KICK-ASS Blu-Ray Review

One of my favorite movies of the year, KICK-ASS was released on DVD and Blu-ray this week (August 3rd to be exact) and I got my hands on a Blu-ray copy. If you haven’t seen Kick-Ass yet I highly recommend that you check it out. The best way I can describe it is Superbad meets Kill Bill. The story is based on comic book by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr and is about a regular kid named Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) who asks the question “what would happen if a regular person decided to put on a costume and be a real life super hero”? He then goes a step further and does just that, becoming the crime fighter “Kick-Ass”.
Dave soon learns he’s not alone in the real-life super hero community when he meets Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) and his young, foul mouthed, take no prisoners daughter Hit [...]

Read More »

GET LOW Movie Review

GET LOW tells the story of Felix Bush (Robert Duvall), a man who’s been living sequestered from everyone for years, who decides he wants to buy a funeral. Not any kind of funeral, his own. And here’s the best part, he wants to attend it. Unfortunately, it’s not easy to throw a funeral for a man that is feared by the town folks. With some many horrible rumors being told about Felix, it’s going to take more than an invitation for people to show up.
Funeral owner Frank Quinn (Bill Murray) and his young apprentice, Buddy Robinson (Lucas Black) take on the task of putting together said funeral and along the way discover there is more to Felix than meets the eye. Furthermore, it soon becomes clear that Felix has been holding on to a secret that he is finally ready to let go of. And as the funeral approaches, [...]

Read More »

INCEPTION Movie Review

Christopher Nolan’s INCEPTION is a mind-bending mix of genres: Part Sci Fi, part heist movie, part action/adventure, part romance.
Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a thief like no moviegoer has ever seen. Well versed in the art of Extraction – stealing highly coveted secrets lifted from the minds of corporate rivals while they sleep – he is hired by a mysterious Japanese business magnate, Saito (Ken Watanabe) to do just the opposite. Plant a business-destroying idea deep in the subconscious of the heir to a rival energy empire. The reward for Cobb, who is an international fugitive accused of murdering his wife, is a return to the life and the children he abandoned. The proposition, which Cobb warily accepts, kicks off a journey that will either drive him mad, or free him from his crippling past.
That our hero’s fate begins to play itself out in a wacky dream world of relative [...]

Read More »

LAFF Movie Reviews: MANDRILL, FOUR LIONS & LEBANON

Even though the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival is now officially over, there are still some movies I wanted to to talk about. Here are some quick thoughts on a few of them: Mandrill, Four Lions & Lebanon.
_________________________________________________________________
Mandrill

Synopsis: Known for dispatching his targets with cool efficiency, Mandrill is the best hitman in Chile, capable of killing a man and then seducing his mistress without missing a beat. He is also a man on a mission, combing Latin America’s underworld for the one-eyed man who killed his parents. Now, after years of searching, the only thing that stands between Mandrill and the man he has vowed to kill is the heart of a beautiful, but deadly woman.
Thoughts: Mandrill is like the wet dream for any fans of 70’s style action movies where the good guy is not so good but is wicked cool in all his ways, especially with guns [...]

Read More »

LAFF Movie Reviews: COLD WEATHER, GOLDEN SLUMBER & THE WHEELER BOYS

The 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival is now officially over, but there are still some movies I need to talk about. Here are some quick thoughts on a few of them: Cold Weather, Golden Slumber & The Wheeler Boys.
_________________________________________________________________
Cold Weather

Synopsis: A self-styled Sherlock Holmes leads an unlikely team of irregulars in this charming comic mystery from indie auteur Aaron Katz.
After abandoning a promising academic career in forensic science, aimless Doug returns to Portland to live with his more responsible big sister Gail. He quickly lands a dead-end job in an ice factory, but his latent passion for detective work is stoked when his ex-girlfriend goes missing. Armed with a handful of arcane clues, Doug enlists Gail and co-worker Carlos in a ramshackle investigation that draws the slacker sleuths into Portland’s not-quite-seedy underground.
Thoughts: I was kind of looking forward to seeing Cold Weather, especially after seeing Trieste Kelly Dunn’s remarkable [...]

Read More »

WILD GRASS Movie Review

I recently attended a screening of WILD GRASS, a film directed by Alain Resnais that is due in theaters July 2nd. It’s based on the novel “L’incident” by Christian Gailly and I had medium-high hopes for the film. Mainly because Alain Resnais has an impressive track record; he won the 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award at the Cannes Film Festival.
The story is about a middle aged dentist named Marguerite who gets her purse stolen while buying shoes. When an older gentleman named Georges stumbles upon Marguerite’s wallet in a parking lot, it seems like this may be the beginning of a beautiful relationship.
However, the story isn’t as perfect as it seems. Georges isn’t exactly available for a relationship, also, his initial treatment towards Marguerite is closer to an angry stalker rather than that of a budding courtship. The only thing Georges and Marguerite have in common is that they [...]

Read More »

LAFF Documentary Reviews: 1428, WAITING FOR SUPERMAN, THE PEOPLE Vs George LUCAS, FREAKONOMICS

The 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival is now officially over, but I still have plenty to talk about. I saw quite a few more interesting documentaries. Here are some quick thoughts on some of them: 1428, Waiting For Superman, The People Vs George Lucas, Freakonomics
_________________________________________________________________
1428

Synopsis: The Great Sichuan Earthquake rocked China on May 12, 2008 at 14:28 in the afternoon, claiming the lives of more than 68,000 people. Ten days later, filmmaker Du Haibin came to Beichuan, the hardest hit town, and began filming this remarkable documentary, capturing the reactions of the villagers, the response of the media, the damage to homes and livelihoods, and the torments and the vandalism that the official TV broadcasts overlooked. He returned seven months later to assess the government response throughout the harsh winter and uncover the fate of the survivors, whom he allows to speak for themselves as they cope with unimaginable devastation. [...]

Read More »

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE Movie Review

The third Twilight movie, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE has finally been released and since I was able to go to an early screening last night, I thought I would share a few thoughts on it.
First, I need to start by letting you know that I am a fan of Twilight, I have read all the books, which I loved, and seen all the movies, which I really enjoyed. So of course I was really looking forward to this new movie. And now that I have seen it, I can say that I really enjoyed it as well.
So let’s talk about it, what were the best and not so best parts.
First of all, my favorite part of Eclipse were the characters of badies Riley and Victoria.
Newcomer Xavier Samuel, who plays Riley, pretty much stole the show for me, he was so good that I think we better keep an eye out [...]

Read More »

LAFF Movie Reviews: CYRUS, THE NEW YEAR, DOWN TERRACE

The 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival has a pretty impressive lineup this year. And even though I’m not 100% loving the new location (Downtown LA is not a place I like to find myself at when it’s midnight, just saying), I got to see quite a few good films. And it’s time to share some thoughts on a few of them including Cyrus, The New Year, and Down Terrace, with plenty more coming.
Cyrus

Synopsis: John C. Reilly plays John, a down-in-the-dumps L.A. guy still licking his wounds from a failed marriage. His luck takes a miraculous turn when he meets Molly—played by Tomei—at a party. She’s warm, smart, beautiful and happy to welcome him to her cozy hillside house. What she hasn’t told him is that she shares her home with her 21-year-old son Cyrus, a gregarious aspiring musician. Under his smiling exterior, however, lurks a passive-aggressive momma’s boy who has [...]

Read More »

LAFF Documentary Reviews: THE TWO ESCOBARS, THE RED CHAPEL

The 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival is well under way now and already we are still checking out a wide selection of movies and documentaries. Here are some quick thoughts on the new documentaries I saw: The Two Escobars and The Red Chapel:
_________________________________________________________________
The Two Escobar

Synopsis: Pablo Escobar was the richest, most powerful drug kingpin in the world, ruling the Medellín Cartel with an iron fist. Andres Escobar was the biggest soccer star in Colombia. The two were not related, but their fates were inextricably—and fatally—intertwined. Pablo’s drug money had turned Andres’ national team into South American champions, favored to win the 1994 World Cup in Los Angeles. It was there, in a game against the U.S., that Andres committed one of the most shocking mistakes in soccer history, scoring an “own goal” that eliminated his team from the competition and ultimately cost him his life.
Directed By: Jeff Zimbalist, Michael Zimbalist

Thoughts: [...]

Read More »