Posted by Jared Mobarak on November 22, 2017 · Leave a Comment
“Very healthy!” I’m far from a vegetarian or a pet/animal lover, but I get the reasons why people would be both. And no matter how much I enjoy eating red meat, even I would have to draw the line when confronted with a “Meet your meat” type scenario. What purpose is drawn from such a […]
Category action/adventure, drama, film reviews · Tags Bong Joon-ho, Giancarlo Esposito, Hee-Bong Byun, Jake Gyllenhaal, Lily Collins, Okja, Paul Dano, Seo-Hyun Ahn, Shirley Henderson, Steven Yeun, Tilda Swinton
Posted by Jared Mobarak on July 1, 2016 · 1 Comment
“I don’t want to die alone” You can never be sure about a marketing campaign using a phrase like, “You’ve heard it a million times, but this time it’s true. You’ve never seen a movie like Swiss Army Man.” What type of ploy are they engaging in? We all know it’s been affectionately called (and […]
Category comedy, drama, film reviews, z.slideshow · Tags Dan Kwan, Daniel Radcliffe, Daniel Scheinert, John Williams, Jurassic Park, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Paul Dano, Swiss Army Man
Posted by Jared Mobarak on March 4, 2016 · Leave a Comment
I have no problem saying 2015 was a great year for cinema. Putting together a Top Ten was difficult at every turn—both because each time I had to do so meant I had seen more films and as a result of my preferences constantly changing. There are more than a few from 11-20 that easily […]
Category essays, top 10 films · Tags 45 Years, A War, Aaron Moorhead, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Alex Garland, Alicia Vikander, Andrew Haigh, Anomalisa, Bel Powley, Best of Enemies, Black, Bridge of Spies, Brie Larson, Brooklyn, Carol, Cartel Land, Creed, Cynthia Nixon, Danny Boyle, Eddie Redmayne, Ex Machina, Far From Men, Gail Bean, George Miller, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, Goodnight Mommy, Home, How to Change the World, Ich seh Ich seh, Inside Out, Jacob Tremblay, James White, Jason Mitchell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Joan Allen, John Crowley, Josh Mond, Justin Benson, Kate Winslet, Krigen, László Nemes, Lenny Abrahamson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Listen to Me Marlon, Loin des hommes, Mad Max: Fury Road, Marielle Heller, Mark Rylance, Meet the Patels, Men & Chicken, Meru, Michael Fassbender, Mustang, Mænd & høns, Paul Dano, Pawn Sacrifice, Pete Docter, Phantom Boy, Quentin Tarantino, Richard Gere, Ronnie Del Carmen, Room, Rooney Mara, Ryan Coogler, Saoirse Ronan, Saul Fia, Shaun the Sheep Movie, Son of Saul, Spotlight, Spring, Steve Jobs, Straight Outta Compton, Sylvester Stallone, The Danish Girl, The Diary of a Teenage Girl, The Hateful Eight, The Look of Silence, The Revenant, Theeb, Time Out of Mind, Tobey Maguire, Todd Haynes, Tom McCarthy, Unexpected, Victoria, What Happened Miss Simone?, Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom
Posted by Jared Mobarak on February 14, 2016 · Leave a Comment
For those handicapping at home, here are the guesses of Buffalo film fanatics Christopher Schobert, William Altreuter, and myself. Jared Mobarak: Here’s hoping Chris Rock does his best Ricky Gervais as far as not caring about political correctness or duty to kissing up to the celebrities all dressed-up nice because having him host the 2016 […]
Category essays, oscars · Tags 45 Years, Aaron Sorkin, Abraham Attah, Adam McKay, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Alex Garland, Alicia Vikander, Andrea Berloff, Anthony Mackie, Bel Powley, Bridge of Spies, Brie Larson, Brooklyn, Bryan Cranston, Carol, Cate Blanchett, Charles Randolph, Charlotte Rampling, Chris Rock, Christian Bale, Christopher Schobert, Creed, Cynthia Nixon, Danny Boyle, Drew Goddard, Eddie Redmayne, Emma Donoghue, Ethan Coen, Ex Machina, Gail Bean, George Miller, Harvey Keitel, Helen Mirren, Idris Elba, Inside Out, Jacob Tremblay, Jason Mitchell, Jason Segel, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jennifer Lawrence, Joan Allen, Joel Coen, Jonathan Herman, Josh Cooley, Josh Singer, Joy, Kate Winslet, Lenny Abrahamson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Love & Mercy, Mad Max: Fury Road, Mark Ruffalo, Mark Rylance, Matt Charman, Matt Damon, Meg LeFauve, Michael B. Jordan, Michael Fassbender, Michael Keaton, Michael Shannon, Michael Stuhlbarg, Nick Hornby, Paul Dano, Pete Docter, Phyllis Nagy, Rachel McAdams, Richard Gere, Ridley Scott, Room, Rooney Mara, Ryan Coogler, Saoirse Ronan, Spotlight, Steve Jobs, Steven Spielberg, Straight Outta Compton, Sylvester Stallone, Teyonah Parris, The Big Short, The Danish Girl, The Hateful Eight, The Martian, The Revenant, Tobey Maguire, Todd Haynes, Tom Hardy, Tom McCarthy, Trumbo, Will Smith, William Altreuter
Posted by Jared Mobarak on December 13, 2015 · 1 Comment
“Levity is an irresistible temptation” What strange beauty writer/director Paolo Sorrentino finds within the sadness of his palatial Swiss Alps resort’s inhabitants in Youth. The story plays like a surrealistic existential revelation—the aftermaths of each character’s crisis as they discover exactly who they are in the midst of tragic knowing. Age transforms bodies and minds […]
Category drama, film reviews · Tags Harvey Keitel, Jane Fonda, Luca Bigazzi, Luna Zimic Mijovic, Madalina Diana Ghenea, Michael Caine, Paloma Faith, Paolo Sorrentino, Paul Dano, Rachel Weisz, Robert Seethaler, Youth
Posted by Jared Mobarak on November 7, 2015 · 1 Comment
“Lonely scared frightened” The best part of a Rock and Roll Music History class that I took in college was learning just how influential The Beach Boys were to music at large. I knew the songs and enjoyed them, but how could surfer pop be held in the same regard as The Beatles? It didn’t […]
Category biography, drama, film reviews, musical/concert · Tags A Beautiful Mind, Bill Camp, Bill Pohlad, Bob Dylan, Brett Davern, Brian Wilson, Elizabeth Banks, Erin Darke, I'm Not There, Jake Abel, John Cusack, Kenny Wormald, Love & Mercy, Oren Moverman, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, The Beach Boys, The Beatles
Posted by Jared Mobarak on November 12, 2013 · Leave a Comment
“Stay safely” A label such as hero has lost its meaning of late. So ubiquitous today, it’s been rendered empty by being placed upon men and women who—while just, compassionate, and selfless—don’t quite reach the level of endured suffering for the word to earn its full weight. With America’s history possessing so much cowardice and […]
Category biography, drama, film reviews, z.slideshow · Tags 12 Years a Slave, Adepero Oduye, Alfre Woodard, Anne Frank, Benedict Cumberbatch, Brad Pitt, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Chris Chalk, Garret Dillahunt, Hans Zimmer, Hunger, John Ridley, Lupita Nyong’o, Michael Fassbender, Michael K. Williams, Paul Dano, Sarah Paulson, Sean Bobbitt, Solomon Northrup, Steve McQueen, The Diary of a Young Girl
Posted by Jared Mobarak on September 17, 2013 · Leave a Comment
“Pretty soon all that stands between you and being dead is you” The question is simple: How far would you go to save your child? The dynamics, however, are more complex when the man reconciling his soul to those ends is one who’s held God’s love as a beckon of security close to his heart. […]
Category drama, film reviews, suspense/thriller · Tags Aaron Guzikowski, David Dastmalchian, David Fincher, Denis Villeneuve, Dylan Minnette, Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Maria Bello, Melissa Leo, Paul Dano, Prisoners, Se7en, Terrence Howard, Viola Davis, Zodiac
Posted by Jared Mobarak on August 17, 2013 · Leave a Comment
“I’ll always remember … “ A film not necessarily loved upon release—many actually reviled it for “glamorizing” the life of a porn star—Luke Greenfield‘s The Girl Next Door was and still is a hilarious coming of age story for a post-American Pie world. It’s about finding yourself on the cusp of high school graduation without […]
Category comedy, drama, film reviews, romance · Tags Amanda Swisten, American Pie, Autumn Reeser, Brent Goldberg, Chris Marquette, David Gray, David Wagner, Elisha Cuthbert, Elliott Smith, Emile Hirsch, Filter, Luke Greenfield, Marvin Gaye, Olivia Wilde, Paul Dano, Stuart Blumberg, Sung Hi Lee, The Girl Next Door, The O.C., Timothy Olyphant
Posted by Jared Mobarak on December 10, 2012 · Leave a Comment
“I will never write about her again” The debut screenplay from actress Zoe Kazan includes moments ringing absolutely true and others completely false. I can’t stop thinking about Harry Weir-Fields (Chris Messina) giving his brother Calvin (Paul Dano)—the film’s lead—notes on his new, very rough manuscript. Asking without a shred of patronization who the target […]
Category drama, film reviews · Tags Annette Bening, Antonio Banderas, Charlie Kaufman, Chris Messina, Elliott Gould, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Jonathan Dayton, Michel Gondry, Paul Dano, Ruby Sparks, Valerie Faris, Weird Science, Zoe Kazan
Posted by Jared Mobarak on September 27, 2012 · Leave a Comment
“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 […]
Category action/adventure, film reviews, science fiction · Tags Brick, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Jeff Daniels, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Looper, Noah Segan, Paul Dano, Pierce Gagnon, Piper Perabo, Rian Johnson, The Brothers Bloom
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