REVIEW: Planes, Trains & Automobiles [1987]

“Like your job; love your wife” Being the first John Hughes film I have seen since the writer/director’s passing, I feel that I need to speak about the man’s oeuvre along with the movie itself. I think many could make the argument that Planes, Trains & Automobiles is his best work. He wrote a lot of scripts, even into the years before his death, but as far as the ones he directed, you won’t get one that resonates on an adult level quite like this. The Breakfast Club will always…

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REVIEW: The Men Who Stare at Goats [2009]

“It’s a man sitting in a chair” When looking in retrospect, it’s always nice to know that you made the right decision. While at the Toronto International Film festival this year, my friend and I had a conflict of movies with Up in the Air and The Men Who Stare at Goats. Both stared George Clooney, but only the one had any trailers and/or marketing push at the time. We picked the Reitman film in the end—and it was one of the best movies we saw at the fest—figuring to…

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Using the space between two languages … Ha Jin ventures to Buffalo

The second installment to Just Buffalo Literary Center’s Babel series for the 2009-2010 season saw American-Chinese author Ha Jin taking the stage. He is an interesting writer in the fact that he crafts his work with his second language, English. Not even learning it until college, where it was his fifth out of five choices to study at university, he has both adopted it and America as his home. Saying that he is in semi-exile from China, he still holds a linguistic bond to the nation even though they have…

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REVIEW: The Blind Side [2009]

“With God All Things Are Possible” Everyone enjoys a feel good story, especially if it’s based on fact. When the main character of the true life tale is a young man saved from the squalor of gang life and an inevitable bullet to be loved, educated, and sent on his merry way towards a career in the NFL, well you’ve got film adaptation written all over it. That is exactly what Warner Brothers thought when optioning Michael Oher’s past, via a book by Michael Lewis, and casting Sandra Bullock as…

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REVIEW: The Bigamist [1953]

“You will travel far” It is something that I don’t necessarily wish was true, but watching an older film carries with it the process of aging. Some are timeless and relevant no matter when they are seen, while others become a remnant of the past due to style, dialogue, and subject matter. When viewing Ida Lupino’s film The Bigamist, the idea that it could have been something fresh back in 1953 kept creeping into my mind since my experience was more tv movie of the week in the present. By…

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REVIEW: The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard [2009]

“Looks like a refugee camp for dirty men” Sometimes you just have to get over the fact that a film needs a good/coherent plot to be a success and let the stupidity flow over you. This is exactly what I did when sitting down to watch The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard. You cannot argue the comedic talent involved, but you can make the point that Gary Sanchez Productions could bring the whole shebang down. I know I am in the minority on my feelings for Will Ferrell and his…

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REVIEW: Planet 51 [2009]

“Sea monkeys dancing to the Oldies” There is a new competitor on the animated picture front. The Spain-based company Ilion Studios has thrown their hat in the ring with the new film Planet 51. Unlike some of the other upstart firms that have cropped up in the past decade, Ilion’s artistry is very much on par with Dreamworks and Fox, (no one can compare to Pixar, sorry), and surprised me with how clean and polished the animation was. A studio like this needs to find success early, however, in order…

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REVIEW: The Box [2009]

“You have blood on your hands” Does anyone not push the button? What can I say about Richard Kelly’s supposed turn to mainstream cinema? Three things, and they are as follows: One, the marketing for The Box has to be some of the worst in the history of film. Warner Brothers is selling a completely different movie than what is shown on screen. This isn’t a thriller against the clock for a yuppie couple; it’s a fight for the salvation of the human race. Hell, it takes place in 1976…

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REVIEW: A Christmas Carol [2009]

“Know me better man” What to say about a film based on a novel of great importance that doesn’t quite live up? You can’t go wrong with Charles Dickens’ essential A Christmas Carol, especially when it is done accurately. One thing that director Robert Zemeckis cannot be faulted for is his staying faithful to the tale and bringing it to a new generation of the masses. The Alastair Sim version from 1951 will always be, to me, the best adaptation, but the entries that spring boarded in their own directions…

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REVIEW: 2012 [2009]

“We are taking the Bentley” Go figure, Roland Emmerich actually didn’t bore me to death with his latest disaster porn flick, ominously titled 2012. Oh he tried, padding this beast to over two and a half hours, that’s for sure, but for some reason—I can’t believe I’m saying this—it wasn’t horrible. Please don’t expect any critical acclaim or awards coming in, no, I didn’t say it was good, however, if you saw the trailer and thought it would be a successful choice to sit back and stuff your face with…

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REVIEW: Metropolitan [1990]

“Driver! Follow that pedestrian!” I have discovered a new cinematic character worth quoting and his name is Nick Smith. Ever since Criterion decided to release a couple Whit Stillman films, I was intrigued to find out exactly what made them ‘worthy’ of the slightly slanted ‘C’ seal of approval. The artwork alone piqued my interest with its hand drawn aristocratic aesthetic, but it was the mystery of having never really heard the name before that truly drew me in. Next thing I knew, his debut Metropolitan was available for viewing…

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