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Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Back from the Holidays

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanaunka, Happy New Year, and Happy Holidays. Which ever you prefer, I hope thw holidays were as fun filled and and movie crammed as mine was. I got the Oliver Stone dvd collection, a book of the 101 Must See Cult Movies I have to See Before I Die, and a bunch of tickets that used to be free but now are $2 off. I hope you all got some movie goods from Santa as well. Because in reality what else is there to get?

The last we left off we had a Best Philadelphia Movie poll and we got 1 vote and it was a good vote because it was for the Rocky movies (sorry I forgot to put the Happening on there). Welp, hopefully we get a few more votes next time, but to each their own.

With all the time off I did get to see a handful of movies some new, some old, some off the beaten path. I'm going to do a few small reviews so that we can fit them all in here. With out further a do...

Brothers Bloom

The Brother's Bloom is an intelligent, charming con movie that turns the genre on its head. It has the feel of an eccentric Wes Anderson film that met The Sting. It's not your typical (Ocean's 11 or CONfidence) con although it keeps the same approach by explain the different steps of the scam. With some great characters you can get behind and route for, an ingenious idea of pulling off a con and an interesting twist at the end, this movie will have you thinking you know whats going on, to not knowing whats going on, to figuring it out, but making you also re-think what you think just happened. Features Rachel Weisz (The Mummy, CONfidence, The Constant Gardener), Adrien Brody (Angels in the Outfield, The Darjeeling Limited, The Pianist) and Mark Ruffalo (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Shutter Island, The Kids Are Alright) and Directed by Rian Johnson (Brick).

The Fighter

The Fighter was an amazing film. Though it's a boxing movie, I think the sport takes a back seat to the whole family dynamic and relationships that saturate the screen. I feel like this is a family relationship movie with boxing in the background. The acting was top notch, to be more specific, Christian Bale (American Psycho, Equilibrium, The Dark Knight) was top notch. He stole every scene he was in, and when he wasn't on screen you wanted him back where he belonged, in front of you. Amy Adams (Catch Me if You Can, Enchanted, Doubt) was also a scene stealer going from a Nun in Doubt to a bad-ass bartender who won't take no shit from nobody. "The Sisters" were also a treat to watch, it was as if they plucked them up in a nearby trailer park in the outskirts of Boston somewhere. Also featuring Mark Wahlberg (The Basketball Diaries, The Italian Job, The Departed) and directed by David O. Russell (Three Kings, I Heart Huckabees).

Inside Job

Inside Job is a documentary about why we fell into the economic crisis we are in and who's responsible. I didn't get the finance/accounting jargon or political flim-flam, but I did get the overall jist of the movie. The ideas are portrayed easily enough, that even if u don't understand the jargon or flim-flam you know the good from the bad. A great look into what happened to our country and who is to blame. You'll come out of this film being able to have conversations about the downturn of our economy, which I never really did before but try to find every opportunity to.

Wall Street

Wall Street didn't blow me away like I thought. I think due to all the opulence that permeates our TV screens and movie theaters I was a little desensitized to all the wealth in the movie. The idea of growing from nothing, working hard and making money but doing it in a dirty manner is the idea behind the film. Gordon Gekko is an awesome character how ever, making people do whatever he wants and getting everything he yearns for. "Greed is good" Featuring Charlie Sheen (Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Platoon, Major League) Michael Douglas (Basic Instinct, Romancing the Stone, Falling Down) Daryl Hannah (Blade Runner, Kill Bill, Splash) and directed by Oliver Stone (Platoon, The Doors, Any Given Sunday)

True Grit

True Grit was a very entertaining and light hearted movie which is a surprise considering it came from the Coen Brothers (The Big Lebowski, Fargo, No Country for Old Men) who are known for their violence, twisted humor and dismal and serious themes. Another great performance all around with Jeff Bridges leading the pack as Rooster Cogburn. The feel of the movie is so authentic looking and the dialogue feels as though I was sitting in on conversations from the 1880's (or whatever the era it was they were in, the old west). The movie doesn't have necessarily dark humor per say, but this is by no means a comedy. Fueled by a story from the novel with the same name (and not the movie from 1969) the film will leave you with a feeling that you did in fact just have a positive movie going experience.

I thought of a random movie quote, see if you can guess where they're from...ok now you've guess so here's the answers

1) "SUCK BRICK KID!" (Home Alone 2: Lost in New York)

2) "Lotta sap in here! Mmmm... Looks great! Little full, lotta sap." (National Lampoon's: Christmas Vacation)

3) "I think so but I'd have to get pretty high" "I bet you would Panama Red" (Meet the Parents)

4) "You're what the French call les incompetents." (Home Alone)

5) "Buddy the Elf whats your favorite color" (Elf)

6) "Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine." (Casablanca)


Netflix Instant Watch of the Week: Tin Man. The Scyfy Channel did their own take on The Wizard of Oz which was such a great idea. I'm glad they took something we recognize and cherish and revamped/rebooted it, but did a made for tv movie that was absolutely phenomenal. They didn't do a giant spectacle on the movie screen, that was crap to make a buck, they actually made something decent. It takes the universe we know and builds off of it and creates something memorable. Features Zooey Deschanel ((500) Days of Summer, Elf, Yes Man) Alan Cumming (X2, GoldenEye, Spice World) Richard Dreyffuss (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jaws, Mr. Hollands Opus)


Netflix DVD of the Week: Alice. Another Scyfy original that is based on a beloved story, Alice in Wonderland. Taken from a universe we hold dear to our hearts, the Scyfy channel took it and made it something unique and memorable. They didn't fake it or force it, they gave it the TLC it needed and made it happen.

A Little movie news...

Tarantino top 20 of 2010
With the end of the year already behind us top ten lists of all sorts start to pop up. Top 10 movies of 2010, Worst movies of 2010, Best Music movie moments of 2010, and so on and so forth. As some know my favorite director of all time would be the one, the only Quentin Tarantino. He put out a top 20 movies (in his opinion) of 2010. I would have to agree with most but #12 and #18 are probably no where near my top any list of anytime. But he is who he is and I have to accept it, and now I'm going to see #12 and #18 whether I like it or not. Catch the list at http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2011/01/tarantinos_20_favorite_movies.html


Boats and Hoes Rap Album by John C. Reily and Will Ferrell
If you remember correctly Prestige World Wide debuted with there opening hit song "Boats and Hoes" in the hilarious Step Brothers. Well there won't be a a sequel to Step Brothers but there will be a rap album which either features hip-hop star Mos Def or is having him produce. I feel like this is running off the coat tail of Lonely Island who has the hit "On a Boat" and "Dick in a Box" which were made famous on SNL. I'm actually looking forward to this because I love boats and I love hoes and I love John C. Reily and I love Will Ferrell and I love Step Brothers. The whole article on Slashfilm.com http://www.slashfilm.com/ferrell-john-reilly-working-step-brothers-rap-album/

One More List
One of the Slashfilm writers wrote up a little article on his most anticipated movies of 2011 and revisits his most anticipated movies of 2010. I don't care for #1 and I wouldn't put #7 on my most anticipated out of its specific genre. Gotta love top ten lists, cause I do. Catch the full list at Slashfilm http://www.slashfilm.com/germains-top-ten-anticipated-films-2011/#more-94944


Thanks for all the support =)