, he doesn’t seem realistic. Hugh Grant has also never looked better. He should hire the hair and makeup people and keep them on staff.

I loved Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation and I loved The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

I am so complex.

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Posted in Celebrities, Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Movies, review

Tagged 1960s, action, action sequence, Armie Hammer, British humor, celebrities, chiseled face, close-up, commentary, entertainment, film, franchise, Guy Ritchie, hair and makeup, Henry Cavill, homage, Hugh Grant, Humor, I spy, Mission Impossible Rogue Nation, movie critic, movie director, movie sequel, movie theater, movie trailer, Movies, review, Russian spy, spies, storytelling, stylized, television series, thriller

Jump to it

Posted on August 25, 2015 | Leave a comment

With all the movie remakes that are out there, I am surprised that someone hasn’t decided to give Jumping Jack Flash a second go.

I’ve always liked it a lot, even though I think Whoopi Goldberg was miscast as the lead.

The film was made the year after Goldberg was nominated for an Oscar for The Color Purple, and directors were putting her in everything.

I’m not sure this was the appropriate vehicle.

But I think the movie’s spy plot centered on bank computer transactions could be updated for today, and cast with an eye for chemistry as well as comedy.

Emma Stone would be great as the lead. (Of course, I say that about most films.)

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Posted in Celebrities, Entertainment, Humor, Movies

Tagged casting, celebrities, computers, Emma Stone, entertainment, espionage, Humor, jump to it, Jumping Jack Flash, movie director, movie remake, Movies, Oscars, spy, The Color Purple, Whoopi Goldberg

Second chance theater

Posted on June 9, 2015 | Leave a comment

I had the opportunity to watch The Village again over my lunch hour today.

Okay, it went a tad over an hour.

After director M. Night Shyamalan’s huge hit The Sixth Sense, critics never really seemed to like any of his other films, including The Village.

But I loved it the first time I saw it in the theater, and it held up on the second viewing, too, even though I already knew the famous twist.

Plus, I was reminded of the wonderful performances by Bryce Dallas Howard, Joaquin Phoenix and William Hurt.

So, if you initially dismissed it because it wasn’t The Sixth Sense — and let’s face it, there isn’t going to be another one of those — I urge you to give The Village another chance.

‘Cause it takes a vill…okay, I’ll stop.

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Posted in Celebrities, Entertainment, Humor, Movies, review

Tagged Bryce Dallas Howard, celebrities, entertainment, it takes a village, Joaquin Phoenix, lunch hour, M. Night Shyamalan, movie critic, movie director, Movies, performance, plot twist, second chance, The Sixth Sense, The Village, William Hurt

Who ya gonna call?

Posted on October 14, 2014 | 1 comment

People were horrified at first at the mere mention of a Ghostbusters reboot.

An all-female cast? Blasphemy.

Then names like Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock were tossed around. And director Paul Feig tweeted a confirmation that the remake was indeed happening.

Now the tide appears to have turned, and everyone is stoked. Actresses that aren’t even known for comedy are publicly ‘begging’ to be cast.

Gillian Anderson, for example.

True, she’s got plenty of experience hunting otherworldly creatures on The X-Files…but comedy?

Not so much.

But when I think about some of the biggest moves I’ve made in my career, they didn’t start with your typical cover letter-resume-interview. I picked up the phone and asked for the job. Who knows? Might work the same in Hollywood.

So, go get ’em, Gillian.

You could be exactly what this crazy redo needs.

Everything you want is out there waiting for you to ask. Everything you want also wants you. But you have to take action to get it. — Jules Renard

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Posted in Celebrities, Comedy, Entertainment, Humor, Movies

Tagged all-female cast, career, celebrities, comedy, cover letter, Everything you want is out there waiting for you to ask. Everything you want also wants you. But you have to take action to get it., Ghostbusters, Gillian Anderson, Humor, job interview, job moves, Jules Renard, just ask, Melissa McCarthy, movie director, Movies, Paul Feig, phone call, public begging, reboot, redo, resume, Sandra Bullock, the ask, The X-Files, tide has turned, tweet, Twitter

That’s life

Posted on July 18, 2014 | Leave a comment

Richard Linklater’s film Boyhood has received enormous attention and near perfect reviews.

It should.

The fact that it was 12 years in the making is epic enough. That the same actors gathered together to recreate this family each year…so the passage of time Is made all the more authentic by every bad haircut, each pop culture reference.

But Boyhood’s true appeal lies in Linklater’s choice of subject matter: the simple, day-to-day ups and downs of a family doing their best to juggle school and jobs and divorce and remarriage and financial worries and love and loss.

Chances are, at certain points in this movie, you will recognize yourself or your family.

And it will make you smile.

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Posted in Children, Commentary, Entertainment, Family, Humor, Life, Movies

Tagged actors, bad haircut, Boyhood movie, cast, children, commentary, entertainment, family, film, Humor, life, movie director, Movies, pop culture, reviews, Richard Linklater's, that's life

Do what you love

Posted on April 21, 2014 | Leave a comment

Casting directors and agents in New York City often advise wannabe actors to create their own projects.

That way, they can do the kind of work that they want to be doing.

Just ask John Turturro.

He wrote, directed and stars in Fading Gigolo, the story of a guy with money problems who, with the encouragement and salesmanship of a good friend — portrayed by Woody Allen — finds himself the hired lover of a group of lonely middle-aged women.

It’s a great cast: Sharon Stone, Sofia Vergara, Liev Schreiber, and in a star-making turn, Vanessa Paradis (better known as Johnny Depp’s long-time-but-not-so-much-anymore girlfriend).

The movie was very funny at times, and at other times, very serious and soulful. The changes in pacing and tone were unexpected and unexplained. I felt like I was watching two movies that didn’t quite gel, and there were jokes that flew over my goyish head that cracked up the rest of the art house crowd.

That being said, I enjoyed the individual performances and getting glimpses of my Upper West Side businesses and doorways in this very New York City film.

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Posted in Celebrities, Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Movies, Religion

Tagged actors, agents, art house theatre, casting directors, celebrities, commentary, do what you love, entertainment, Fading Gigolo, goy, hired lover, Humor, Jewish, John Turturro, Johnny Depp, Liev Schreiber, middle aged women, money problems, movie director, movie star, movie writer, Movies, New York City, pacing, religion, reviews, salesmanship, Sharon Stone, Sofia Vergara, tone, Upper West Side, Vanessa Paradis, Woody Allen

Do I look older?

Posted on January 8, 2014 | Leave a comment

Director Alexander Payne and I have never seen eye to eye.

Since his movie Election (which I did like), the rest of his films — Sideways, Cedar Rapids, The Descendants — just don’t speak to me.

I doubt he’s losing sleep over it.

That didn’t stop me from getting excited to see his latest awards magnet Nebraska, starring Bruce Dern and Saturday Night Live alum Will Forte.

It seemed to have it all.

The two leading men, of course. The black-and-white look, which seemed perfect for this road trip film. Great trailers, too.

Tragically, Alex has led me astray yet again.

In the film, the car trip takes three or four days. I would swear the movie — advertised as 1 hour 54 minutes — is actually that long. It is slow…so very slow.

The driving sequences are slow. The conversations are slow. There’s a couple of fights scenes, and their fists look like they are in slow motion even though they’re not.

I really enjoyed three scenes in the movie. And the performances are wonderful — especially June Squibb, who plays Bruce Dern’s kick of a wife. But there are long stretches of your life…

..that you will never get back.

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Posted in Academy Awards, Celebrities, Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Movies, Oscars

Tagged Academy Awards, Alexander Payne, black and white movie, Bruce Dern, car trip, Cedar Rapids movie, celebrities, comedy, commentary, do I look older, driving sequences, Election movie, entertainment, Humor, June Squibb, movie awards season, movie director, movie leading man, movie trailer, Movies, Nebraska movie, Oscars, review, road trip, road trip film, Saturday Night Live, Sideways movie, The Descendants movie, Will Forte

Let’s go exploring

Posted on December 29, 2013 | Leave a comment

Can you believe it has been eight years since Bill Watterson stopped drawing Calvin & Hobbes?

The comic strip itself was only published for 10 years — from November 18, 1985, to December 31, 1995 — and yet somehow it feels that it was always in newspapers.

It’s that iconic.

A new documentary is now in theaters and OnDemand that examines the Calvin and Hobbes legacy:

Director Joel Allen Schroeder examines the comic strip for the phenomena that it was — artwork that was miles ahead of its neighbors on the page, and story lines that tackled issues like environmentalism, education and philosophy.

To build his case, Schroeder interviews everyone but Watterson — fans, his syndication partners, comic experts, and fellow cartoonists. It’s very much a love fest, as they all agree on the comic strip and its creator’s instrumental role in cartooning history.

They also discuss Watterson’s controversial decision NOT to merchandise Calvin & Hobbes.

I highly recommend the 89 minute film. It brings back great memories, gives you access to lots of Calvin & Hobbes comics, and will leave you thinking:

“I need to make a bookstore run!”

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Posted in Children, Comics, Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Life, Movies

Tagged animals, artwork, Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes, cartoonist, children, comic strip, comics, commentary, Dear Mr. Watterson, documentary, education, entertainment, environmentalism, fans, HBO, HBO OnDemand, Humor, Joel Allen Schroeder, let's go exploring, life, merchandising, movie director, Movies, newspapers, philospny, review, story line, stuffed animal, syndication, tiger

Tag Archives: movie director

5 reasons

One-track mind

I spy a fun film

Jump to it

Second chance theater

Who ya gonna call?

That’s life

Do what you love

Do I look older?

Let’s go exploring

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