Posterized Propaganda November 2012: Marketing Goes Artsy With ‘Killing Them Softly,’ Lincoln,’ ‘Skyfall’ & More

“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. I have to credit the Alamo Drafthouse and Mondotees for slowly turning the industry around to the appeal of limited edition prints and excessive series. You’re spending an insane amount…

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REVIEW: Wreck-It Ralph [2012]

“Who doesn’t like a brat with dirty hair?” The news that Disney bought Lucasfilm for four billion dollars had me thinking about another of the powerhouse’s key acquisitions—no, not Marvel and its potential for crazy property crossover. To me Mickey and friends’ best move this past decade was ensuring that Pixar Studios and its unparalleled team of creative visionaries would be their in-house animation studio with John Lasseter at its head. Not only would he have the foresight to re-open Walt Disney’s 2-D animation shingle, but he’d also find himself…

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REVIEW: Paperman [2012]

Disney has been hitting their short films out of the park so often lately that I’m contemplating buying the Pixar Short Films Collection Volume 2 on Blu-Ray I’ve seen advertised at my local Regal Cinema. The only shortcoming of the purchase would be the exclusion of their newest work, Paperman, seen before the wonderful Wreck-It Ralph. More adult in nature than most of the cutesy characters crafted of late from the studio, this tale of love at first sight’s power will get you all warm and fuzzy without the need…

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REVIEW: Safety Not Guaranteed [2012]

“My calibrations are flipping pinpoint, okay?” Sweetly cute, subtly intelligent, and simply life affirming in the best possible way, Safety Not Guaranteed is the epitome of indie darling. Reminiscent to Chronicle from earlier this year, director Colin Trevorrow and writer Derek Connolly have really taken care to use genre clichés in a way that somehow makes them appear fresh. We’ve seen the reporter lying for a story only to end up falling for her subject. We’ve seen the misunderstood weirdo toe the line between insanity and the impossible to give…

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REVIEW: Flight [2012]

“Say, ‘I love you, Trevor’” I’m going to chalk Flight‘s failure up to Robert Zemeckis being away from live action dramas too long. Manipulation works in children’s cartoons like his The Polar Express and A Christmas Carol because you’re supposed to be preaching some sort of morality lesson on the impressionable through a fun, heartwarming tale. For adults, however, more intrigue than a cool concept left neutered in lieu of showcasing its leading man’s inner turmoil is necessary. Yes, much of the blame lays in the hands of screenwriter John…

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REVIEW: Nic & Jerry Get OFF [2012]

“Stop trying to make this, like, educational” Having run the gamut between big [Toronto International] and micro [Buffalo Niagara] film festivals as both a member of the press and public, I’ve begun to cultivate certain expectations from the events I attend. Possessing separate press screenings, VIP passes for all-access, an ability to catch true indie art you may never get to see again, and/or the opportunity to be the first to spy a big time blockbuster, each finds a way to set itself apart from the pact. As an attendee…

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Teaching us what it is to be human … Babel’s Russell Banks

As novelist Russell Banks admitted during the first lecture of the 2012-2013 Just Buffalo Literary Center‘s Babel season, he is the series’ first participant with a clear “American accent”. I’m not sure if that fact made my brain marginalize his inclusion because he wasn’t some international luminary from an exotic corner of the world or not, but his very brief time at the podium left me wanting. I love the work picked as his showcase piece—well, the movie based on it anyway for which I gave a perfect score—as well…

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REVIEW: Mallrats [1995]

“Like the back of a Volkswagen?” The term ‘sophomore slump’ was thrown around a lot back in 1995 where Kevin Smith‘s Mallrats is concerned and I can agree with the sentiment almost two decades later. After the astronomical success of his debut Clerks, it’s unsurprising that a studio would take a gamble on banking profits while attached to the writer/director’s coattails. But all the extra money—six million that Smith never understood the need to have—and hands in the pot did was risk behind the scenes issues and a lot of…

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REVIEW: Atlas Shrugged: Part II [2012]

“You can’t win a fight that never ends” Ayn Rand‘s Atlas Shrugged is one of the most divisive novels ever written with equal numbers hailing her Objectivist manifesto as Bible or deriding it as blasphemy. It’s a timely tale these days too as gas costs rise high and cries of Socialism are heard regarding our Presidential regime currently at risk of upset by a team who’s VP candidate is a very vocal Rand apologist. Our nation is at a crossroads not unlike the book’s where citizens are being asked to…

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REVIEW: Resident Evil: Retribution [2012]

“Congratulations, you’re officially a bad ass” You would think that by installment five the studio and/or writer/director Paul W.S. Anderson would realize the fans of the Resident Evil franchise are the only ones still buying tickets. The fact Resident Evil: Retribution only made a little over forty million of its sixty-five million dollar budget back should get this fact across. The T-virus zombies aren’t big box office bank anymore—it’s simply been too long since the games or movies were truly relevant. So, why are they still giving us a five-minute…

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REVIEW: Least Among Saints [2012]

“Everyone’s scared of something” That-guy actor Martin Papazian goes for dramatic gravitas in his directorial debut Least Among Saints and finds more success than not in the process. Wanting to tackle a tale about two lost souls helping each other understand their place in the world, it seemed only natural for the first-time screenwriter to dig back into his past as well as bring to life tales heard at present. Creating his central dynamic with a young boy and the haunted man willing to ensure his well being in the…

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