The Master

                 

      Everyone has heard the saying “Absence makes the heart grow fonder”.  Well that is how some people feel about the films of Paul Thomas Anderson. Every three or four years PTA puts out a new film, and every year that film he puts out, ends up being one of the best films of the year. Well with “The Master” he continues his run of new American classics.

        Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) is a drifter in life after serving in the Navy during WWII. He travels around always running from something or someone. That changes when he happens on a boat where a party is taking place. Freddie has a love for alcohol, especially his own home made brews. When he awakens he meets Lancaster Dodd (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), who introduces himself as a writer, a doctor, a nuclear physicist, a theoretical philosopher, but above all, “I am a man, just like you.” Freddie starts to open up to Lancaster Dodd about his past, and Freddie seems to inspire Dodd in his writings. Dodd is the leader of a group called “The Cause”, either a belief or a cult, depending on your point of view. As time passes Freddie becomes Dodd’s right hand man as he takes a journey of self discovery. It becomes about how far Freddie will follow Dodd and his beliefs.

     Paul Thomas Anderson can seem to do no wrong. “The Master” is just another film that will be on top of many people ‘best of’ list for 2012. The way the story and the visuals keep your attention is something very few films can do. Anderson shot the film to be seen in 70mm, and if you can there is no better way to see it. There are scenes that will visually leave you speechless. If you cannot see it in 70 mm because it is not showing in that format near you, the beauty of the film is not lost on a regular digital projector. When it comes to the religion of film there are not many more films more sacred than Paul Thomas Anderson’s, but why not find out for yourself. I know after seeing this you might just call him a master as well.

Brian Taylor

                                                   

Looper

 Director Rian Johnson has directed two films, being his tremendous breakout crime thriller “Brick” and the great con-man movie “The Brothers Bloom”.  In both films Johnson has given us something we are familiar with in film, solving a murder, and coning the rich out of money.  Then twisting it a little to make it fun and interesting.  In his latest film “Looper” he gives us a genre we are all familiar with since H.G. Wells made it popular.  Time Travel.  And he makes it his own.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt who is amazing as the lead in Johnson’s first film “Brick” is Joe a hired killer whose job is simple in the year 2044.  Gangsters from the future where time travel is invented and illegal send guys to get wacked back in time where Joe and his fellow Looper’s are waiting to shot-gun blast them and dispose of the body and collect their silver.  No mess for the future if the body is in the past.  But the kink in Joe’s perfect lifestyle is that their loop can be closed, meaning they can send you your future-self back to get killed by you.  This is what happens to Joe, when his older-self is sent back to be killed.  Bruce Willis plays the old Joe and gets away from Levitt and has a plan to keep the future that has played out for him for the last 30 years.  He will not let anything get in his way, including himself.

If all of this sounds a little confusing, don’t worry, you will be enjoying the movie way too much to notice any flaws in the time logic.  Rian Johnson has crafted a fantastic futuristic tale that perfectly blends sci-fi, drama, action, humor, and an awesome moral dilemma that I have never seen played out on film before, and the dude totally nails it.  Wills hasn’t been this solid in a while and Levitt coming off of “Dark Knight Rises”, “Premium Rush” and the soon to be released “Lincoln” is phenomenal in both his performance and his transformation into a young Bruce Willis.  The makeup helps and only has moments where is mildly distracts.  But his mannerisms and little ‘Willis’ quirks sell it throughout the film.

Aside from the great story and fascinating concepts the supporting cast is stellar, Jeff Daniels as the future boss in the past, works really well, Emily Blunt is flawless, and the new comer Pierce Gagnon as Cid is amazing.  It really feels like nothing is wasted and that Johnson is saying something with every frame, I hope this movie brings more people to his work and I’m glad that after the summer we’ve had that there are still reasons to go to the movies.  In short, go see “Looper” it is one of the best movies of the year.

 

--Robert L. Castillo   

The Corners of Criterion

I always knew that the library lent out movies as well as books, but what I didn’t know is that they have Criterion films.  Which if you don’t know what Criterion is it’s a distribution company that sells classic and contemporary films from around the world.  They range from classics like “Brazil”, “Seven Samurai”, and “Citizen Kane” to modern classics such as “Halloween”, “Robocop”, and “The Rock”.  So I wanted to start a new segment on the blog where we watch and review some of these films and maybe talk about some of the special features as well.  Warning I will be letting out my artsy side, so most of them will be foreign or art house films.  Here’s a glimpse of what’s to come...

 

 

 

 

End of Watch

                                                               
       

        Most people enjoy familiarity; they enjoy it because it brings comfort. The good stuff though, comes when you do a fresh take on something you have seen a million times. “Found footage” films are still riding high, some are good and some are bad.  “Cop” films usually follow the same path every time, with rare exceptions.  Lucky for us there is David Ayer who decided to combine the two sub-genres.  Having already brought us “Training Day” Ayer brings a new and great take on police dramas.

       Brian Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaal), (and before you ask I wish I was writing a review for a movie I was starring in) is doing a project for school and decides to take a camera on his nightly patrolling of South Central Los Angeles. With his partner Mike Zavala (Mike Pena), they are in the hot shots of the L.A.P.D. With the camera rolling, we get to see what a day in the life of cop really is like. They are heroic, and they also get scared, they are just normal people who have to do extraordinary things sometimes. We see Officer Taylor and Zavala do everything from car chases, to rescuing three kids from a burning house. They are on top of the world, even turning over some rocks that they shouldn’t. There is a real sense of brotherhood between these two, and you know they would each take a bullet for the other.

   “End of Watch” is what all cop movies should strive to be. You finally see what it feels like to be a man and women in blue. With the handheld camera approach that Ayer decided to go with, you get the complete sense of realism.  Gyllenhall and Pena are amazing to watch, with a chemistry that is perfect for what they are going for. The scenes with them two riding around in the car are priceless, just normal everyday talk while they protect us from crime.  I really enjoyed this movie and the approach it took on Police dramas. David Ayer knows what he is doing when it comes to these movies, and I can only hope he keeps doing them. This is what going to the movies is all about, having fun and being entertained. So do yourself a favor and go and see “End of Watch”, something any fan of cop dramas will enjoy.

 Brian Taylor

      

                                                                

Trouble with the Curve

   

           Baseball has provided so many metaphors for life over the years. When you are young, it’s all about the bases you get to. As you get older you face life with two strikes against you or you do what it takes when life throws you a curve. Just like in baseball, you can handle most of the fastballs; the trouble comes with the curve, which brings us to the perfectly titled new Clint Eastwood movie.

         Gus (Clint Eastwood) is a relic in the world of baseball scouting. Computers have come and almost made his job obsolete, but Gus knows computers can’t tell if a guy has it or not. Gus’s best weapon is starting to fail him though, he can no longer see very well. Gus has a daughter Mickey (Amy Adams) who he doesn’t have the closest relationship with her father. With the draft coming up Gus’s team the Atlanta Braves want him to go and scout this prospect, which they plan to take with their top pick. Gus’s boss Pete (John Goodman) knows there is something not right with Gus and asks Mickey to travel with him to watch this prospect. Mickey knows baseball and can hold her own with any of the other scouts who are there to watch this prospect. One of those other scouts is a player that Gus scouted, because of an injury he is no longer playing. That guy is Johnny Flanagan (Justin Timberlake), who is scouting for the Red Sox now. Together they spend the next week repairing old relationships and beginning new ones.

    This was a fun movie to watch. The story was written by first time writer Randy Brown and directed by long time Eastwood collaborator Robert Lorenz. Clint Eastwood is pretty much playing the same ‘old angry guy’ he has played the last few years with varying degrees of success. For this film it really works perfectly, but the real like of the movie is Adams and Timberlake who both show they can hold their own with a legend. The story moves at what seems like a strong pace and shows that sometimes your eyes are not always the best thing to see with. There is no such thing as throwing a perfect game as in life, there is always something that gets in the way. This is one film that hits the corners pretty solid and never throws you a curve, and although it does not through a perfect game, it is definitely a one hitter.

Brian Taylor

                                               

For a Good Time, Call…

                       

          One of the many challenges in life is finding what your true calling is. I say this as in finding that one thing that just feels like you were meant to do it. Sometimes it takes you failing in order for you to find your talents. “For a Good Time, Call” explores this subject and the result just might surprise you.

       Lauren (Lauren Miller) lives a pretty boring life. She works as a publishing assistant and lives with her boyfriend. There is not much excitement in Lauren’s world; I mean she doesn’t even take off her bra when having sex. Katie (Ari Graynor) is a writer who lives in, what use to be her grandmother’s apartment. Katie’s life is everything but dull, she calls herself a writer but keeps waiting for the inspiration so that she can start her novel. In the mean time she works multiple jobs so she can keep her apartment.  Lauren’s boyfriend takes a job in Italy and leaves Lauren with no place to live. Luckily Jesse (Justin Long) has a solution for both Lauren and Katie’s financial problems, which is for them to live together. Katie in college left a bad taste in Lauren’s mouth and the two have not been friends since. Lauren does move in with Katie and finds out one of the jobs she has is as a phone sex operator. When Lauren loses her job she decides to help Katie and together they build a very profitable business. It seems even in the age of the internet, men still love the song of a women’s voice and are willing to pay for it. Lauren even discovers with the help of Katie that she is not boring at all; they both seem to find their true calling.

     “For a Good Time, Call is a surprisingly an enjoyable movie to watch. Although the story may be to risqué for some, it never goes past any line it shouldn’t. The movie was co-written by star Lauren Miller with Katie Anne Naylon. Miller does a great job in the lead role, but the movie is stolen every time Ari Graynor is on the screen. Graynor is the perfect combination of Kate Hudson and Bette Midler and is a joy to watch. This is one of those movies that if you judged the trailer you may pass on it, but don’t. It’s one of those little enjoyable films that most people miss. So do yourself a favor and take the time and watch this film, and have a good time in doing so.

                                                                                                                 

Brian Taylor

   

                                               

The T-Scott Trifecta

In 1991, ‘93, and ’95 director Tony Scott released “The Last Boy Scout”, “True Romance”, and “Crimson Tide”.  These three films in my opinion define the kind of filmmaker he was and proved that he had an original voice, and could give us something we had never seen before in the realms of action, drama, and well, romance.

Up until ’91 everyone had known him as the commercial director/little brother of Ridley, and while “Top Gun”, “Beverly Hills Cop II”, and “Days of Thunder” were all successful, when I watch them now, they do feel dated.  However to help Tony break out of his comfort zone, or maybe to find it, it took two young, and at the time ‘hot’ writers to give his movies the punch they needed to last through the years.

The first was writer Shane Black who had just come off creating the “Lethal Weapon” series and knew how to write fun action with even funnier tough-guy dialogue that is ripped off to this day.  The story of “The Last Boy Scout” has burned out detective Joe Hallenbeck played by Bruce Willis who gets teamed up buddy-cop style with an ex-quarterback turned drug addict Jimmy Dix.  The pair tries to solve a murder amidst corruption and politics.  The dialogue sells the movie better than the performances, and the visuals outshine anything done by Scott up to that point.  The film is gritty, and has an insane amount of action, with as I said before, things you haven’t ever seen on screen, the opening football game starts like a commercial for Gatorade, and then ends with a receiver heading for the end zone, with a football in one hand and a hand-gun in the other.  Taking out innocent players as he runs the ball in for the touchdown.  From there it’s creepy stone-cold killers, kick-ass one liners, foul-mouthed pre-teens, shootouts using fireplaces and puppets as weapons, and a ton other hyphenated words that all lead to one of the most original action movies of its time.

Scott’s next film was 1993’s “True Romance” and I’m not alone in thinking so, this was his best film, was written by Quentin Tarantino pre-“Pulp Fiction”.  Considered a financial bomb “Romance” the story of love between a hooker and a lonely guy who would do anything for her introduced an un-prepared movie-going public to the racy dialogue, insane Mexican stand-offs, brutal violence and prime-time’s Balky with a face full of cocaine.  In short the movie is genius.  And let’s not forget the amazing cast, Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette as the leads, with fantastic cameos and scene-stealers like Sam Jackson, Brad Pitt, Gary Oldman, James Gandolfini, Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walken, Sal Rubenik, and Val Kilmer as Elvis.  Like I said, genius.  The Walken and Hopper ‘Sicilian’ scene alone is worthy of classic film greatness.  The movie is a modern day fairy tale that makes lame exposition interesting when set on a roller-coaster and has Slater calmly talking to his imaginary friend while a gunfight is going on in the next room.  It’s insane, fun, and romantic enough for any film geek.

In 1995 it was “Crimson Tide” which began Scott’s collaboration with Denzel Washington, together they would work on five films including Scott’s last one with Washington “Unstoppable”.  But back to “Crimson Tide” this was a unique movie in that it mixed real life terror, partial information about war aboard a nuclear submarine, with the opposing heads of the sub disagreeing on the proper course of action.  Gene Hackman is incredible as the by-the-book captain that does quite a bit to push the buttons of his new executive officer Denzel Washington.  When the two powerhouses collide, you have never seen so much intense action in such a confined space.  And the tension throughout the film just keeps getting higher and higher with a great young cast, Including Steve Zahn, Danny Nucci, and Lillo Brancato of “A Bronx Tale” fame.  Also on board the toughness of James Gandolfini, and Viggo Mortensen to balance out the bad-ass cast.  This movie is pure testosterone, and I mean that in a good way.  With a Hans Zimmer score so good that it was used it movie trailers for years.  Overall the performances are outstanding and the resolve is satisfying.  And if you watch closely, you can spot the writing contribution of Quentin Tarantino.  Two guys fighting over which is the better Silver Surfer, Kirby or Moebius?  Who else would make that cool?

I didn’t want to focus on the tragic death of Tony Scott.  The purpose of this blog is to talk about our love of movies, and there is one thing I will always carry with me from Tony Scott, he gave me a lot of moments to love in the movies he put on the screen.  Whether it’s Goose giving the ‘bird’ to the enemy, Axel Foley treating a bag of vitamins like an explosive, Kevin Costner getting his “Revenge”, DeNiro on the pitcher’s mound in the rain, Hackman blowing up a building because Will Smith “…MADE A PHONE CALL!”, or making me believe that Denzel was a true “Man on Fire”.  Tony Scott will be remembered through his films, and if you look back at any of the 16 he directed, I guarantee you will see something you like, even if it is a moment, that is something the man could catch, a moment, and he would make it original and lasting.  I for one will miss those moments we will never get to see.  Thank you Tony.

 

--Robert L. Castillo  

Flashback Corner--Sneakers

“The world isn’t run by weapons anymore, or energy, or money.  It’s run by little ones and zeroes, little bits of data.  It’s all just electrons.”

 

          Most people when they hear the name Robert Redford, think of his work in the 70’s “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”, “The Great Gatsby”, “All the President’s Men”, “The Sting” or probably his most memorable performance as Roy Hobbs in “The Natural”.  What few remember or even know about is this under-the-radar gem of a film from 1992 with a brilliant ensemble cast including Redford called “Sneakers”.  It follows a ragtag group of former FBI and former criminals who as a secretary in one of the opening scenes puts it “So people hire you to break into their places, so no one can break into their places?”  Redford exhales, “It’s a living.” as she hands him his check for doing a job, “Not a very good one.”  This scene sums up his teams place in the world.  A world that gets much bigger as they reluctantly take on a job for the NSA (National Security Agency) where they steal a little black box that holds a chip that turns out to be the ultimate code-breaker.

On the team are veterans like Sidney Poitier, Dan Aykroyd, who are constantly going back and forth as the conspiracy nut and former fed.  And great underused actors like David Strathairn and River Phoenix in one of his last roles.  Every one of the crew gets a moment or two to shine, as each one brings something to the team.  Though most of the moments are humorous, and while the tension is never full blown, it’s enough to keep you intrigued, and it’s enjoyable to watch the actors work.  I don’t recall ever seeing Redford have this much fun with a character as he does with his Martin Bishop character.  There are also some pretty good performances by Timothy Busfield, Mary McDonnell, and the great Stephen Tobolowsky as Werner Brandes the most memorable name in the film.  And of course, not to be left out, the creepily awesome performance by Ben Kingsley.  The film is a great caper with espionage, governments within governments, fantastic music by James Horner featuring Branford Marsalis, and it shows the power of the information that controls our everyday existence, back in 1992?!  Did I also mention the great cast?

The film also has one of my favorite verbal-jousting-matches of a climax involving Redford and the villain of the piece as they go back and forth about who is in the right, it even borders on heartbreaking.  It feels ina lot of ways like a real Mr. Fantastic/Dr.Doom moment (It always comes back to comics).  The film was eventually out done about nine years later by the super cool “Ocean’s Eleven” however “Sneakers” still holds a special place in my heart as a fun film with many memorable moments and quotable lines.  If you’ve never seen it, go on Amazon, buy it for less than two bucks and give it a watch.

 

--Robert L. Castillo       

The Words

   

   There is an old saying that “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Well what if they were someone else’s words? That is the question “The Words” tries to answer. Rory (Bradley Cooper) wants to be a writer in the worst way. He lives the life of a writer with his wife Dora (Zoe Saldana), with no job and tries to write stories every night. The only problem is no one enjoys his stories. He is turned down by every publishing house and even takes a job at one to deliver the mail, just to try and make contacts. Everything changes after he finds a manuscript in an old bag Dora gives him.  The story moves him and he decides to retype it on his computer just so he can feel the words come out of him. The next morning Dora reads the story and tells Rory she always knew he had that story inside of him. The problem is the story is not his, but instead of disappointing Dora, he passes the writing as his own. The lie continues and the book is published and becomes an instant classic.

    The story wouldn’t matter if it ended there, instead it does get a little more interesting. When The Old Man (Jeremy Irons) enters the picture as the story’s true author. Rory knows the truth and tries to come clean only to find it’s not that easy to take back.  The film has hints of 2004’s “Secret Window” only without the crazy Johnny Depp and creepy John Turturro.

All throughout the film it’s hard to determine what story could be true and which one is a work of fiction. “The Words” is a very heavy and ominous story. Written by Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal, who also co-direct the film, together they craft a tale about how sometimes it is hard to tell apart great fiction and even greater truth. There are often many silent points in the film that makes you wonder if the filmmakers wanted you to really focus and think about what was happening on the screen. Although not a great movie, it will open up conversation on what you would do if you had found that manuscript. This is one of those movies that lean towards the middle of the road, although it’s not great, it isn’t horrible either, and for some people that may be just enough.

Brian Taylor

    

                                                                      

Something Old Something Blu--Jaws

“I don’t want no volunteers, I don’t want no mates, there’s too many captain’s on this island.  Ten thousand dollars for me by myself.  For that you get the head, the tail…the whole damn thing.”

 

          When I was young my cousins and I had a running theory about “Jaws” and its sequels.  We hypothesized during back seat discussions as our parents drove us to parks or garage sales.  We came to the conclusion that the first shark in “Jaws” was the father in a family of giant sharks.  “Jaws 2” was the son, “Jaws 3-D” was the big sister and “Jaws: The Revenge” was was the mother of the sharks, obviously since Lorraine Gary was the star of the movie it had to be mother vs. mother, because, you know, that time it was personal.

Stories like this did not make their way on to the “Jaws” BluRay special edition.  But instead you are treated to the seven year long awaited documentary “The Shark is Still Working” which is amazing.  It delves into the ways “Jaws” impacted our culture and changed the way movies were marketed.  It in fact gave birth to the summer blockbuster.  Plus you see things that you’ve never seen before, like a look at the local actors from Martha’s Vineyard (Amity in the movie).  We get the origin of the iconic poster for the film.  There are new interviews with Spielberg and the cast, props, unseen footage, and the legacy of the film after all these years.

The best part though, is we get an all new transfer and new audio track for the film, and let me tell you, it has never looked and sounded better.  It’s incredible what this looks like on BluRay, the clarity is phenomenal.  The opening scene is like I have never seen it before, and it just gets better from there, you won’t be able to stop yourself from watching it all the way through.  And it in no way takes away from the classic nature of the film.  There are some nostalgia enthusiasts who love things like pops on an album verses what you get on itunes.  This is not the same thing.  The restoration only enhances the enjoyment of the movie.  Trust me there is no better excuse to buy a BluRay player than just to own this version of “Jaws”.  Lest we not also forget that this is by far one of the greatest movies of all time. 

--Robert L. Castillo    

The Possession

                 

        Let’s face it, most of us enjoy being scared. You can tell this by how well horror movies do at the box office and all the TV shows out there that deal with “scaring” us. I like being scared; I enjoy the things that go bump in the night and the surprises that always wait around the corner. The best scares always come from truth, because you think they could happen to you. Based on true events can add to the story or be a let down from the real story, the later can be said for “The Possession”.

     It’s based on a true story that revolves around a Jewish wine cabinet that is haunted by an evil spirit called a “dibbuk”, where strange things happened whenever the box is near.  For the movie’s purpose the story is a little bit different. Clyde (Jeffery Dean Morgan) and Stephanie (Kyra Sedgwick) are going through a divorce. Caught in the middle are their two girls Em (Natasha Calis) and Hannah (Madison Davenport) who split weekends at both their parents’ house. One day while the girls are with their father, they all stop at a garage sale, where Em is drawn to an old wooden box. Em talks her father into buying it and after the box is opened strange things start to happen. What happens is that she becomes possessed and her family must find a way to save her before it is too late.

    Anytime you see Sam Raimi’s name attached to something of the horror persuasion you hope to see his prints on it. Well everyone is due for a miss once in awhile and I think this is Raimi’s. The problem with horror movies today is that they want to draw you in with the trailer so much so that they have to show you things that may scare. The bad ones show you everything and leave nothing to be surprised at.  “The Devil Inside” rings to mind.  With “The Possession” if you see the trailer you pretty much saw the movie. The story written by Juliet Snowden and Stiles White is pretty basic and could have been so much better. If you read the true story that the film is supposed to be based on, it sounds better then the film. I know nothing will change in the world of horror movies because they make money just about every time. I just wish they wouldn’t show everything in the trailers, just let us be surprised. I wish I could tell you that this is a good scary movie, but after the film was over, all I was thinking was what possessed me to see this film.

Brian Taylor