Now that I’m on summer break, I finally have more time to watch anime movies. This list is the result of watching the movies with friends or at the NAU Anime Club in the last year and a half, so … Continue reading Anime Movie Reviews
The list of accolades for Disney’s Frozen is turning into a pretty lengthy one. It became just the seventh movie in the last 50 years to be No. 1 at the box office on two separate occasions at least six … Continue reading “Frozen” Destroys the Box Office — Round Two
Top 5 TV Shows That Should Be Made Into Movies Written by Courtney Gorder Watching television shows, as we all know, can be quite exhilarating. But come on – why must we wait days between each episode, putting us on … Continue reading Top 5: TV Shows That Should Be Made Into Movies
Shaun wrote a few days ago how “The Conjuring” would decide whether he saw horror movies anymore. Well with the insistence of my wife and that motivation to see something Shaun hadn’t I went to see “The Conjuring” last weekend. … Continue reading The Conjuring: Review from a Movie Novice
A couple weekends ago, Shaun, Jason and I went to see Man of Steel in theaters. You probably already know by this point that I don’t see a ton of movies in the first place, so automatically that has to … Continue reading Review from Movie Experts: Man of Steel
Star Trek Into Darkness Extended Trailer: Gary Mitchell? Trailers for trailers – an unfortunate reality of the world we live in. I can sit here and whine about it, or I can talk about how as far as these trailer … Continue reading Star Trek Into Darkness Extended Trailer: Gary Mitchell?
The answer to this question is no. Unfortunately, no it will not. Let me preface this by saying that going into this summer, I was more excited for The Dark Knight Rises than the Avengers. And I also believe The Dark … Continue reading Will “The Dark Knight Rises” Beat “The Avengers”?
Frequent show contributor and At the Buzzer movie review Gary Sundt and I are working on a few scripts to break our way into Hollywood (admittedly, Gary is doing a better job than I). I need this to happen, because right now I feel like I’m the only person on the planet who knows how to write a good ending.
Good endings aren’t hard. All you need to do is find the right blend of the ENDING TRIFECTA (patented by me). The ending trifecta is composed of resolution, satisfaction, and artistic closure. Like the perfect recipe, you need a little of each to really have a great ending. If you resolve everything by explaining what happens to every character, but the resolution is that every character is killed in a horrible fashion, this satisfies the resolution and artistic closure of your ending, but offers no fan satisfaction (unless the fans hated your characters). Likewise, if you attempt to satisfy your fans by offering a cookie cutter happy ending, you might sacrifice true character and event resolution, as well as the final exploration of your artistic themes.
It’s a tough balance. Except it’s not. Watch me cover some universally maligned endings and demonstrate how they easily could have been made better. Continue reading “Watch Me Make Endings Better (Spoilers)”
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”
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”
Gray Areas 