REVIEW: The Living [2014]

“All we got in life are choices” An interesting choice was made on Jack Bryan‘s film The Living—one that occurred before the camera rolled. If you’re familiar with Fran Kranz‘s emotionally fractured science nerd Topher from “Dollhouse” and Kenny Wormald‘s coolly confident Ren from the Footloose remake, you’d probably have a pretty good idea of who would play who inside a plot dealing with an abusive husband and the sheepishly insecure brother-in-law wrestling with the desire to hire a hitman to kill him. For whatever reason—and this is to the…

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REVIEW: Lust for Love [2014]

“Water off a duck’s back” First-time writer/director Anton King‘s Lust for Love is primed for audience consumption two years and change after its Kickstarter campaign went live. A labor of love for a group of creative friends—previously brought together on Joss Whedon‘s “Dollhouse”—this indie rom/com is a cutely funny tale refusing to hide its conclusion from frame one. Anyone who has ever seen a movie knows that a guy asking a girl to teach him how to win back his ex inevitably sparks something between them that neither party saw…

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REVIEW: Much Ado About Nothing [2013]

“Get thee a wife!” Writer/director Joss Whedon finished principal photography on the most expensive and complex project of his career only to find himself starring a contractually obligated vacation in the face before beginning post-production. The Avengers had him contending with multiple superstar celebrities inside a computer-effects heavy world the likes of which a television career that utilized much of the same talent never came close to reaching. While no one would have blamed him for holing up on some beach to relax with his family, Whedon had other ideas.…

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REVIEW: The Avengers [2012]

“In the end you’ll always kneel” It’s hard to believe the new Marvel cinematic canon began just four years ago—if anything just for the simple fact these actors have been contractually obligated to continuously work in the world for its duration. The new The Incredible Hulk released with much less poetic atmosphere and more action-based aesthetic akin to the universe the studio now wished to portray than Ang Lee‘s foray from 2003 and a comic tone was cemented in arguably the series’ best entry, Iron Man. Subsequently followed by Thor,…

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TIFF10 REVIEW: Stone [2010]

“I don’t want no beef with you, I want to be a vegetarian” The trailers being released for Rochester resident John Curran’s newest film Stone show a conventional thriller concerning a convict using his wife to seduce the parole officer in control of an early release. You almost think the advertisement gives everything away, touching upon the secret affair as well as an interesting change in attitude by the inmate who orchestrates it all, almost as though revenge will be sought after despite his blackmail plan being the cause. This…

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