Posterized Propaganda November 2013: ‘Ender’s Game,’ ‘Nebraska,’ ‘Frozen,’ ‘Oldboy’ & 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. Summer is here! Well, at least the summer we hoped to have when the sun was still shining out my window. Yes, the requisite Oscar bait arrives with a few…

Read More

TIFF07 REVIEW: Margot at the Wedding [2007]

“I think we should do an audit” Noah Baumbach’s follow-up to his critically acclaimed film The Squid and the Whale falls way short of living up to the expectations laid before it. There were numerous moments in Margot at the Wedding’s predecessor that skirted the line of acceptance, but they never crossed it. With this entry, however, Baumbach crosses the line early and soon finds that he can’t find his way back. No character here is really likeable at all. Everyone is a bit off mentally and unfortunately acknowledge that…

Read More

REVIEW: 3:10 to Yuma [2007]

“Even bad men love they mommas” It is interesting how having an Oscar nominated director and actor, along with an Oscar winning actor can make a film garner award season buzz rather than the backlash of being a remake. The stigma of remake usually spells the kiss of death for most films, but it seems almost an afterthought with James Mangold’s 3:10 to Yuma. Based on an Elmore Leonard short story, the original is somewhat highly touted, so it is not as though people don’t know of it to have…

Read More

REVIEW: The Invasion [2007]

“Civilization is an illusion, a game of pretend” Why do Hollywood producers set their sights on a talented European director, get them to film one of their scripts, and then subsequently throw it away while hiring one of their own to helm reshoots and change the entire movie? First you dump all your cash on an artistic vision and then you grow scared that the public won’t get it and therefore won’t pay to see it. So, here is a smart move, lets spend even more money to redo what…

Read More