Month: September 2007

DESIGN: Streets of Allentown 2007

Jared Mobarak

2007 Streets of Allentown Deciding to forgo with the annual Secrets of Allentown home tour in 2007, an alternate event was instead created called Streets of Allentown. A program would still be created, but instead of visitors being able to walk through the homes listed, this year guests were simply allowed to walk the streets and view the properties from the outside. After looking at many images of the neighborhood, I noticed the prevalence of old-fashioned lightposts and decided to incorporate one into the logotype. The brick background would partner…

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TIFF07 REVIEW: Across the Universe [2007]

Jared Mobarak

“Either learn French or die” Julie Taymor’s film Across the Universe has been high up on my most anticipated list for a year now. Taking classic and lesser-known Beatles’ tunes, she has crafted a contemporary musical about a group of young adults at the turning point of life during the start of the Vietnam War. While highly ambitious and oftentimes gorgeous to behold, the film ultimately ends up being a failed attempt at genius. Visually stunning, almost every sequence assaults your eyes with beauty and unique splendor. Unfortunately, Taymor may…

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TIFF07 REVIEW: Juno [2007]

Jared Mobarak

“It all started with a chair” It’s a good feeling when you can walk out of your very first Toronto Film Festival showing thinking, “Wow, that was great.” The screening was for Juno, the sophomore effort from director Jason Reitman. Let’s just say that the proverbial slump is nowhere to be seen. I enjoyed Thank You For Smoking immensely, however, the ending couldn’t hold the tone he had set up from the start. With Juno, I kept waiting for the same pitfall, but thankfully it never showed face. As Reitman…

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REVIEW: 3:10 to Yuma [2007]

Jared Mobarak

“Even bad men love they mommas” It is interesting how having an Oscar nominated director and actor, along with an Oscar winning actor can make a film garner award season buzz rather than the backlash of being a remake. The stigma of remake usually spells the kiss of death for most films, but it seems almost an afterthought with James Mangold’s 3:10 to Yuma. Based on an Elmore Leonard short story, the original is somewhat highly touted, so it is not as though people don’t know of it to have…

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REVIEW: Death Sentence [2007]

Jared Mobarak

“Welcome to hell” Unrelenting and uncompromising. That is all you need to know about James Wan’s new film Death Sentence. This is a tale of revenge and retribution for the death of a man’s son at the hands of a gang initiation. Taking the law into his own hands, Nick Hume, a father lost in the world, starts a war that he is not ready for. You can’t even out an equation when a person’s life is on the other side; the guilt of killing is just too much to…

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