Process and perception. Those are the two cinematic concepts I kept pondering throughout the entirety of Black Swan. These are two themes that are clearly a focus of director Darren Aronofsky’s work to date. When a director becomes an above-the-title auteur, it’s time to start talking about his thematic preoccupations. I think Aronofsky … Continue reading
Here is my end of the year list of favorite movies. Be prepared. 1. The Expendables. This is the big one for me. The action this movie provided was on a massive scale, and I had such a blast watching this in the theater. It was an almost easy choice. The next movie gave it … Continue reading
Apparently, for Jeff Bridges, winning the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2009 was just a warm-up exercise for what he was going to get himself up to in 2010. This month he played a good-versus-evil dual role in TRON: Legacy, hosted an irresistible Saturday Night Live episode (where he sang a song with Cookie … Continue reading
It’s common knowledge that there are certain genres of film that are almost always snubbed by awards voters. These are usually comedies, action films, horror movies, etc. Fortunately, we got some good ones of those genres this year and I’d like to list a few of them in this, my final Year In Review countdown. … Continue reading
I know you’re expecting a “Worst of 2010” list, but I just don’t think I can write it. Don’t get me wrong, I know that this year was full of such stinkers as Jonah Hex, Skyline, Extraordinary Measures, Grown Ups and Marmaduke (Nutcracker in 3D was quietly dumped in a very limited release, thank God), … Continue reading
Not a large entry this week. The two weeks around the holidays are always busy for me, even though I’m technically on vacation. I’m even busier this year, with new ventures and opportunities looking me in the face. But, I wanted to take a moment to share something that I experienced yesterday afternoon while at … Continue reading
As the crazy weather keeps us all locked in, and the winter TV hiatus continues for what seems like an eternity, I’ve been thinking about what I’ve learned from my dearest telly this year. Basically, I haven’t learned much. But here it is anyway. 1. It has been proven once again that quality doesn’t guaranty … Continue reading
My wife and I have spent the year alternating who picks a movie to watch each week. My theme: Movies from Japan. As the year draws to a close, I notice that we have touched on almost everything from contemporary comedies, animated films, samurai classics, horror, documentary, and cool as all get out gangster movies. … Continue reading
I don’t usually do scores or ranked lists on my blog entries. I find it to be way too arbitrary for my tastes and I don’t like the idea of complex opinions boiled down to simple numbers. However, this is the time of year when amateur and professional critics start putting together their lists of … Continue reading
Side note, how have I written so many blogs and only used two lines from Bon Jovi tracks?* This week I thought I would take some time to salute some of my favorite “Last Stands”, those moments in a film or TV show where the hero faces off against impossible odds and we know they … Continue reading