Friday, July 8, 2016
David Farrier, a New Zealand reporter tasked with finding human interest stories stumbles upon a competitive tickling website and decides to cover the “sport.” Before long, he’s getting threats from an overseas entity both legal and personal. David comes to the United States to investigate further and uncovers some sort of evil fetish tickling ring. It’s been in existence since the mid-nineties and, as he discovers, there are different entities on the Internet that are all tied together. Things get uglier when he traces the whole thing back to a weirdo living in New York, a guy with a lot of money and a law degree.
Farrier and co-director Dylan Reeve deliver a film that’s somewhere in the Catfish mode of documentary moviemaking. It winds up being an interesting story about control, bullying, and to a lessor extent, tickling.
The whole thing is pretty messed up, with a long history of young men being terrorized and, in the case of this particular reporter, being attacked on all aspects of his personality. The whole thing starts out funny and happy, and goes to a surprisingly dark place. This one will make you feel real dirty if you have a thing for tickle videos.
Tags: tickled , Catfish , movie review , Video
Thursday, July 7, 2016
Newton Knight (Matthew McConaughey), a Confederate army medic, decides he’s had enough, and deserts. He returns to Mississippi where his people are being harassed by looting soldiers. He winds up in the swamps with escaped slaves where they form a pact, and eventually create a militia to rebel against the Confederacy.
Based on a true story, director Gary Ross definitely delivers on the brutality and terrors of the Civil War. McConaughey is powerful in the central role, as is Mahershala Ali as Moses, leader of the escaped slaves. The film stumbles a bit in trying to do a little too much. There are courtroom scenes 85 years in the Civil War’s future where a relative of Knight is in a civil rights dispute. These scenes feel completely out of place, and they sort of muck up the film’s ending (things just come to an awkward stop). It’s too bad, because the movie winds up being good instead of great.
The battle scenes are harrowing, the tensions are frightening and real, and there’s not a bad performance in the lot. Yet, because Ross has overstuffed the film, aspects like the rise of the KKK are almost glossed over.
This project, with its dual storylines and many plot points, probably would’ve worked better as an extended series on HBO rather than a single big budget movie. Still, it’s worth seeing for McConaughey and Ali.
Based on a true story, director Gary Ross definitely delivers on the brutality and terrors of the Civil War. McConaughey is powerful in the central role, as is Mahershala Ali as Moses, leader of the escaped slaves. The film stumbles a bit in trying to do a little too much. There are courtroom scenes 85 years in the Civil War’s future where a relative of Knight is in a civil rights dispute. These scenes feel completely out of place, and they sort of muck up the film’s ending (things just come to an awkward stop). It’s too bad, because the movie winds up being good instead of great.
The battle scenes are harrowing, the tensions are frightening and real, and there’s not a bad performance in the lot. Yet, because Ross has overstuffed the film, aspects like the rise of the KKK are almost glossed over.
This project, with its dual storylines and many plot points, probably would’ve worked better as an extended series on HBO rather than a single big budget movie. Still, it’s worth seeing for McConaughey and Ali.
Tags: Free State of Jones , Matthew McConaughey , Mahershala Ali , Video
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
And with this, the startling run of Steven Spielberg duds continues. After delivering two of the dullest movies of his career (Lincoln, Bridge of Spies) Spielberg does the almost impossible; he makes Roald Dahl completely boring.
Oscar winner Mark Rylance delivers a motion-capture CGI performance as the central character-the Big Friendly Giant-that results in more yawns than smiles. His giant captures dreams and blows them into the sleeping residents of London. On one of his excursions, he kidnaps Sophie (Ruby Barnhill), and takes her to the land of giants, where most giants are meat eaters. Luckily, he’s a vegetarian, but he’s being bullied by a group of bad giants led by Jemaine Clement in what amounts to the film’s most fun motion capture performance.
Despite a winning performance from Barnhill, a true star in the making, the film drags on and on, trying to get by on big special effects rather than a story line that engages. Everything feels a little off for Spielberg. A visit to the Queen’s house, which should be bizarrely funny and subversive, winds up feeling awkward and uncomfortable.
The whole movie seems to be playing it safe in Dahl land, as if it is E.T. in Dahl land, and it throws the tone completely off (It doesn’t help that John Williams rips off his own E.T. score).
It never clicks. Nothing really works, yet again, for Spielberg, a director who seems to have momentarily lost his mojo.
Hey, Spielberg is responsible for some of the greatest movies ever made. If he makes stinkers for the rest of his life, he’s still one of the most amazing men to sit in the director’s chair.
That said, here’s to hoping for a return to form with one of his next ventures, which allegedly include another crack at Indiana Jones. This is most definitely one of the year’s bigger disappointments.
Tags: Steven Spielberg , the BFG , Roald Dahl , Mark Rylance , Ruby Barnhill , Video
Tuesday, July 5, 2016
The Loft Cinema and MOCA bring you an evening of fiber art goodness on Wednesday, July 6 with a special screening of the art film Yarn, a documentary following the work of four textile artists around the world as they enhance public spaces through knit and crochet creations.
The film is narrated by writer and former Tucsonan Barbara Kingsolver and the screening will feature some serious "yarn-storming" of the theatre by Tucson Handweavers & Spinners Guild and Textile Tagger, Kristin Wolfe.
The event will start at 7:30 p.m. at the Loft Cinema (3233 E. Speedway Blvd.) For more information on the screening and the film, visit the Loft website.
The film is narrated by writer and former Tucsonan Barbara Kingsolver and the screening will feature some serious "yarn-storming" of the theatre by Tucson Handweavers & Spinners Guild and Textile Tagger, Kristin Wolfe.
The event will start at 7:30 p.m. at the Loft Cinema (3233 E. Speedway Blvd.) For more information on the screening and the film, visit the Loft website.
Swiss Army Man, like the dead corpse at its center, is a multipurpose entity. It can be a lot of different things to the viewer.
It can be a story about the wild things starvation and desperation can do to the brain, and the strange movies that play in your head when you are losing it. It can be a story about how a deranged stalker deals with the end of his life and afterlife. It can be a story about how funny it would be if somebody’s farts could propel themselves like a jet ski across the ocean and how funny it would be if their erect dick were a compass.
I’ve made my choice what this movie is about, but you could walk away from it thinking something completely different. That’s the beauty of a movie like Swiss Army Man.
As Hank, Paul Dano gets yet another career defining, nutty role. He’s seemingly stranded on a desert island, at the end of his rope, literally. Just before killing himself, a corpse (Daniel Radcliffe) washes up on the beach, and starts farting. It starts farting…a lot.
Before much time has passed, Hank is riding the corpse (dubbed Manny) across the ocean as its farts provide jet propulsion. Hank, with the arrival of his new friend, decides suicide is a drag and takes Manny along with him on a trek to find civilization through the forest. Manny eventually starts having conversations with Hank, and they are both aided in the forest by Manny’s hard-ons, which act as a compass. Oh, did I already say that? Manny’s dick is a compass.
Sound weird? It is. It most assuredly is. It’s also strangely beautiful, deeper and richer than most movies with this many farts in it, and, depending upon the way you take the movie, super disturbing and sad.
It can be a story about the wild things starvation and desperation can do to the brain, and the strange movies that play in your head when you are losing it. It can be a story about how a deranged stalker deals with the end of his life and afterlife. It can be a story about how funny it would be if somebody’s farts could propel themselves like a jet ski across the ocean and how funny it would be if their erect dick were a compass.
I’ve made my choice what this movie is about, but you could walk away from it thinking something completely different. That’s the beauty of a movie like Swiss Army Man.
As Hank, Paul Dano gets yet another career defining, nutty role. He’s seemingly stranded on a desert island, at the end of his rope, literally. Just before killing himself, a corpse (Daniel Radcliffe) washes up on the beach, and starts farting. It starts farting…a lot.
Before much time has passed, Hank is riding the corpse (dubbed Manny) across the ocean as its farts provide jet propulsion. Hank, with the arrival of his new friend, decides suicide is a drag and takes Manny along with him on a trek to find civilization through the forest. Manny eventually starts having conversations with Hank, and they are both aided in the forest by Manny’s hard-ons, which act as a compass. Oh, did I already say that? Manny’s dick is a compass.
Sound weird? It is. It most assuredly is. It’s also strangely beautiful, deeper and richer than most movies with this many farts in it, and, depending upon the way you take the movie, super disturbing and sad.
Tags: Swiss Army Man , Paul Dano , Daniel Radcliffe , Oscar for Playing Dead While Sort of Being Alive at Times and Delivering Massive Amounts of Body Humor In a Way That is Somehow Moving In Addition to Being Kind of Gross Yet Awesome , Video
Friday, July 1, 2016
It's a three day weekend (for most of us) and that means extra time to watch movies, eat popcorn and become one with your sofa. Sure, Monday is dedicated to fireworks, blowing glass and America in general—but you can fit a few films in, too.
Here's your Casa Video Top 10 for the week:
- 10 Cloverfield Lane
Tags: casa video , shop local , movie marathon , Image , Video
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
After seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark, 12 year-old Eric Zala got the idea to remake the movie, shot for shot, as an experiment with his buddies. Over the course of the next six years, they did just that, doing a remarkable job of recreating the legendary Spielberg film note for note.
This film captures the creative team as they set out to film the one shot they never got: the massive airplane explosion after the fight with the big bald Nazi. There’s a lot of fun stuff about the making of the movie, including the time the boys almost burned a house down. They also almost burned one of the actors, suffocated another with a plaster mold on his face, and used a little puppy instead of a monkey for the infamous Nazi salute monkey scene.
The film includes interviews with director Eli Roth and Aint it Cool News founder Harry Knowles, major champions of the project. At the documentary’s center are the boys getting back together 25 years later to film that final airplane explosion, with actual big budget props. It’s a fun movie about being a fanatical fan boy, and how being a geek can sometimes pay off. Sometimes.
(Available for rent on iTunes during a limited theatrical run).
Monday, June 27, 2016
Blake Lively, whose best role until now was the secretary in that SNL “Potato Chip” sketch, is terrific as Nancy, a medical school dropout who goes to a secret beach in Mexico in the wake of her mother’s death. She sets out for a day of surfing and reflection in what she thinks is a completely solitary setting (with the exception of a couple other friendly surfers). Turns out, there’s a big-assed Great White shark, and this would be it’s part of Earth, and no trespassers are allowed, even if they are as pretty as Blake Lively.
As shark movies go, this is a good one, with decent CGI effects, a couple of tense shark attacks, and a constant level of terror that never lets up. The only thing really keeping this from being “very good” rather than “nice and good” would be the ending, which made me laugh a laugh I shouldn’t have laughed. Even with the big flaw, this is one of the summer movie season’s more fun offerings, certainly a lot more fun than that one with aliens and Jeff Goldblum in it.
Note to producers: Please don’t make a sequel where the shark’s offspring follows Blake Lively to a vacation resort, Jaws: The Revenge style. You’ve made an all time top ten shark movie; quit while you are ahead.
As shark movies go, this is a good one, with decent CGI effects, a couple of tense shark attacks, and a constant level of terror that never lets up. The only thing really keeping this from being “very good” rather than “nice and good” would be the ending, which made me laugh a laugh I shouldn’t have laughed. Even with the big flaw, this is one of the summer movie season’s more fun offerings, certainly a lot more fun than that one with aliens and Jeff Goldblum in it.
Note to producers: Please don’t make a sequel where the shark’s offspring follows Blake Lively to a vacation resort, Jaws: The Revenge style. You’ve made an all time top ten shark movie; quit while you are ahead.
Tags: Blake Lively , the shallows , movie review , top 10 shark movies , Video
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
In partner with the Hansen Film Institute, the Fox Tucson Theatre will be showing classic films throughout the Summer as part of their Summer 2016 Film Series.
Fox chose films they feel are an exemplary contribution to the art of film making, which feature layers of story lines, emotion, depth and phenomenal sound effects and editing.
The schedule is as follows:
June 25- Top Gun @7:30 p.m.
July 16- The Good, The Bad & The Ugly @7:30 p.m.
July 29- Roman Holiday* @7:30 p.m.
Aug. 27-Ferris Bueller's Day Off @7:30 p.m.
General admission tickets are $7, but for Seniors(55+), students and active duty military tickets are $5.
For more information or to buy tickets visit the Fox Tucson Theatre website or call 547-3040.
*The Roman Holiday showing is a fundraising benefit for the Andra Heart Foundation with special pricing.
Fox chose films they feel are an exemplary contribution to the art of film making, which feature layers of story lines, emotion, depth and phenomenal sound effects and editing.
The schedule is as follows:
June 25- Top Gun @7:30 p.m.
July 16- The Good, The Bad & The Ugly @7:30 p.m.
July 29- Roman Holiday* @7:30 p.m.
Aug. 27-Ferris Bueller's Day Off @7:30 p.m.
General admission tickets are $7, but for Seniors(55+), students and active duty military tickets are $5.
For more information or to buy tickets visit the Fox Tucson Theatre website or call 547-3040.
*The Roman Holiday showing is a fundraising benefit for the Andra Heart Foundation with special pricing.
Whether or not you agree in principle with the notion of racehorses, this is a moving documentary about a group of people in Wales who decide to finance one. They eventually succeed with the birth of their horse, Dream Alliance, a gangly youngster who grows up to be a solid jumper.
Through interviews and archive footage, we see the horse from birth straight through to many of his races, where he proved to be an unlikely champion. Of course, tragedy strikes during one of the races, and then the movie becomes the story of an amazing comeback. Or, depending on your point of view, it becomes the story of a bunch of strange folks in Wales pushing a beautiful animal well beyond the point of reason so it can keep jumping for their amusement and wallets.
There’s no denying that Dream Alliance is a beautiful animal, and his story is inspiring. The story of the horse is far more compelling than the story of the folks who owned him. There’s a turning point in this story where the owners probably should’ve put the horse in a field and let him enjoy life, but they keep pushing him. That’s a little bothersome. The end results are uplifting and happy, but they came perilously close to being extremely sad.
The documentary is entertaining, but it will definitely have you thinking about the treatment of animals for sport.
