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Review: This American Life Live! (2012)

Gary Sundt

ImageA theater buzzing with intellectuals and hipsters was what I expected and promptly received when I attended This American Life Live! You Can’t Do That On The Radio, a live performance of the ever-popular radio program and podcast series beamed to roughly 600 movie theaters around the country on May 8, 2012. If you listen to the show, the only thing that kept you from Thursday’s program was either lack of proximity to a not-sold-out movie theater or the $20 required to pay the hefty ticket price.

This American Life, for those uninitiated, is a publicly produced radio program broadcast weekly on over 500 stations around the country before being posted for free online, where it frequently has the distinction of being the most popular podcast in the country. Hosted by the soothingly precise voice of the invaluable Ira Glass (who could read you to sleep were he not pumping your brain with so much goodness), each episode has a chosen theme that is unpacked over an hour of selected stories of everyday people — most them either heartwarmingly or heartbreakingly true.  Perhaps the best way to understand the show is simply to listen (the most recent episode, #154: In Dog We Trust, is available here), and their website is packed with their expansive catalogue of nearly every program for the price the oxygen and time your consuming at this very moment (though the show is arguably a better use of the latter than anything I’m currently writing).

Hence the distinction “Live!” in the title of this one-of-a-kind theatrical experience, where listeners around the globe can bask in the glory of seeing nerds on-stage in real time in 600 different venues around the country. And this is indeed an event for a crowd, up to and including a specifically interactive performance from Grammy-award winning band OK Go. This Amercan Life has always seemed pointed at bringing people together through experience (shared or individual), and part of the fun of this particular presentation is that it literally accomplishes that expressed goal. Continue reading “Review: This American Life Live! (2012)”

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Rack Focus: Review: Hunger Games

Gary Sundt

Once in a great while, my career beckons me in a way that incapacitates me ever so slightly. Did I see The Hunger Games? Yes. Did I like it? Definitely. Do I have time to write a full review? Not this week. For this reason, joining me for the review is At The Buzzer contributor and all-around Superman look-a-like Shaun El-Ters.

Both being fans of the novel by Suzanne Collins, we’re going to first take issue with any and all comparison’s to the Twilight films beyond the simple truth that these are popular stories designed for tweens. The trailer for The Hunger Games is, on its own,  compelling viewing, while any clip of Bella Swan (who we most recently saw hungrily eyeing a deer) induces laughter. Both properties are obviously designed to make money, but the expertise in the production of The Hunger Games makes it the sci-fi pulp cult classics are made of. Continue reading “Rack Focus: Review: Hunger Games”

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Rack Focus: Review: The Artist

Gary Sundt

As I live in Los Angeles, I am an avid listener to the hilarious Kevin & Bean Show in the mornings on KROQ 106.7 FM. This past Tuesday, Kevin was complaining about The Artist, this year’s apparent frontrunner for the Best Picture Oscar at this year’s Academy Awards. Not only does our man Kevin dislike the film, but he has gone as far as to call it “utter BS.”

He has, of course, made up his mind having never seen the film, under the guise that it is for hipsters and intellectuals. They’re all wrong, but we’re going to circle back to that.

In the meantime, let me explain a little bit about The Artist. Here we have a silent film about the silent film era, specifically focusing on the transition into the talkies. Many silent film stars lost their livelihood when sound came along, and more than a few ended their lives when they were told their careers as movie stars were over. Those who could afford to reinvent themselves did just that, and such is the path of our protagonist, George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), a Frenchman who has spent his career singing and dancing and emoting without the aid of words. When sound hits the street, his success hits the skids, and he’s left to navigate the ways of filmmaking with only his faithful dog and his faithful driver (James Cromwell). Continue reading “Rack Focus: Review: The Artist”

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Rack Focus: Review: The Grey

Gary Sundt

At the risk of spoiling the entire film, I must warn anyone who was stirred to see The Grey from its promising trailer. It’s not that the latest picture from writer/director Joe Carnahan (Narc, Smokin’ Aces, The A-Team) isn’t his best yet — in point of fact, it is — but it’s that the film that was sold to you is not really what you’ll be getting. It’s not dissimilar to Drive, an art film stuck with a “fast and furious” trailer. These aren’t bad movies, but the false pretense on which you see the film may leave you dissatisfied.

So here’s my warning: If you, like me, watched the trailer and determined that a snow-covered and wartorn Liam Neeson fighting wolves with a fistful of broken bottles was a film worth your hard-earned dollars, be prepared to be disappointed. It’s not that you’ll dislike The Grey, but this is a film that will give you everything but what you thought you were promised. The outrage from the audience was palpable and reasonable when the ending credits began, as though a ruse had been pulled and we had been gipped a dollar. But there is still a lot to like in The Grey, so long as you can accept the movie on it’s own terms. Continue reading “Rack Focus: Review: The Grey”

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Rack Focus: Sex, Trees, Wizards, and Aliens, or The Very Best of 2011

Gary Sundt

Hey there, gang! My name is Gary Sundt, and this is my very first piece as film critic for At the Buzzer. To those who know my film criticism, hello again. To those who are new to the game, glad you could make it, and check out my past reviews over at garysundt.wordpress.com. And to those who have a problem with my opinions and wish to strike up a debate about films and filmmaking, please feel free to do so as I’ll be thrilled to pound your very wrong opinions into the ground.

Now that we’re done with formalities, let’s get to my breakdown of the Best Films of 2011. While I thought coming up with 10 films I loved from 2011 would be difficult, I’m rather surprised to discover just how much there was to love. I’ve written a lot of these lists in the past, and I’d like to try something different this year by merely denoting my favorite flicks and giving them awards I’ve seen fit to make up.

From lizards to mutants, from aliens to sad people, from sex to sex with the Irish — here’s my recap of the very best of 2011 in film. Continue reading “Rack Focus: Sex, Trees, Wizards, and Aliens, or The Very Best of 2011”