Operational – “Rust and Bone” Review

Writer/director Jacques Audiard enjoys subverting clichés. He places them in original settings and twists them by playing it straight. There’s the ex-con love story of Read My Lips, the torn pianist at the center of The Beat That My Heart Skipped, and–my favorite–the classic prison saga, A Prophet. Each film is tinged with crime elements, and they seem to take pride in highlighting previously unexplored careers (A Prophet is more unexplored culture). Rust and Bone continues Audiard’s style of approaching the predictable in unpredictable ways.

2012 Fall Preview: 25 Films I Can’t Wait to See #20-16

The countdown continues, here are 5 more films to lookout for.

The Trouble with Quibbles: The Dark Knight Rises – Part 2

The quibbling continues as Bryan and I discuss our feelings about The Dark Knight Rises. If you haven’t already, be sure to read part 1 of this Quibble.

The Trouble with Quibbles: The Dark Knight Rises – Part 1

I’ve been wrestling with the anticipation for The Dark Knight Rises on an ever-increasing level over the last few years. Until a few weeks ago, it was a gradual thing, nothing too grand, but then we got to July and with the film only weeks away, I kinda lost it. I went batty. Prepping for Shooting the Script’s Batman coverage only exacerbated things. I gave in and have been on a Bat-binge for the last three weeks. This exponential increase in eagerness to see the film combined with the events surrounding the release of The Dark Knight Rises has been overwhelming. When I finally saw the film it was less like entertainment and more like treatment… like getting my fix… like something I had to do… like a release… of all this pent up eagerness mixed with anxiety. It was a very bizarre movie-going experience. It’s strange how ridiculous the simple act of going to see a movie became. It’s only a movie. Still, something about Christopher Nolan’s trilogy–and Batman in general–has given us a lot to talk about.

Just Seine – “Midnight in Paris” Review

With Midnight in Paris, writer/director Woody Allen transports us to familiar territory, but to use the phrase “return to form” would be a disservice to both the director and the film. Yes, Midnight in Paris is a wonderful slice of magical realism akin to The Purple Rose of Cairo and Stardust Memories, but the film is so much more than mere nostalgia.

Get Innocuous! – “Contagion” Review

At first glance, Contagion might feel rather redundant. Killer plague movies have been done plenty. But I’d say you’ve never seen one like this, done this well. What separates this film from others in the genre is the simple, yet surprisingly unconventional, pursuit of realism. Often, these films wipe out 99% of the human race. Contagion shows you that 1% can be just as terrifying. So, while you won’t see Dustin Hoffman single-handedly save the planet and you won’t see the entire populace fleeing the undead, you will still be thrilled and scared shitless, albeit by something as innocuous as a bowl of nuts.

Opening Weekend: Keep Your Hands to Yourself

Nick Swardson plays a fledgling porn star, Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton play brothers battling it out, Simon Pegg and Andy Serkis sell the dead, and we’re all gonna die when a deadly virus consumes the world. Fun times.

The Trouble with Quibbles: Inception

I must preface this quibble with two warnings: 1) This film is far too dense to truly quibble about in one go, so I’m sure there are things we’ve left out, gleaned over, or touched on far too briefly, which might lead to the first multi-part quibble. We’ll see. 2) There be yon spoilers, but not for a bit. So, even if you haven’t seen Inception, you can read on, to a point. I’ll warn you again when we get to spoiler territory. Seriously though, you should go see this film… a sci-fi thriller from the acclaimed director of The Dark Knight, The Prestige, and Memento… what more do you need?

With Inception, Christopher Nolan offers a cinematic breath of fresh air in a summer blockbuster season chock full o’ watered-down remakes, superfluous video games adaptations, bedazzled vampires, and formulaic tent-pole franchises. Nolan’s mind-bending thriller is a wonderfully original blend of action and intrigue. Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his team of dream extractors, composed of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, and Dileep Rao, are presented with an even more challenging task than their typical dream extraction, planting an idea deep enough within a subjects subconscious that it redefines them.