Movie Review: Hotel Mumbai

The first time I heard of Hotel Mumbai was a few weeks ago from a friend who had seen it. He mused about how involving and well saged it was, while simultaneously wondering who would want to recreate such events. I must admit, it is a thought I have often had when it comes to a movie that seeks to depict, often in great detail, such horrible events. It come to mind when I decided to see this film. I sat there and thought, in succession, why would anyone want to recreate these events, then who would want to watch such a thing, and then about how I was there watching such a thing. I have to admit, the movie was quite an experience.

Movie Review: Supremacy (2015)

So, while I was perusing the local theater listings for the then in the future weekend, I came across a movie I had not heard of before opening at the local second-run theater. The movie is called Supremacy and it was set to have it's theatrical debut at a second-run theater. I have to admit to being a little bit confused. It is not often you find a first-run movie there. Anyway, I went and saw it opening night and found I was the only person in the theater. On one hand, private showings like that are great, but on the other hand, it was a new movie and no one was there!

Movie Review: Lone Survivor

So, I went and saw Lone Survivor. That happened. It certainly was a finely crafted movie, filled with solid performances, some nice cinematography, a surprisingly well balanced treatment of characters, some thrilling shootouts, and to top it off It has a reality to back up its tale. Granted, it is twisted a little for cinematic purposes, but that's all right, it is expected when anything true is adapted to the big screen. It is also a movie that has not exactly inspired me to write some big review about it. Still, I felt a little desire to go over a couple of reactions to it, so this is likely going to be even more random and stream of consciousness than I usually am.

Movie Review: The Wolf of Wall Street

A new Martin Scorsese film is always something to anticipate. While I have not seen all and have not loved all, there is always going to be a level of attention and quality that you just don't find anywhere else. Add in the presence of Leonardo Dicaprio and you add another level to the production. So, when I learned of The Wolf of Wall Street, it jumped up my want to see list. The trailer looked pretty crazy and it depicted a movie that dives into the excess of late 80's greed mentality, taking Gordon Gecko's Wall Street to the next level, and all being based on a real person.

Movie Review: Bad Ass (2012)

There is an interesting subset of the “based on a true story” movies. Rather than a person, or time period, or some other broad event, there are a few that take a small incident and build around that. This would include movies like Compliance and Stuck, both interesting films that you should look into. The latest entry to this subset of movies is called Bad Ass. These are movies that take headlines and events and build a movie around them. They do not purport to be entirely true, instead they use the real elements as a launching point for their story.

Movie Review: 12 Years a Slave

It was maybe a month or so ago that I first saw the trailer for 12 Years a Slave. Now, my tastes have been drifting away from the based on a true story type films, but that doesn't mean I am going to dismiss them. I just limit my exposure. Anyway, there was something about this that made me want to see it. The first reason was for star Chiwetel Ejiofor. The guy is a fantastic actor and I have enjoyed pretty much all I have seen him in. It is nice to see him in another lead role, I believe it is the first since he starred in David Mamet's Redbelt. Another reason would be for director Steve McQueen, I had heard good things but had not seen any of his films yet.

Movie Review: Captain Phillips

As you know, in recent years I have found myself moving more and more away from based on true story type movies. I have discovered that I am much more enticed by genre film making, or film making that seems to be more creative and interesting to me. The idea of recreating real life stories has lost some of its luster. This is not to say there cannot be very good craft and skill involved in making them, but I find I am less interested, kind of like the recent Ron Howard movie, Rush. That just looked exceptionally dull to me.

Movie Review: Fruitvale Station

Fruitvale Station is a pretty interesting film. It s a movie based on the true story of a shooting of a young man in the early hours of New Year's Day in 2009. It is a movie that probably would not exist if not for the viral nature the incident took on with the proliferation of cell phone cameras and footage recorded during the shooting. It also points towards changing society. Still, when you strip it all down, this is a movie about someone struggling with his place in life and a man who loves his family, his mother, his girlfriend, his daughter, but is still a victim of his own impulses and fate.

Movie Review: The Conjuring

It has to be difficult for a director working within a specific genre. There are some types of films whose formulas and tropes have been so ingrained in pop culture and people so familiar with how they work that it has to be incredibly difficult to work within them and create something effective. It is not always easy to break from the chains of familiarity and transcend what we think a genre film can be. Some people are willing to accept mediocrity. Fortunately we have some filmmakers willing to play in the genres and try things, some new, some old.