Archive for Features
CIFF: Mike’s Preview of The Chicago International Film Festival
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This year’s Chicago International Film Festival has a wide array of quality films to choose from. We are going to see as many as possible to get you the earliest scoop on what’s worth seeing. Many of them should release in theaters during Oscar season, so this festival is one of the last chances for them to garner festival buzz.
Rob’s Take on Oscar Hopeful ‘The Social Network’
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Mr. Zuckerberg, do I have your full attention?
-No.
Do you think I deserve your full attention?
-I had to swear an oath before we began this deposition and I don’t want to perjure myself so I have a legal obligation to say ‘No.’
Okay. No, you don’t think I deserve your full attention.
-I think if your clients want to sit on my shoulders and call themselves tall, they have the right to give it a try, but there is no requirement that I enjoy sitting here listening to people lie. You have part of my attention. You have the minimum amount. The rest of my attention is back at the offices of Facebook where my colleagues and I are doing things that no one in this room, including and especially your clients are intellectually or creatively capable of doing. (then) Did I adequately answer your condescending question?
This exchange between Jesse Eisenberg and a prosecuting lawyer is just one of the reasons I believe The Social Network is the front-runner for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Rob’s Take on Oscar Hopefuls ‘The Kids Are Alright’ and ‘True Grit’
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The Kids Are All Right
This film is definitely a little hipper, but there are so many terrific things in the script that I had to overlook that. Beginning with a rich concept: two teenagers (fifteen, seventeen) being raised by two lesbians who seek out their biological father. The execution of the story is interesting and compelling, told with patience, honesty, and big-heartedness (is that a word?). All of the grown up characters are rich, textured, and wonderfully acted. You have three world-class actors -Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, and Mark Ruffalo – who I would watch perform the federal budget.
Rob’s Take on Oscar Hopefuls ‘Inception’ and ‘The King’s Speech’
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Inception
Dude, it’s like a dream within a dream (within a dream within a dream)! It sounds ridiculous when I say it like that, but Inception really is the most cinematic film of the year. Christopher Nolan creates an entire world from the intriguing premise – what if we could get inside someone else’s dream? Well, if you’re Mr. Nolan you’d get in there and steal something (extraction). Or, since that’s too easy, you’d want to get in there and plant something (inception).
Rob’s Take on Oscar Hopefuls ‘The Fighter’ and ‘Black Swan’
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Allow me this small indulgence. I want to give a bit of context for the brief and specific kind of reviews for most nominees of Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay. First off, I’d like to apologize for the films I didn’t get to. Winter’s Bone and Another Year, you deserve better. I really did mean to see you. Honest. It’s just that, well, um, the dog ate my homework. Apologies. 127 Hours is another story. I never intended to see you. My only defense is that I’m a cringer. When a character’s head gets chopped off, a blade slices through flesh and bone, a fist pummels another face to a bloody pulp, I cover my eyes AND close them AND look away from the screen AND still cringe.
When Critics Attack: Armond White Strikes at the NYFCC – Darren Aronofsky Strikes Back
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The annual New York Film Critics Circle dinner brought out the stars on Monday night. All the A-list awards hopefuls were there: Christian Bale, Ben Affleck, Natalie Portman, Michelle Williams, etc. It’s a night where critics honor the actors, writers and directors who make the movies that they critique, thus giving them a job. It’s supposed to be a night of respect, admiration and celebration of all the great films and performances of the past year. That is, of course, when contrarian film critic and certified douchebag Armond White of the New York Press isn’t hosting. The infamous critic who notoriously bashes nearly every film that the rest of the world considers great, created some apparently uncomfortable and awkward moments at the ceremony, most notably when Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky had enough and struck back.
Movie Pitch: SNL’s ‘Stefon’
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This is a new segment on The Movie Mash where we will be pitching ideas for sequels, adaptations and new concepts that we feel should be made into a movie. The inaugural Movie Pitch is for an SNL skit that has become my absolute favorite over the past couple months; Bill Hader as Stefon. Stefon is Weekend Update’s “City Correspondent” who Seth Myers brings on to help give visiting New York tourists tips on what “traditional” New York places to check out. Instead, the flamboyantly neourotic Stefon describes “New York’s hottest clubs” that have extremely bizarre and psychotic features, such as Club Crece, where you’ll find psychos and screaming babies in Mozart wigs. If you’ve seen it, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, hit the jump to check it out.
Joss Whedon’s ‘Firefly’: A Bright, Shining Gem
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A little while back I posted an article about television auteurs, visionary producer/writer/directors that create shows because they have their passion, even if the show doesn’t last. Talking about Bryan Fuller specifically, three of his brain children died young (Dead Like Me, Pushing Daisies and Wonderfalls) all amazing shows, all cancelled early. There is a much more successful example in Joss Whedon, creator of such amazing shows as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and the web show of awesome, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. Each show has amazing writing, fantastic production values and more imagination than you could shake a stick at, and because of all of this, they were very well received. However, for this article, I will focus on one of Whedon’s “failure”, Firefly. Mind you, I use the term loosely, and only to describe the length of its run.
The Top 5 Movies of the Summer
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The summer movie season is officially over now and I am back in school attending classes at the University of Minnesota. In light of this depressing fact, I thought it would be appropriate to give a run down of my top five movies from the summer. I can’t say this summer movie season was a disappointment by any means, but the number of quality movies did seem less than usual. However, the amazing movies featured on my list made this summer season a success in my book. I’m convinced picking Eclipse as the best movie of the summer will surely stir up some debate, but wait to argue until you read the article. So, let’s check out my top movies of the summer after the break.
Auteur Television: Bryan Fuller and Beautiful Ennui
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Like many TV watchers today, I find myself gravitating toward certain shows which I will watch happily, even in syndication. M*A*S*H, The Simpsons, South Park;really any show that gives me a laugh or something to think about. For each of these examples there is a powerful individual or team working to create something that is fundamentally and totally theirs. Alan Alda took M*A*S*H from a pretty straight situational comedy to a politically-charged cultural phenomenon that outlasted the conflict it depicted by seven years. Matt Groening is responsible for the best loved and recognized TV family since the tube entered homes and Trey Parker and Matt Stone have shown that television characters can cause a global ruckus. There is another man who I think should be recognized for his contributions to television greatness, Bryan Fuller. He is the man behind the two season long ABC dramedy Pushing Daisies and the equally short lived Showtime original Dead Like Me. While both shows were axed before they were given a real chance, they each demonstrate amazing care and maturity in their storytelling and overall production value.
