Letterboxd

I just recently heard about this new up and coming film community “Letterboxd”, and from what I can tell it looks to be an incredible site. Unfortunately at the moment it remains to be a private site and someone must be invited to get in, but I would love to hear anyone’s thoughts who knows literally anything about this site, I am very intrigued.

Classic Review – Charade (1963)

Not but ten years after her feature debut and Hepburn is acting like a true Hollywood star. What’s to be said about Charade that hasn’t already been said before? It’s a Hitchcock-like thriller (with a lot of comedy, too) filled with nothing but twists and turns until the grand finale. Just the way I like ‘em!

The Artist (2011)

Even though I have several classics just waiting to be reviewed, I always end up at the local cinema to see something else before I get the chance. This week it was The Artist, which as you probably already know by now was a real treat. But the question everyone wants to know is where does The Artist stand against the best of the year?

As of now The Artist would rank among my favorites of the year (top 10 easily) but certainly not my favorite. Written and directed by Michel Hazanavicius, we all know he was daring enough just to make a silent movie; however, to be deserving of the Best Original Screenplay award everyone thinks he is going to win, I would have liked a bit more of an ORIGINAL story. 50/50 deserved to be nominated more. Other than the fact that I could pick the story apart before the plot unfolded, I loved everything about The Artist. A stunning film, that for the most part earned its praise.

50/50 (2011)

When I first heard that Joseph Gordon-Levitt was starring in a drama/comedy about a man who has just learned he has cancer, well let’s just say I knew we had cinematic gold coming to theaters. I was right to a certain degree. Not only was 50/50 touching, moving, fantastic, brilliantly acted, but it even exceeded my expectations. It is so rare in today’s time that we actually find a comedy that has a heart, they are often nothing more than vulgar trash that never have meaning whatsoever, yet still fail to entertain, then 50/50 came along.

Adam Lerner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a perfectly healthy 27-year-old man, until one day at a Doctor’s visit he learns that he has been diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer, and it is a mystery to both him and the medical staff as to how he has even gotten it. At first with the help of his best friend, Kyle (Seth Rogen) and his girlfriend, Rachael (Bryce Dallas Howard) Adam is optimistic about his fifty percent chance of survival, but when Kyle finds Rachael cheating on Adam his whole life begins to go down hill.

Why yes, I do have a new blog title, thank you for noticing!

What do my readers think? After very long thought I decided to borrow a title from a Stanley Kubrick documentary “Stanley Kubrick: A Life In Pictures” except with a slightly different approach.

The Ides of March (2011)

While the Ides of March was a very solid entry into the political thriller genre (and of course just more proof that Clooney is one great director), I cannot help but be disappointed by it. The good news is before starting the film I entirely understood that it was a work of fiction, I know many people hated how it wasn’t actually giving the audience any insight into a true story, so I luckily avoided that problem by reading plenty of reviews before viewing the film. But really, The Ides of March isn’t a particularly flawed film, it’s just after hearing so many incredible  things about it, when the credits rolled I had a bit of a “that’s it?” response to the film. It was good, not great.

Mike Morris (George Clooney) Democratic presidential candidate with a decent lead against Arkansas Senator, Ted Pullman. The current campaign is in Ohio and if Pullman can catch a win he has a serious shot at running Morris down. However, if Morris is able to win then the nomination will be locked. Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling) is a Deputy Campaign Manager who is working for Morris.

Most Anticipated Films of 2012

Gosh, with all the school work and actual work I have at the moment there just doesn’t seem enough time to fit the blogging in; this absolutely MUST change. And I realize I have not been commenting as much or been involved as much the past week or two, that will change as well. So I decided to write a post that doesn’t involve much writing (sorry, laziness, I know) and give my list of the films I think I will enjoy the most this year. Hope you enjoy!

In no particular order:

The Avengers

The Secret World of Arrietty

The Amazing Spider-Man

The Bourne Legacy

Chronicle (2012)

Shoot. It has been a really long time since I had such difficulty placing a rating on a movie. Chronicle is just that kind of film. I actually, believe it or not, never even saw a trailer before going in to the theater, the poster looked cool and the fact that a 26-year-old , Josh Trank, made his directorial debut was too much for me to pass up.

Andrew (Dan Dehaan) is an unusual and unpopular high school student with a dying mother and a drunken, abusive father. Matt (Alex Russell) is the intelligent Plato reading cousin of Andrew, who is constantly trying to get him to break out of his comfort zone and meet new people and make new friends. Steve (Michael B. Jordan) is a charming Senior running for class President, and good friends with Matt. These three high school student’s lives don’t seem anything but ordinary, until special night arrives that changes them forever.

Movies & Music – Braveheart (1995)

This is officially my second edition of the soon to be regular series, Movies & Music. We all know how important music is to our favorite films, so it seemed like a great idea to often share with my readers some soundtracks that I love. The first edition was for “The Fountain” one of my favorite soundtracks of all time, and this week I bring to you Braveheart, an equally unforgettable score.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkLrnI7SsVY

War Horse (2011)

GRADE: B

RATING: 3/4

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed War Horse, I really was. Though it was heavily flawed, after letting it sink in for a day I found myself having admired the film more than I did when I left the theater. While War Horse was not entirely emotionally satisfying for me as a whole, on a technical level it was undeniably fantastic. The sound was amazing, and Janusz Kaminski’s cinematography was top-notch, look for him to bring home the award come Oscar night.

But really, did War Horse deserve its Best Picture nod? COME ON Academy, no! If a movie’s screenplay isn’t good enough to get a nod, and its directing isn’t good enough to get a nod either, then the film overall sure as heck isn’t good enough to get a nod. Still, we mustn’t let the Academy’s brainless blunders keeping us from enjoying above average films like these.