Posterized Propaganda October 2012: Summer Excess and Festival Freshness

“Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover” is a proverb whose simple existence proves the fact impressionable souls will do so without fail. This monthly column focuses on the film industry’s willingness to capitalize on this truth, releasing one-sheets to serve as not representations of what audiences are to expect, but as propaganda to fill seats. Oftentimes they fail miserably. Summer is over and the studios still have a few genre flicks to unload before the arthouse, festival favorites begin rolling out. Oh, and Halloween is here too. The sad…

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REVIEW: Simon och ekarna [Simon & the Oaks] [2011]

“Children forget so fast” A tale about family, its many definitions, and its discovery through the prism of an unstable time, Marianne Fredriksson‘s international bestseller Simon och ekarna [Simon & the Oaks] has found its way to the big screen. Epic in scope and yet pared down to the tumultuous emotions of a young man growing up in Sweden during and after World War II, the film spans less than two decades but somehow appears to portray a lifetime. Simon Larsson started as a boy avidly reading within a giant…

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REVIEW: End of Watch [2012]

“Comfortable footwear. Police is all about comfortable footwear.” If David Ayer is to be believed, life as a South Central L.A. cop is a ticking time bomb ready to explode. What the region isn’t, however, is a cesspool of corrupt officers on the take forming yet one more gang of street thugs to combat. This is a new development in a career built on the nefarious deeds of men in power and the amorality of fresh blood taken under their wings. The writer/director of Harsh Times, Street Kings, and scribe…

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REVIEW: Looper [2012]

“I gave you something that was yours” Like he did film noir (Brick) and the grift (The Brothers Bloom), writer/director Rian Johnson has infused his uniquely personal touch into the science fiction genre with Looper. Time travel as a concept isn’t new, but how it’s handled will provide varying degrees of success. Generally utilized by the rich or hubristic scientists stumbling upon it, the technology has become a fantasy tool for adventure, discovery, and the righting of personal wrongs. It’s this third form that Johnson tinkers with inside a 2042…

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REVIEW: Dredd [2012]

“All we do is turn the handle” Whether Gareth Evans admitted Dredd 3D went into production while he was still filming The Raid or not, the similarities can’t be dismissed. I’m not saying this to imply theft—just that comparison is unavoidable. Liking one will probably mean the other disappoints, but the one you see first won’t necessarily be your favorite. No, I stand by the fact that this futuristic, crime-riddled world is objectively less effective than its Indonesian rival. It drags in multiple places, finds unintentional laughs through coldly stern…

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REVIEW: Better Off Dead… [1985]

“Aww. Buck up little cowboy” I’m not quite sure what I expected from Better Off Dead, but its complete disregard for any sense of authentic reality was a surprisingly welcome concept. Films from the 80s are notorious for their off-kilter presentation, breaking of the fourth wall, and change of pace hyper-real situations bordering on or actually portraying scenes of fantasy, yet few embrace actual cartoon aesthetic like Savage Steve Holland‘s feature debut. He injects daydreams into the action, quirky side characters popping up for no other reason than a laugh,…

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REVIEW: Pitch Perfect [2012]

“He is a hunter” Anything trying to capitalize on the now waning “Glee” craze and Step Up‘s surprising staying power probably should be dismissed sight unseen. How could a film dealing with the catty rivalries of the a cappella world be anything but an eye-rolling waste of celluloid? This is probably exactly what Universal Pictures thinks we’ll assume because they are throwing all their weight behind Pitch Perfect with an early release in select cities and a Twitter campaign putting one of its stars in the end credits to thank…

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REVIEW: Simple Mind [2012]

“I would tell them that they better look behind them” In the vein of other psychological horror thrillers delving into the dark recesses of the mind, Phil Newsom‘s short Simple Mind captivates above its ultra-low budget. Shot over the course of two days with cinematographer Paul Nameck—his only other crewmember—the film succeeds or fails depending on whether or not you believe the two central characters engaged in therapy session dialogue. If you can look beyond the camera’s poor audio capture and meticulously abstract framing that hides things too well, there…

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DESIGN: Upper 90 magazine, Fall 2012 issue

Upper 90 magazine Fall 2012 • Volume 1, Issue 1 Cover: The 2012 College Season Preview Also Inside: Kendell McFayden – What makes a pro? Josh Faga – How to be a captain Empire United – Birth of a super club Upper 90 debuted in September 2012 with its Fall College Preview containing insight into the ensuing season for numerous WNY schools. The myriad teams about to face off had me thinking about the old FIFA games for Nintendo and resulted in the pixel-based graphics on the cover and elsewhere.…

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REVIEW: Hotel Transylvania [2012]

“What? Now there’s no sheep in the road.” After the abysmal failure of That’s My Boy, seeing Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg highlight another film’s marquee this year didn’t instill confidence. Cartoon or not, the pairing still left a sour taste in my mouth that the addition of their larger-than-life comedic buddies Kevin James, David Spade, and Molly Shannon did nothing to alleviate. Only the names behind the scenes gave me a sliver of hope that Hotel Transylvania could end up a fun hybrid of writers Robert Smigel (“SNL’s” TV…

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REVIEW: How to Survive a Plague [2012]

“Act up, stand tall, tomorrow morning at City Hall” The war against AIDS was fought and won by those dying on the frontlines in Greenwich Village, New York City who could no longer accept a country’s willingness to persecute, abuse, and for all intents and purposes kill in an exercise of mass genocide brought on by fear. Retreating to God and the church’s ancient and skewed perspective on morality, America was ready to turn their heads and watch as millions died without a shred of guilt impeding that night’s sleep.…

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