Monday, April 4, 2016
A drone pilot (Aaron Paul) has a missile shot all lined up and is about to pull the trigger on a houseful of terrorists when a little girl parks herself within the blast zone to sell some bread. This is just one of the dilemmas brilliantly depicted in writer-director Gavin Hood’s tense thriller about drone warfare and the political ramifications of collateral damage.
Helen Mirren is superb as Colonel Katherine Powell, determined to take out multiple targets on Great Britain’s terrorist list, but needing to check the legalities of all her strategies before she can make a single move.
In his last live action screen appearance, Alan Rickman is terrific as Lt. General Frank Benson, drolly responding to the bureaucracy that’s keeping him from doing his job.
Paul brings his best big screen acting yet to the role of Steve Watts, a drone commander torn between killing an innocent child or preventing potential scores from being killed in a terrorist bombing. Phoebe Fox gives a breakthrough performance as Carrie Gershon, drone co-commander.
The film poses many questions and many dilemmas, and wisely doesn’t take sides. It presents you with the frustrating situations and the consequences, and the viewer is left to mull it all over. This is one of the better-acted films in the first third of 2016.
Friday, April 1, 2016
While I bet it's safe to assume you're planning your weekend around a food tour of Tucson, you're still going to need something to watch when you and your happy belly make it home.
Here's your weekly list of the movies (and one TV show!) you and the rest of the Old Pueblo want to rent this weekend:
1. The Hunger Games: Mocking Jay Part 2
Thursday, March 31, 2016
A delightful and funny film starring Catherine Frot as the title character, a rich woman in 1920’s France who likes to sing for her music club.
Problem is, she’s pretty terrible. Her horrible voice is seen as daring by some, and she takes her show on the road to the alternate horror and pleasure of audiences. Some see her as an embarrassment, while others see her as a hero to freedom seeking individuals everywhere.
Director Xavier Giannoli has made a sweet, humorous, beautiful ode to free spirits. It’s early in the film year, but it needs to be remembered months from now as a contender for Best Foreign Film, not to mention consideration in the costume, art direction and cinematography categories.
On top of being funny and enjoyable, it’s a true treat to look at. Frot is an absolute gem in the film, as are Andre Marcon as the critic Georges Dumont and Michel Fau as his anarchist sidekick, Atos Pezzini.
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
The horror genre has been getting a nice boost these last couple of years. Well, here’s another one to bolster that argument, but it isn’t for the faint of heart. This one is for those original Hellraiser loving, Dario Argento following horror fans that want their scares as dismal, dirty and creepy as they can get.
Turkish writer-director Can Evrenol goes for the total bloody freak-out and succeeds as a group of cops respond to a call, get in a strange car crash, and wind up going through the doorway to Hell after entering an abandoned building. While on their way to Hell, they are disemboweled, blinded, forced to do things with masked monsters, and generally not treated well.
I can only recommend this movie to the most hardcore of horror fans. It’s as blood soaked and nightmarish as these things get, and will screw with your mind and your sense of well-being. It will make you feel just a little scared about watching a horror movie again in that you will now be reminded that some directors out there have the key to what scares people the most.
I have nothing but respect for a movie that can scare the crap out of me like this one did, but it’s probably going to be a while until I dare to watch it again.
Unless you count the parts of it that I will see after I go to sleep tonight and have nightmares about it. Damn you, Can Evrenol!!!
Turkish writer-director Can Evrenol goes for the total bloody freak-out and succeeds as a group of cops respond to a call, get in a strange car crash, and wind up going through the doorway to Hell after entering an abandoned building. While on their way to Hell, they are disemboweled, blinded, forced to do things with masked monsters, and generally not treated well.
I can only recommend this movie to the most hardcore of horror fans. It’s as blood soaked and nightmarish as these things get, and will screw with your mind and your sense of well-being. It will make you feel just a little scared about watching a horror movie again in that you will now be reminded that some directors out there have the key to what scares people the most.
I have nothing but respect for a movie that can scare the crap out of me like this one did, but it’s probably going to be a while until I dare to watch it again.
Unless you count the parts of it that I will see after I go to sleep tonight and have nightmares about it. Damn you, Can Evrenol!!!
Friday, March 25, 2016
Glenn Greenwald doesn't really like other journalists.
"I tend not to have the highest opinion of other journalists, although there are a lot of really good ones," he told the Loft Cinema's audience at a special Q&A following the screening of Citizen Four on March 24. "You know, there are very narrow narratives that are permitted in mainstream media outlets. And that's why independent media and independent theaters like this one are so critical to being heard."
If you didn't know, Greenwald is the reporter who initially broke the news sharing documents that proved the National Security Association, under the Obama administration's orders, had been collecting cell phone records off millions of Verizon users phones, among other companies—including Microsoft, Apple and AT&T—communication records. You can read Greenwald's other stories and op-eds about NSA privacy infringement and general national security here.
Throughout his 30-minute Q&A Greenwald repeatedly stressed he wasn't the hero—he just broke the story. The real hero was Edward Snowden, the former Central Intelligence Agency employee and whistleblower who leaked the documents to him.
"With nothing more than an act of courage—an act of confidence—he changed the world," Greenwald said. "[He showed] the power of the individual to stand up to justice."
"I tend not to have the highest opinion of other journalists, although there are a lot of really good ones," he told the Loft Cinema's audience at a special Q&A following the screening of Citizen Four on March 24. "You know, there are very narrow narratives that are permitted in mainstream media outlets. And that's why independent media and independent theaters like this one are so critical to being heard."
If you didn't know, Greenwald is the reporter who initially broke the news sharing documents that proved the National Security Association, under the Obama administration's orders, had been collecting cell phone records off millions of Verizon users phones, among other companies—including Microsoft, Apple and AT&T—communication records. You can read Greenwald's other stories and op-eds about NSA privacy infringement and general national security here.
Throughout his 30-minute Q&A Greenwald repeatedly stressed he wasn't the hero—he just broke the story. The real hero was Edward Snowden, the former Central Intelligence Agency employee and whistleblower who leaked the documents to him.
"With nothing more than an act of courage—an act of confidence—he changed the world," Greenwald said. "[He showed] the power of the individual to stand up to justice."
Tags: the loft cinema , edward snowden , glenn greenwald , citizen four , journalism on the screen , movies , talks , tucson events , Video
It's the weekend! Whether you're filling your belly with $5 foods, saving money on this month's trip to MOCA or simply driving up to Oro Valley to eat lamb with your mom on Easter, time away from the office should be celebrated.
Or, you could just hang out at home and catch a movie.
Here's your weekly account of the most popular rentals from the Old Pueblo's most popular video store:
1. In the Heart of the Sea
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Sally Field plays the title character, a 60-something office worker who gets a crush on John (Max Greenfield), a much younger co-worker. The two become friendly, and then Doris gets a little carried away into a fantasy world regarding him.
Yes, she’s a bit of a stalker, but it’s Sally Field doing the stalking, so it winds up being kind of cute.
Directed by Michael Showalter (The Baxter, Wet Hot American Summer), the film mixes goofy comedy with some of a darker variety.
Field, who hasn’t had a chance to shine in a comedy in a long while, gives us a multi-dimensional character to go with the laughs. Greenfield is excellent as the object of Doris’s desire, and he actually has a palpable chemistry with Field.
You never really know if something might happen between Doris and John, and even though Field is thirty years older, hey, it’s Sally Field.
Showalter, who co-wrote the film with Laura Terruso, put together a nice supporting cast including Stephen Root and Tyne Daly.
Showalter didn’t get his due with his sweet and funny feature-directing debut, The Baxter. His movies show he can go beyond the realms of outrageous comedies and deliver material with a dramatic oomph…while still managing to be a bit silly.
Yes, she’s a bit of a stalker, but it’s Sally Field doing the stalking, so it winds up being kind of cute.
Directed by Michael Showalter (The Baxter, Wet Hot American Summer), the film mixes goofy comedy with some of a darker variety.
Field, who hasn’t had a chance to shine in a comedy in a long while, gives us a multi-dimensional character to go with the laughs. Greenfield is excellent as the object of Doris’s desire, and he actually has a palpable chemistry with Field.
You never really know if something might happen between Doris and John, and even though Field is thirty years older, hey, it’s Sally Field.
Showalter, who co-wrote the film with Laura Terruso, put together a nice supporting cast including Stephen Root and Tyne Daly.
Showalter didn’t get his due with his sweet and funny feature-directing debut, The Baxter. His movies show he can go beyond the realms of outrageous comedies and deliver material with a dramatic oomph…while still managing to be a bit silly.
Monday, March 21, 2016
It’s been 28 years since Pee-wee has had his own movie (1988’s Big Top Pee-wee), and the world’s happiest man child has not lost a step.
Paul Reubens still effortlessly slides into his alter ego Pee-wee, even as he gets deep into his sixties. That’s right, Pee Wee Herman is almost 64 years old. That’s almost as old as Paul McCartney. He’s as nimble, as joyous, and as fun as he was when he made his big screen headliner debut in Tim Burton’s Pee-wee’s Big Adventure 31 years ago.
The new film, produced by Judd Apatow and directed by John Lee, doesn’t quite have the visual exuberance to match Pee-wee’s bravado, but the story (written by Reubens and Paul Rust) breezes right along.
Friday, March 18, 2016
Your options for this weekend: go to a presidential rally (or two!), get to know your garden and/or listen to some tunes.
And when that's all over (or you remind yourself that some weekends are meant to be spent at home), grab a movie and some popcorn and make what our stock photo website calls a "smiling monster of popcorn."
My goal for the weekend: Finally finish watching the 2015 hits I've been meaning to watch. Spotlight and The Danish Girl, here I come.
Here's your Casa Video Top 10:
1. Creed
Tags: movie time , casa video , cinema , Image , Video
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Sacha Baron Cohen delivers his first bona fide bomb with The Brothers Grimsby, a tired action comedy with no comedic nuance to speak of.
In the past, Cohen has thrived with his mockumentary format, or simply in the service of a good comedic director (most notably, Adam McKay on Talladega Nights). Now, he’s penned a screenplay for director Louis Leterrier, a man mostly known for action fare like The Incredible Hulk and Clash of the Titans, although his lousy Now You See Me was more of a drama.
This colossal mess has Cohen playing a football-loving idiot in search of his long lost brother (Mark Strong). It turns out the brother is a spy, and when the two get together, they are a regular old odd couple.
The plot is nothing but a setup for scenes like Cohen and Strong stuck in an elephant’s vagina, resulting in them getting fucked by many large elephant penises. Sorry folks, there was really no delicate way to describe that scene to you. In fact, I cleaned it up a bit, for what actually happens in the movie is far more disgusting and raunchy than my description.
Now, I do believe there’s a director somewhere who could’ve made the sight of Cohen and Strong covered in elephant cum hilarious. Leterrier isn’t that man, and most, if not all, of the jokes in this movie bomb big time. I’ve been a Cohen fan in the past, but if this is a sign of things to come, I’m renouncing my admiration as of this date.
Tags: The Brothers Grimsby , Sacha Baron Cohen , Louis Leterrier , elephant cum , Video
