Christina Ricci | www.jaredmobarak.com

REVIEW: Buffalo ’66 [1998]

2015/04/022015/04/03 Jared Mobarak

“Just look like we are a married couple … spanning time” In 2004 Christina Ricci was quoted in Time Out magazine as saying, “Buffalo ’66 was the most beautiful example of self-absorption I’ve ever seen in my life.” She’s not wrong. Even if she had a good experience on set and didn’t loathe writer/director/star Vincent Gallo like most involved on the film, she’d still not be wrong. Gallo’s character Billy Brown is the epitome of self-centered aggression mixed with an absolute lack of self-esteem—a description that describes Buffalo, NY in…

REVIEW: After.Life [2009]

2010/11/042013/07/11 Jared Mobarak

“I wanted to love … I was too scared” Finding your father dead on Christmas Day when you’re only ten years old can have quite the effect on a person. Ever since that moment, writer/director Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo had feared death, unable to confront what it meant. So, to have this Warsaw-born and NYU/Tisch-educated woman create After.Life as her debut feature film, one shouldn’t be too surprised. In attendance at a screening during Buffalo’s Polish Film Festival, Wojtowicz-Vosloo told her audience that after four years total, 24-hectic days of shooting, and…

REVIEW: Speed Racer [2008]

2009/06/212011/08/24 Jared Mobarak

“See, this race is full of cheaters” I’m going to preface this review by saying I have no clue about anything “Speed Racer”. I’ve never seen the cartoon, I don’t know the ins and outs or plotlines, nor if the source material was tongue-in-cheek and campy. Truthfully, I am glad I went into the Wachowskis’ film adaptation Speed Racer this way. Perhaps the tone took me by surprise in how grating and annoying it could be at times, (I wanted to kill Spritle and Chim Chim from their first moment…

REVIEW: Black Snake Moan [2007]

2007/03/102011/09/28 Jared Mobarak

“This little light of mine” Craig Brewer is now officially a writer/director for whom I will see any film by, no matter how bad it may look. His debut, Hustle and Flow, was one of my favorites from that year, with its emotionally charged storyline and realistic, fallible characters. I wasn’t quite sure what I would end up thinking after seeing this sophomore effort. The cast seemed great, the trailer used music effectively, however, it seemed like there was a good chance it would cross into absurdity, and fast. Fortunately,…