movie reviews

15 posts

Alternative Views: The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete (2013)

MV5BMTUwMjgyNTE2OV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNzU1MzgwMDE@__V1_SY317_CR0,0,214,317_AL_Today’s Alternative Views recommendation comes way of Sundance and a few other festivals. Apparently, it failed to get wide distribution. The reasons for that oversight will remain mysteries to me. This film is hella powerful.

The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete (2013), Skylan Brooks, Ethan Dizon, Jennifer Hudson

Director: George Tillman

Writer: Michael Starrbury

One review of this film opined that it bordered on “poverty porn”. I can’t agree. Director George Tillman pointed his camera matter-of-factly at life in a Brooklyn housing project. It’s not prurient. It’s not judgmental. It just is the life lived by 13-year-old Mister (Skylan Brooks), his addicted mother, Gloria (Jennifer Hudson) and their semi-permanent house guest, 9-year-old Pete (Ethan Dizon), himself the child of an addict even worse off than Gloria. Continue reading →

Movie Review: Gravity

When I got a call from a friend today asking if I wanted to go see Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity, at first I was apprehensive. You see, as a kid, I loved space. I still do, in fact. I went through a (long) phase where I wanted to be an astronaut despite the math and science requirements being far, far beyond my reach, although today’s movie experience may have changed my mind! I have always been fascinated by the stars and planets and one would think Gravity, with its beautiful images of Earth from space visible even in the preview, would be my kind of movie. Continue reading →

Movie Review: The Innkeepers

When The House of the Devil hit the festival circuit–leading up to a limited theatrical run–in 2009, Ti West established himself as a horror director to watch. Though not his first project, The House of the Devil hit a sweet spot: film nerds and critics loved his movie, but so did genre aficionados. West beautifully crafted a picture that paid homage to the Satanic Panic flicks of the 80s while also establishing a knack for building tension and dread with slow-burn storytelling and a clear directorial point-of-view.

Fast forward to 2011: West’s new film, The Innkeepers, is currently available on-demand through your cable provider or Amazon Instant Video. Though his new feature finds him in familiar territory (limited setting, small cast), The Innkeepers stands on its own merits. Continue reading →

In a World Where Humans Are Remote Controlled

You know what? There’s no point in hiding the spoilers under a cut, because this movie deserves to be spoiled. Anyway, in case you haven’t seen this, click at ya own risk.

Yes, friends and neighbors, I saw Gamer, the Gerard Butler vehicle from 2009 that was all science fictiony and go-fast-and-blow-up-goodness in the trailer, and then a whole lot of “I wonder how many of these actors needed to make a mortgage payment?” in the actual viewing of the movie.

The premise is simple. In the near future, a crazy technology genius played by Dexter from HBO land invents some kind of nano technology that is injected into people, and it clones their brain cells and replaces them, with the twist that the new brain cells can send and receive information over an IP network. Continue reading →

Retro Movie Reviews: Berry Gordy’s ‘The Last Dragon’

The Last Dragon Retro Movie Reviews covers cult classics, films that while they may not have been a critical success have a fan following to this day. These are films that you may have seen as a kid on cable late at night and while the special effects are outdated, the dialogue may be cheesy and the budget may be suspect, these films will always be entertaining and hold a special place in your entertainment seeking heart. If you haven’t seen one of these movies you can almost never go wrong by picking one up to watch.

A kung fu film set in Harlem in the middle of the 80s, The Last Dragon follows Leroy Green (Taimak) AKA Bruce Leroy. Leroy has completed his martial arts training and seeks to move on to the final level to achieve “The Glow” and become a true master.

Continue reading →

Thor Movie Review: Vermithrax Pejorative’s Version


Thor

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, and Anthony Hopkins
Directed by: Kenneth Branagh
Written by: Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz, and Don Payne. From a story by J. Michael Straczynski and Mark Protosevich.
Based on the comic book Thor created by: Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby

Of all the comics that Marvel has brought to the screen over the last few years there is perhaps none that represented as bold a risk as that of Thor. It’s one thing to sell the public on a character with strong name recognition or that has a well known actor cast in the lead. Thor however was a different sort of gamble entirely. If people have heard of Thor at all it is more than likely to be in the context of Norse mythology. That he also has a long history as a character in the Marvel universe is something I feel most people are unfamiliar with. Continue reading →

Movie Review: Mel Gibson Eases into Jodie Foster’s (the) Beaver

The Beaver
Starring: Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, Anton Yelchin &; Jennifer Lawrence
Directed by: Jodie Foster
Written by: Kyle Killen

Few films of 2011 have thus far been I wouldn’t say anticipated, but more likely pondered over than The Beaver. The reason for that of course being that this is “Mad” Mel Gibson’s return to the big screen following the latest of his many shall we call them kindly “incidents.”

Much less in the spotlight but also of note is that it is Jodie Foster’s first directorial effort since 1995’s largely forgettable Home for the Holidays.

Rightly or wrongly, The Beaver has sort of been viewed as a crossroads in Gibson’s career. Will it be enough to earn him back some good will in the eyes of the people after his series of very embarrassing and very public blunders? Or will it be but a blip on the continuing descent of this once shining star? To me the answer isn’t quite so clear cut.
Continue reading →