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Monday, March 8, 2010

For the sake of not having to write the same intro a million different ways throughout the rest of time, just know that this column avoids the overly long and sometimes dull process of full film reviews and instead opts to break things down based on what I thought going in, what happened while I was there and what I learned at the end of it all.  Thanks for reading!




The Breakdown - The Yellow Handkerchief

The Impression:

A Debbie Downer independent film that's been gathering dust on the shelves for almost two years, only to see light in the wake of Kristen Stewart's disturbingly meteoric rise to fame?  Well, at least it's a road-trip film, and I love a good road trip film.


The Reality:

A breathtaking character study of three very lost soul who's lives intertwine on an unexpected road trip through the South.  William Hurt's performance as Brett Hanson, an ex-con recently released from prison, is, quite simply, magnificent.  Hanson's downfall is his nearly uncontrollable anger, and William Hurt keeps the burning rage just below the surface, always a heart-beat away from lashing out.  Eddie Redmayne is so believable in the film, I can only imagine that this isn't acting, that if you were to drive across the South in a powder blue convertible with him at the wheel, this is exactly how he'd be.
 Kristen Stewart, still shockingly bland in every role, manages to amble along exuding her trademark bruised anguish.

Softly beautiful with a script that allows it's leads to truly shine, I recommend nearly every moment of this film, but
know this: leave the theater exactly two minutes before the credits roll, as the last shot of the film nearly decimates the hard-won good will that has come before.  Honestly, one of the worst, patched on conclusions of any film I've ever seen.


The Lesson:

Ninety minutes of amazing film can be brutally raked across the coals by a terrible ending.




 

Noah Sanders is the blog/news editor at Light In The Attic and a contributor at Sound On The Sound and the KEXP blog.  He also has his own Criterion-based film site, Criterion Quest.   If you'd like to contact Noah in regards to his writings here at Side One: Track One then please do so here.


- Noah Sanders - - Digg!



 

Sunday, March 7, 2010

For the sake of not having to write the same intro a million different ways throughout the rest of time, just know that this column avoids the overly long and sometimes dull process of full film reviews and instead opts to break things down based on what I thought going in, what happened while I was there and what I learned at the end of it all.  Hope that's OK.

Read on!




The Breakdown - She's Out Of My League

The Impression:

While trying to win over an incredibly beautiful women, Jay Baruchel (Knocked Up, Tropic Thunder) proves that he IS the average Joe-type character that's he played in all his other movies.  Also, there's some filler material that features him with what seems to be a cast of b-side versions of Judd Apatow's inner circle.



The Reality:

As it turns out, this is actually a pretty hilarious flick.  Sure, there isn't anything in it that you haven't seen or laughed at before, but it's so damn charming that you won't be able to not enjoy it.  And don't worry about it being an Apatow rip-off, it actually has more in common with a Ben Stiller-type rom-com.  Only, and this is the most important part, you don't have to sit through one outrageous misstep after another (I'm looking at you Meet The Parents).  This is all laughs, and fortunately for all they're the kind that don't make you hang your head in shame.



The Lesson:


The world needs more watchable R-rated comedies, and She's Out Of My League is a good start.




- John Laird - - Digg!



Sunday, March 7, 2010

For the sake of not having to write the same intro a million different ways throughout the rest of time, just know that this column avoids the overly long and sometimes dull process of full film reviews and instead opts to break things down based on what I thought going in, what happened while I was there and what I learned at the end of it all.  Hope that's OK.

Read on!




The Breakdown - Eve's Necklace

The Impression:

A thriller with an interesting concept - no actors, just mannequins.



The Reality:

If there's anything that seems to widely be considered as creepy it's lifeless objects that are treated as though they're alive.  So, naturally you'd think a black and white flick that stars said purveyors of the dead eye stare would make for a cringe-worthy experience, and you'd be wrong.  Eve's Necklace actually works in a non-nightmarish way.  Unfortunately though, that may have been because I was thoroughly distracted by a fairly standard "woman with a dark past" story and more laughably-bad voice work than Kim Cattrall could shake a stick at.



The Lesson:


Good direction and an interesting concept aren't the only things you need to make a great movie.  Actors (or at least good voice actors) are also an important part.




- John Laird - - Digg!



 

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

The pairing of Tim Burton and Lewis Carrol's Alice In Wonderland seems a match made in heaven.  Burton has, and I believe always will, dedicated his career to injecting the idea of the children's story with his trademark sense of gothic nightmare.  The worlds he creates toe the line of terror, but manage to do so with an underlying sense of quirky playfulness, inviting the viewer to enjoy, even embrace the terrifying.  Alice In Wonderland, is, at heart, a kid's book about a psychedelic dream, a brightly colored nightmare of sorts, and Tim Burton crafts a brilliant, visually stunning world that brings the hallucinogenic aspects to the forefront.






Review -
Alice In Wonderland

Tim Burton's bad-acid-eaten Wonderland (or Underland) is set some 13 years after Alice's (Mia Wasikowska) inaugural tumble down the rabbit hole, and this sort-of-sequel finds a Wonderland near destroyed.  The Red Queen (a brilliant Helena Bonham Carter) has, with enchanting malice, ravaged and razed old Wonderland, leaving its beloved and familiar denizens in a state of abject disregard.  Alice, unknowingly, has returned to become a champion and free Wonderland from the Red Queen's maniacal grasp.

Painting with a palette of blacks, and browns and grays, Burton creates a Wonderland that borders on grotesque nightmare.  A Wonderland gone to seed, the familiar haunts of prior adaptations now husk-like remains of the past.  Skeletal trees snake across the horizon and poison-toothed bandersnatches roam the wilderness.  Amongst all this though, Burton manages to insert the bizarre sense of humor we've grown accustomed to.  Eyes are poked out (and replaced), fake noses (and breasts and guts) are ridiculed, the Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry) dances across the air.  The time-honored characters of Carrol's original world still exist, but they've been broken, frightened, and abused, their beloved characteristics turned on their head.  The Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) is actually quite insane, but not in the tee-hee funny way of past Alice adaptations,  rather in a shocking, almost sad way.  Depp brings a sense of gallows humor to the role, but this is a Mad Hatter ravaged by terrible things seen and done, a man shattered by the past.

Sadly, the story behind this new Alice and Wonderland fails to live up to the world Burton creates around it.  Alice must fulfill her destiny and kill the Jabbowocky - that's it, that's all.  Less an engaging plot, and more a catalyst for Mia Wasikowska's bland portrayal of Alice to tromp about in the fantastical world at hand, engaging with the extravagant, and oft times hilarious characters that populate this blend of Burton and Carrol's world.

Amazingly, this was nearly enough for me.  I found myself completely engaged, perhaps not in Alice's quest, but instead in emerging myself in this truly Tim Burton creation.  I wanted to see the world that existed off the edges of the page.  Slim story aside, I shockingly found myself in wont of a sequel or two sequels, anything to allow me another trip down that wild rabbit hole.

 


 

 

Noah Sanders is the blog/news editor at Light In The Attic and a contributor at Sound On The Sound and the KEXP blog.  He also has his own Criterion-based film site, Criterion Quest.   If you'd like to contact Noah in regards to his writings here at Side One: Track One then please do so here.


- Noah Sanders - - Digg!



Wednesday, March 3, 2010

For the sake of not having to write the same intro a million different ways throughout the rest of time, just know that this column avoids the overly long and sometimes dull process of full film reviews and instead opts to break things down based on what I thought going in, what happened while I was there and what I learned at the end of it all.  Thanks for reading!




The Breakdown - Brooklyn's Finest

The Impression:

Crash but with cops, as directed by the man behind Training Day, a film I absolutely deplored.



The Reality:

If you're looking for cop cliche, Brooklyn's Finest has all the detective cliches you can stomach: the undercover cop who's been in deep for too long (Don Cheadle); the detective faced with moral dilemma when he has to protect his family (a sweaty Ethan Hawke); and of course, the disillusioned beat cop who has just days before he retires (Richard Gere).  Antoine Fuqua seems to find that if he loosely interweaves these three stories and ties them in to a mammoth ball of violence in the final few frames, that he doesn't need to add anything but booming symphonics, graphic sex and violence, and showy visuals to "add something new" to these rote formulas.  From frame one the outcome of each and every story has already been played out a thousand times on the silver screen, moment by moment, word by word and by directors and screenwriters far more talented. 


The Lesson:


Originality is well worth it's weight in gold.




 

Noah Sanders is the blog/news editor at Light In The Attic and a contributor at Sound On The Sound and the KEXP blog.  He also has his own Criterion-based film site, Criterion Quest.   If you'd like to contact Noah in regards to his writings here at Side One: Track One then please do so here.


- Noah Sanders - - Digg!



 

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

For the sake of not having to write the same intro a million different ways throughout the rest of time, just know that this column avoids the overly long and sometimes dull process of full film reviews and instead opts to break things down based on what I thought going in, what happened while I was there and what I learned at the end of it all.  Hope that's OK.

Read on!




The Breakdown - Alice In Wonderland

The Impression:

Tim Burton takes a classic, dips it in his trademark visual style and then sequelizes and updates it for the modern masses.  Also, it's in 3D (aka the greatest technology of all-time)!



The Reality:

This film is big, weird and quite possibly the most fantastical effort in recent memory.  Burton actually throws you down the rabbit hole, where he then hastily introduces you to a very bizarre cast of characters and then has a blast showing off an incredibly wide range of humor and actions that seem bent on making you wonder if you should even be in attendance.  Is Alice In Wonderland for kids?  Adults?  I don't have a clue.  For every fantasy-filled moment with Anne Hathaway as the White Queen in a beautiful castle there's one with someone losing an eye or freaking out in what could be called a crack-fueled fit.  The whole damn thing, for lack of a better description, is a wild experience.  But then again, that's probably what the lot of them were probably going for with this.  Tim Burton is a strange (and super creative) man.

Aside from the actual flick, the 3D was pointless.  I actually would have enjoyed it more without the glasses hanging on my face for two hours.  Don't see it this way if you can avoid it.



The Lesson:


Helena Bonham Carter + Johnny Depp + Tim Burton + Well Earned Creative Freedom = Winning Formula.




- John Laird - - Digg!



 

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Time for your weekly notable news update!  Below you'll find a slew of sentences meant to provide a brief glimpse of what's been going on over the past week in movieland.  If something leaves you desperate for more info then my advice is to do a little extra research on one or all of the following fantastic sites:  Latino Review, Dark Horizons, Ain't It Cool News, CHUD and/or JoBlo.  Now, read on!

Movie News Rundown

Paul Greengrass has confirmed that he will for certain not be returning to the Bourne franchise.

Taylor Lautner has given up the role of Max Steel in order to make the Stretch Armstong movie.

Robert Rodriguez says he has plans to return to his sci-fi script for Nerverackers once he is done working on Predators.

Paramount is rumored to be putting together a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's Suspicion.  The original followed a woman who suspects her loving husband may be a killer.

The trailer for The Karate Kid remake is out.  Surprisingly, it doesn't look terrible.

Angelina Jolie has dropped out of Wanted 2, so now the movie has been canned.  She apparently replaced it with Gravity, a sci-fi flick that's to be directed by Alfonso Cuaron.

Pixar is rumored to have lined up a sequel to Monsters Inc.

Brian De Palma is being considered as the director for Paranormal Activity 2.

Roland Emmerich has begun work on Anonymous, which deals with the theory that Shakespeare was actually Edward De Vere, the 17th Earl Of Oxford.

Justin Theroux is going to write and direct Zoolander 2.  Ben Stiller will return.  No word yet on Owen Wilson.  Also, Jonah Hill is rumored to be the villain.

The A Nightmare On Elm Street remake has a new trailer.  Could be an interesting flick.

Bradley Cooper has dropped out of McG's This Means War because of scheduling conflicts with The Hangover 2.

Rumor has it that John Krasinki is in the lead to play Captain America.

Nicole Kidman will join Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston in Go With It.  No word yet on what her role is, but the movie is about a guy who hires a family in order to impress the woman of his dreams.

Kevin Smith's next movie is called Hit Somebody.  It will star Sean William Scott has a hockey player who is trying to score just one goal.

David Goyer has been hired to write the Superman reboot, The Man Of Steel.

Matt Damon is said to be the preferred choice to play the lead role in the planned adaptation of the Robert F Kennedy biopic His Life.

Jonah Hill has signed on to star in The Sitter.  The movie will be directed by David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express) and is said to be similar in tone to the 80's Adventures In Babysitting.

George Lopez will star in a live action/CG hybrid version of Speedy Gonzalez.  Sad.

Bruce Willis has said that he's up for another Die Hard entry.

Stephen Chow will direct Tai Chi, which is said to be an homage to Bruce Lee's Return Of The Dragon.  Oddly enough, Jack Black and Anne Hathaway are attached to appear in the film.

Ian McShane has signed to play the role of Blackbeard in Pirates Of The Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides.

Jamie Foxx and Ashton Kutcher are teaming up for a buddy comedy called Streets On Fire.

Christina Applegate, Alyssa Milano and Vanessa Angel have signed on to join Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis in Hall Pass.  Directed by the Farrelly Brothers, the movie is said to be about two guys who get a pass from their wives to have a week of extramarital sex.

- John Laird - - Digg!



 

Friday, February 26, 2010

For the sake of not having to write the same intro a million different ways throughout the rest of time, just know that this column avoids the overly long and sometimes dull process of full film reviews and instead opts to break things down based on what I thought going in, what happened while I was there and what I learned at the end of it all.  Thanks for reading!




The Breakdown - The Crazies

The Impression:

Hit or miss.  Could be another flop in a long line of truly shitty horror remakes, or it could be a tense, well shot bit of nail-biting that pays true homage to the zombie-master himself, George Romero.


The Reality:

A great, great, great horror film.  Hell, a great film in general.  When the denizens of Ogden Marsh start going, well, fucking crazy, David Dutton (Timothy Olyphant), his wife Judy (Radha Mitchell), and their wiry deputy Randall (Joe Anderson) have to fight through townspeople-gone-nuts, a trigger happy military presence, and trio of psychotic hillbillies.  It's a lot to bite off, and director Breck Eisner absolutely nails it.  This isn't a cash-grab rehash of Sir Romero's beloved classic, no no, this is a smart, beautiful bit of horror that plays to the talents of all on hand.

Eisner does two things fantasically well: one, he makes you care about the character.  If I don't care about the characters, I don't care when those characters are put at risk.  But the cast assembled here manage to exude likability amongst the gory proceedings at hand.  When they start to fear that the sickness might be getting them, I was worried, scared even that I'd have to watch these characters kill themselves or each other.  Eisner also nails the true point of a film called The Crazies: this isn't just about people-turned-zombies, this is about the insanity that lurks at the very core of all of us.  In intense situations (such as your friends and neighbors literally turning on you with homicidal rage) we'd all act a little crazy. Thus, when Dutton explodes in a car at his wife, you have to think: has he gone mad?  Or is he just reacting to the stress at hand?  Eisner plays on this throughout the entire film, building a level of intensity that had me closing my eyes at times to try and squeeze it out.

On top of that the gore is fantastic.  From moment one, Eisner makes sure we know that he plays for keeps and Jesus if I've ever seen a pitchfork used so effectively, I don't know when. 

My only worry about this film is that the ending (big and bold and perfectly realized) leaves room for a bigger, crazier The Crazies and I don't think the concept they have at mind would work at all.  This is a small town picture that relies on the stereotypical ideals of a small town.  If you know all your neighbors, it's that much worse when they start sewing each others eyes shut. 



The Lesson:


If anyone was worried that the director of Sahara was sticking his fingers in to the Flash Gordon/Brood pies, you shouldn't.  This is a clear, concentrated genre-film and I'm actually excited to see what Breck Eisner does next.



 

 

Noah Sanders is the blog/news editor at Light In The Attic and a contributor at Sound On The Sound and the KEXP blog.  He also has his own Criterion-based film site, Criterion Quest.   If you'd like to contact Noah in regards to his writings here at Side One: Track One then please do so here.


- Noah Sanders - - Digg!



Friday, February 26, 2010

I think my brain might've become addled by the flash-and-glamour of modern big-budget filmmaking.  Quite possibly the Michael Bay's of the world have managed to subversively kick my grey matter so many times that films that choose a slower, less visually aggressive tactic seem almost glacial in their presentation.  Take Roman Polanski's new film The Ghost Writer, a film that leans heavily on the old school thrillers of Polanski's hey-day in it's near-ponderous approach to unraveling the mystery at hand.  This isn't a pulse-pounding actioneer, rife with stunt-filled action scenes and sweaty cleavage, not at all.  Instead this is a slow burner where the mystery's various angles are exposed through on-screen exposition, through characters digging and researching and hunting for the truth.

And I just wasn't having it.  In fact, at the film's end I sat there and wondered to myself, "Have I lost my ability to enjoy a film that doesn't just bombard me with excitement?"  No, actually I haven't, this film just isn't exciting.






Review - The Ghost Writer

So, The Ghost (Ewan McGregor) is a, sigh, ghost writer contracted to write the memoirs of a once-loved, but now controversial Prime Minister (Pierce Brosnan).  The former ghost-writer has died mysteriously and The Ghost, sequestered on a tiny island, is thrust in to a tightly-spun web involving the PM's wife (Olivia Cross), war crimes, and the CIA.  Up front, a perfectly fine platform for a master of his craft to bring his formidable old-school skills to bear.  Problem is, the Polanski of Chinatown and Rosemary's Baby never comes to the fore.  Instead we have a film that features searching on Google as one of it's most "thrilling scenes."  A film that plods along, never embracing boredom entirely, but always just toeing the line of excitement.

This political thriller never finds its groove.  The film's main points, which are The Ghost character and the "simmering" mystery inherent to the plot, are underdeveloped.  Half-way through the film I suddenly realized that though I was slightly attached to all of The Ghost's attempts to unearth the solution to the mystery, I didn't really even know what that mystery was.  Murder? War crime?  The true moral rectitude of former-Prime Minister Adam Lang?  I didn't know, and this realization snowballed in to the next: I didn't really care either.

None of this is helped along by the ironically barely existent character of The Ghost.  Ewan McGregor, always a likable front-man, tries hard to impress the character with some sort of uniqueness, but in the end The Ghost is nothing more than a means-to-an-end.  A sort of transparent avatar that allows the audience a better way of experiencing the twists-and-turn of the Lang family.  He's not particularly cheeky or driven, but rather just a paranoid, at times snarky fellow who stumbles upon the possibility of a mystery and decides, for unknown reasons to explore it.

Polanski, caught up in a quite a bit of his own controversy these days, does manage to create a  convincing sense of overpowering isolation.  Each character is a singular planet in their own little universe, trying as hard as they can to bring something in to their orbit.  As the plot plays out, it becomes quite clear that the majority of the actions of the past and present are aimed at bring some sense of being, regardless of their moral consequences and immorality.  The character's interactions are mildly desperate ones, feeble attempts at jerry-rigging emotional connections.

Yes, my brain has been softened by today's wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am filmmaking.  But no, my gooey grey matter has nothing to do with my mild dislike for The Ghost Writer.  It's just a thriller sans thrill, a taut film with out any of the stretch.

 


 

 

Noah Sanders is the blog/news editor at Light In The Attic and a contributor at Sound On The Sound and the KEXP blog.  He also has his own Criterion-based film site, Criterion Quest.   If you'd like to contact Noah in regards to his writings here at Side One: Track One then please do so here.


- Noah Sanders - - Digg!



Saturday, February 20, 2010

Time for your weekly notable news update!  Below you'll find a slew of sentences meant to provide a brief glimpse of what's been going on over the past week in movieland.  If something leaves you desperate for more info then my advice is to do a little extra research on one or all of the following fantastic sites:  Latino Review, Dark Horizons, Ain't It Cool News, CHUD and/or JoBlo.  Now, read on!

Movie News Rundown

Jesper Christensen, who played Mr. White in the recent Bond movies, says he won't be back for another and that the previous two were "shit".

Ultimate Spider-Man creator Brian Bendis recently tweeted that he's had some meetings with the group doing the reboot over at Sony.  Guess this means they're for sure going the route of teen angst Peter Parker.

Sylvain White, who is currently wrapping this summer's The Losers, says his next project may be an adaptation of Frank Miller's Ronin.

Speaking of The Losers, it's release date has now gone from April 9 to June 4 to April 23.  Stay tuned.

Ben Stiller may be close to replacing Eddie Murphy in a movie called Tower Heist.  Supposedly, Chris Rock and Chris Tucker are already attached to star in the story of three guys trying to pull of a plan to swindle the residents of Trump Tower in New York City.  Brett Ratner is said to be directing and, oddly enough, Noah Baumbach is looking at tweaking the script.

The Secret Of Kells, which was just nominated for an Oscar, has a trailer that's definitely worth checking out.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan is set to join Sam Worthington in The Killing Fields.

John Lasseter has reportedly been brought in to help with some story problems on Cars 2.

Leo Howard (the young version of Snake Eyes in GI Joe) has been cast as the young version of Conan in the upcoming remake.

Amanda Seyfried is said to be the preferred choice for the lead role in Girl With The Red Riding Hood.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon may be teaming up to do a movie called The Trade, which is a true story about two New York Yankees who swapped wives.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo has a new trailer.  Looks interesting.

Owen Wilson has been cast in Woody Allen's next (and currently untitled) movie.

Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) has lined up a couple of projects.  One is Peter Berg's Battleship and the other is Raven, which is a fictional tale about Edgar Allan Poe that already stars Matt Damon.

Rober De Niro and Martin Scorsese are said to be re-teaming for another mob drama.

Christopher Waltz has replaced Sean Penn in Water For Elephants.  He'll play the crazy husband of Reese Witherspoon, who falls in love with another man (Robert Pattinson).

- John Laird - - Digg!



 

Friday, February 19, 2010

Go see Shutter Island.  That's what the name of this column should be this week, because it's all I really want to say.  I wrote a huge, glowing review of the film (which you can read HERE) and it's sheer mastery still has me on fantastic high.

Aside from that I barely know what's coming out this week, so it'll be a journey of discovery that we can take together.

As always, my powerful co-writer Alex Healy will pouring arsenic in to tea and lambasting the shit out of those films she just can't stand.

Hitting Theaters This Weekend:






SHUTTER ISLAND

The Director:  Martin Scorsese (Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, etc.)

The Stars:  Leonardo Dicaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Michelle Williams

The Studio:  Paramount Pictures

The Story:  Two U.S. Marshalls (Leonardo Dicaprio and Mark Ruffalo) venture to an island-bound insane asylum to find a deranged killer (Emily Mortimer) gone missing.

My Thoughts
:  Fucking brilliant.  Best Scorsese film in years.  It's horrific, it's taut, it's giant on every level and Leonardo Dicaprio just fucking nails it.  Read my full review HERE.

Alex Says:  A mind fuck. A brilliant film. I'd go again.

Rotten Tomatoes Score:  68%


 






THE GHOST WRITER

The Director:  Roman Polanksi

The Stars:
 
Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Catrall

The Studio:
 
Summit Distribution

The Story:
 
A young writer (Ewan McGregor) is asked to help write the memoirs of an influential political figure (Pierce Brosnan), but things go terribly awry.  For some reason.

The Trailer:
 
I'll be seeing this next week and then you'll get a full review, but the trailer, honestly, makes the film seem like a hack-job thriller, not the well-received work of one of film's great masters.  I mean, how the hell does Kim Catrall still get work?

Will I See It?:  
I most certainly will, for free, next week.

Alex Says:
 
Samantha from Sex And The City is in it, that usually means a resounding no, but Roman fucking Polanski directed it. "two snaps in z formation!"

Rotten Tomatoes Score:  78%








HAPPY TEARS

The Director:  Mitchell Lichtenstein

The Stars:
 
Demi Moore, Parker Posey, Rip Torn

The Studio:
 
Roadside Attractions

The Story:
 
Two sisters (Demi Moore and Parker Posey) return to their childhood home to take care of their ailing father.  A whole lot of shit bubbles to the surface.

The Trailer:
 
You know, the director of this film has some chops (he made the teeth in vagina film Teeth, and hell, his father is Ray Lichtenstein) but this trailer is so goddamn schmaltzy.  It just reeks of that film about ya-ya sisterhoods or the one about traveling pants.  What I'm hoping is that in a bid to repackage the film for better audience consumption, they made this godawful trailer.  I hope.

Will I See It?:  
I was offered the chance, but turned it down to see a little film called Shutter Island.

Alex Says:
 
Parker Posey and filial dysfunction usually peaks my interest, but something about that trailer left me with mediocrity on my tongue and "just fine" on my brain.

Rotten Tomatoes Score:  36%


 



 



THE GOOD GUY

The Director:  Julio DePietro

The Stars:
 
Alexis Bleidel

The Studio:
 
Roadside Attractions

The Story:
 
A romantic drama set in New York about dating.  I can't even muster the energy to say anything mean about this daddling piece 'o' shit.

My Thoughts:  
I somehow stayed awake during this film, don't ask me how.  But it is awful.  Trite, boring, poorly written.  Read my Breakdown HERE.

Alex Says:
 
Cheese and rice! I hate a film about love triangles that have no same sex couples. This film is doing a giant disservice to New York City.  Noah, I'm glad you went on a romantic date with JonMarc on this one.

Rotten Tomatoes Score:  50%


 


 

Final Thoughts:  Go see Shutter Island.  Run to the theater right now and see it.  That is all.

Alex Says:  With the mammoth popularity of 3-D in current film, I'm hoping that's just a train stop away from silent films ! Lovely, black and white, jittery silent films.
 

Noah Sanders is the blog/news editor at Light In The Attic and a contributor at Sound On The Sound and the KEXP blog.  He also has his own Criterion-based film site, Criterion Quest.   If you'd like to contact Noah in regards to his writings here at Side One: Track One then please do so here.


- Noah Sanders - - Digg!




Unless otherwise expressly stated, all text in this blog and any related pages, including the blog's archives, is licensed by John Laird under a Creative Commons License.