Month: July 2014 | www.jaredmobarak.com

FANTASIA14 REVIEW: Cheatin’ [2014]

2014/07/182014/07/23 Jared Mobarak

“Ella Heart Jake” Inspired by the works of James M. Cain such as Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice, iconic animator Bill Plympton‘s Kickstarted feature film Cheatin’ is all about sex, lust, love, magic, and sex. His seventh feature film makes its Canadian debut at the Fantasia Film Festival a year and a half after its successful crowdfunding campaign afforded him the budget to personally hand draw over 40,000 drawings. From there each frame was cleaned, painted, and composited by a team of less than twenty people to…

Summer Fun Film Festivals in WNY

2014/07/182020/03/26 Jared Mobarak

With the dwindling numbers of drive-in theaters across the country, independent theaters finding it difficult to compete with huge chains, and the ever-fluctuating national box office needing too many 3D films to turn a profit, certain cities somehow find a way to keep the medium alive. Buffalo is one of them and always has been since I can remember. My days as a high schooler trying to figure out plans with friends for the weekend always ended up being decided between catch the latest blockbuster or hit up the local…

REVIEW: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes [2014]

2014/07/152014/07/17 Jared Mobarak

“Ape no kill ape” The hype is spot-on with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. A more focused film than Rise of the Planet of the Apes—which served as an emotive origin tale possessing little unique conflict beyond a fight scene showing off computer effects more than propelling storyline—you should still acknowledge that predecessor allows it to be so. This doesn’t mean you must view it to understand the sequel, however, as a concisely informative prologue is delivered to explain the key plot point of mankind simultaneously giving apes…

REVIEW: The Purge: Anarchy [2014]

2014/07/152014/07/18 Jared Mobarak

“We’ve lost our souls to attain this peace” I enjoyed last year’s suspense horror The Purge a lot—despite high expectations for the premise actually going where it needed to prove more than another generic home invasion flick. Writer/director James DeMonaco gave us the graphic brutality its conceit promised through its claustrophobically bottled skirmish between malicious debutantes and an (not so) innocent family trying to survive while also lending the social commentary at its back a voice. I use the parentheses because it just so happened that the Sandin’s patriarch was…

VIDEO: Weird Al Yankovic’s “Tacky”

2014/07/152014/07/16 Jared Mobarak

I can’t say I ever find myself clamoring for more Weird Al Yankovic, but I always come running when he pops back into society with a new parody video. With his latest album Mandatory Fun on its way, the first single “Tacky” has hit the web as a pretty great play on Pharrell Williams‘ “Happy”. Through a cast consisting of Aisha Taylor, Margaret Cho, Eric Stonestreet, Kristen Schaal, and Jack Black in what appears to be one continuous take, the lyrics of his song come to life. Check it out…

REVIEW: And So It Goes [2014]

2014/07/142014/07/23 Jared Mobarak

“Too much noise! Too much noise!” Who wondered what The Magic of Belle Isle would be if Morgan Freeman‘s surly alcoholic was forced to warm his heart and soul to a young child that was his granddaughter rather than a neighbor? I think Rob Reiner did or else I’m not sure why he’d choose a project that does just that two years later. The man who helmed This is Spinal Tap and the consummate rom/com When Harry Met Sally … appears to simply want to live out his twilight with…

VIDEO: Aaron David Gleason’s “Mastermind”

2014/07/142014/07/15 Jared Mobarak

Director Jeremiah Kipp—who sent me his impressive short film The Days God Slept (review) last year—has just released a music video he created for Aaron David Gleason‘s new song “Mastermind”. A mood piece of aggression with a cast that includes The Princess Bride‘s Chris Sarandon and the musician’s mother—of Boogie Nights fame—Joanna Gleason, Kipp gives us multiple characters in rhythmic cross-cuts and split screen as the music plays. Check it out below:

REVIEW: Rise of the Planet of the Apes [2011]

2014/07/132014/07/14 Jared Mobarak

“These people invest in results. Not dreams.” How did the apes from Pierre Boulle‘s Planet of the Apes gain control of Earth? The 1968 film adaptation shows human/ape hybrids walking, talking, and living in civilizations—a great sci-fi conceit making us believe in a distant planet where evolution took a different turn than what happened here. But as anyone who saw that movie or Tim Burton‘s much-maligned remake knows, a twist arrives to show the existence of these creatures was something else all together. We discover we were watching a tale…

REVIEW: Wish I Was Here [2014]

2014/07/122014/07/13 Jared Mobarak

“You’re going to have sex with the swear jar?” It’s impossible to talk about Zach Braff‘s Wish I Was Here without first addressing the elephant in the room: Kickstarter. Whether you’re against his method of crowdsourcing because you believe a celebrity of his stature shouldn’t need extra funding to finance a film or steadfast in the true notion that his fandom actually brought new members to the website who subsequently spent money on other projects, the backstory will play a role in your perception of the finished work. As a…

REVIEW: Garden State [2004]

2014/07/092014/07/10 Jared Mobarak

“I’ll take a hug” Sometimes a movie comes along at the perfect time. Maybe it’s a story you can relate to, a work firing on all cylinders aesthetically, or something that pulls you into its emotionality and refuses to let go. Garden State was that film for twenty-two year old, college graduate me embracing my first job in the field I hoped to one day call my career. As a working graphic designer my palette for the arts was exponentially expanding through cinema and music in ways it never had…

NYAFF14 REVIEW: 白ゆき姫殺人事件 [Shirayuki hime Satsujin Jiken] [The Snow White Murder Case] [2014]

2014/07/072016/02/23 Jared Mobarak

“She’s just that kind of person” Based on a 2012 novel written by Kanae Minato, 白ゆき姫殺人事件 [Shirayuki hime Satsujin Jiken] [The Snow White Murder Case] is very much a product of our time. A satirical take on the Twitter age that also to a point provides a compelling murder mystery reminiscent of Gillian Flynn‘s Gone Girl, the story’s as much a social critique as it is dramatic fiction. Our world is currently ruled by attention deficit to the point where journalistic integrity has been usurped by the necessity for click…