“This ain’t Amistad” Kevin Smith has attempted to break free from the viewaskewniverse once more with his new comedy Zack and Miri Make a Porno. We all remember his first try, the underrated Jersey Girl that died before it even had a chance due to the Jennifer Lopez/Ben Affleck debacle, that culminated in him going back to the well for the amazing sequel Clerks II. With the new film, Smith has mixed the sentimentality of Jersey Girl with the vulgarity of his other movies, creating a hybrid that brings some…
Read MoreMonth: October 2008
REVIEW: The Jerk [1979]
“I was born a poor black child” It was sheer dumb luck that while reading Steve Martin’s autobiography earlier this year I saw his film The Jerk was being shown on tv. A few months later and the threat of my DVR being erased, I finally took the time to view it. Martin definitely did something special, infusing his stand-up routine into a story of one man’s rise to wealth and subsequent loss of everything. His crazy persona takes center stage right from the start as we meet Navin Johnson,…
Read MoreREVIEW: Blindness [2008]
“Like someone turned on all the lights” I truthfully don’t know what to think about Fernando Meirelles’ new film Blindness. Based on a novel and adapted by Don McKellar, (the thief in the film if you’re interested, and also Brad in the fantastic Waydowntown), the story actually left me a little cold. This thing is tense, don’t get me wrong, and edge of your seat in multiple moments, but by the end I was a tad surprised at how innocuous it all was. Maybe I am demeaning the story too…
Read MoreREVIEW: The Duchess [2008]
“Freedom in moderation” Keira Knightley’s period drama for the year 2008 is a well-crafted one, but lacking in anything new and exciting. The Duchess is your run-of-the-mill tale of unrequited love amidst the artifice of a marriage of utility. It all begins with a gathering of teenagers, playing their games in the yard while the adults talk inside, planning the futures for their children behind closed doors. When Georgiana’s mother tells her how she will be the next Duchess of Devonshire, you are almost shocked at her reaction. So happy…
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