Summer's begun and so have the blockbusters. Whether you're looking for something to do on a rainy day or have some free time to kill, you might be wondering which films hit or miss. Below is a list of a few new releases and where they fall on the must-see scale.
This Friday marks the culmination of quite a journey for a little screenplay that could when "Leatherheads" hits the big screen.
This weekend, Gainesville's indie music scene will take a diary tour of the Icelandic landscape through the eyes and ears of Sigur Ros.
It's that time of year again when Hollywood pats itself on the back for a job well done on a bunch of films that came out in fall or winter, ignoring great films that came out earlier in the year like "Zodiac." While I care very little about the Oscars in general (let's be honest here: a silly little statue of a naked gold man means nothing), here are my picks for the show on Sunday.
So you're single and it's Valentine's Day. The love of your life isn't returning your phone calls, text messages or threatening carrier-pigeon communiqués, so why not rekindle your love affair with cinema?
When Adult Swim first aired, the premiere episode of "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" proved to be the worst of the lineup. Though it is now in its fifth season on Cartoon Network and has proven to be hilariously surreal, the quality of the show is still sometimes reminiscent of its rocky beginning.
My movie-geek friends were surprised to find out that I had never seen anything with Daniel Day-Lewis in it (not even "Gangs of New York").
"Juno" is "Little Miss Sunshine" for 2007: a cute comedy with "indie" sensibilities that has won the hearts of both critics and audiences alike. The main difference between the two, however, is that "Juno" is actually good.
Editor's note: While Danny and I disagree somewhat on the year's best movies, remember he's the expert. Here are his picks.
When you're home for the holidays and get to the point where you can't possibly stand your relatives any longer, turn to the entity that truly shaped your childhood: TV.
"Hitman" is perhaps one of the better film adaptations of a video game. However, that is not saying much. It is quick and highly stylized but suffers from a lack of depth.
There is a scene in "Dan in Real Life" where one of Steve Carell's character's shrill, insufferable daughters ("She sounds like a tea kettle," to quote an earlier, better Carell movie) is pleading emotionally with him to let her boyfriend stay over. Once she uses the word "love," Carell suddenly laughs uncontrollably at his daughter's naïve stupidity. Not only is it the only genuinely funny scene in the film, but his line also accurately depicts how I felt watching "Dan in Real Life": "You've got to be kidding me."
After my first viewing of the trailer for "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry," with its rampant homophobia and the sheer presence of Adam Sandler ("Punch Drunk Love" notwithstanding), I knew it was going to be a film to avoid. When it turned out to be my only viable choice at a movie theater one night, I knew deep within my soul that I was going to hate it and write a scathing review.
Judging from his films, the coming-of-age story seems to be Wes Anderson's favorite genre. At the end of every one of his films, at least one of the protagonists has arrived at some enlightened state of maturity, and this nirvana is usually acknowledged by a sentimental slow-motion shot accompanied by heartfelt music.
Take a good look at the poster for "Scarface" with that famous black-and-white image of Al Pacino. Now imagine Denzel Washington in the place of Pacino (he even holds a pistol in the same hand) and plop Russell Crowe behind him for good measure, and you have the poster for Ridley Scott's new film, "American Gangster," which was surely no accident.
"Elizabeth: The Golden Age" was like a long walk in the park.
If I had to pick a word to describe the new movie "The Kingdom," I might choose "intense." "Rapid" also comes to mind.
There are probably some people who would confidently accuse David Cronenberg of selling out. Since 2002's "Spider," Cronenberg has seemed to purposefully avoid working in the horror and sci-fi genres in which he made some of his best films. Others would consider it as the director "maturing," as if his previous films were infantile (go rent the classic "Videodrome" and marvel "infantile" social commentary about our sick love affair with television).
"Mr. Woodcock" is a textbook example of the preview showing all the funny parts of a movie. After an hour and a half, I can safely say there was only one scene not revealed in the previews worthy of a laugh. That's it. Only one. The rest of the film plods along with all the enthusiasm of a mollusk.
The poster for "Shoot 'Em Up" brings to mind the work of John Woo before he started wasting his talent in Hollywood: Clive Owen, ever the new icon of modern, tough-guy cool, firing two pistols midair a la Chow Yun Fat.
Solutions by The State News
