Starring: Vera Farmiga, Donna Murphy, John Hawkes, Nina Arianda, Dagmara Dominczyk, Bill Irwin, Joshua Leonard, Ebon-Moss Bachrach, and Taissa Varmiga
It's got to be really hard to direct and act in the same film, especially if the individual is the star of a film. As an actor, I can imagine that a person would be used to direction from someone else other than himself. As a director, there's probably no time whatsoever to get behind the camera. The dual... Continue reading...
Starring: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Bill Pullman, Ross Malinger, Rosie O'Donnell, Rob Reiner, and David Hyde Pierce
The legendary Nora Ephron passed away earlier this week. She was truly an innovator who helped mold the romantic comedy genre into what it is today. I can think of no better way to honor her legacy than to revisit her filmography and knock back a few drinks in the process. Given that 2013 will mark the 20th anniversary of Sleepless in Sea... Continue reading...
Posted by James Brown on Wednesday, June 27, 2012 In : 0.00% Water
Goodfellas
Directed By: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, and Paul Sorvino
"As far back as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a gangster." -Henry Hill (Ray Liotta)
After The Godfather was released in 1972, mob films were never the same. It was the film that made gangsters cool. There were the Corleones, and then there was everybody else. With the exception of The Godfather: Part II, no mob film could ever measure up to the greatness of Franc... Continue reading...
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rosemary Harris, and J.K. Simmons
The bar was set high for Sam Raimi after the towering successes of Spider-ManandSpider-Man 2, two of the greatest comic book movies of all time. How do you come up with a story and a film great enough to at least match its predecessors? Admittedly, it's a daunting task for any director. In trying to outdo himsel... Continue reading...
Posted by James Brown on Thursday, June 21, 2012 In : 0.00% Water
Spider-Man 2
Directed By: Sam Raimi
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Alfred Molina, Rosemary Harris, J.K. Simmons, Daniel Gillies, and Dylan Baker
"Sometimes we have to be steady and give up the thing we want the most, even our dreams." -Aunt May (Rosemary Harris)
With the commercial and critical success of Spider-Man, a sequel was inevitable. Hollywood was undoubtedly going to keep this cash cow alive. The only problem was that they had to follow up one of the greatest comi... Continue reading...
Posted by James Brown on Thursday, June 21, 2012 In : 0.12% Hard Liquor
Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem (AVPR)
Directed By: Colin Strause and Greg Strause
Starring: Steven Pasquale, Reiko Aylesworth, and John Ortiz
It's always terrible to see a bad movie making money. When it does, you already know that Hollywood plans to shovel more of the same crap into theaters some time down the road. After having raped both the Alien and the Predator franchises in the awful flick Alien Vs. Predator, Hollywood decided to have another round of this pointless conflict in Aliens Vs.... Continue reading...
Posted by James Brown on Wednesday, June 13, 2012 In : 0.00% Water
Spider-Man
Directed By: Sam Raimi
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Cliff Roberts, Rosemary Harris, and J.K. Simmons
"In spite of everything you've done for them, eventually they will hate you." -The Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe)
Superheroes do the impossible. They are legendary men and women who do what the rest of us can't. For this, we both love and hate them. We put them on pedestals as gods among men. At the same time, we label them as vigilantes and relent... Continue reading...
Posted by James Brown on Thursday, June 7, 2012 In : 0.12% Hard Liquor
Alien Vs. Predator
Directed By: Paul W. S. Anderson
Starring: Sanaa Lathan, Lance Henriksen, Raoul Bova, Ewen Bremner, and Colin Salmon
Crossover films are always hit or miss. Bringing the main attractions from different franchises together is a very tricky matter. They can't all be like Freddy Vs. Jason where Jason just comes to Freddy's killing grounds on Elm Street. When confronting the concept of Alien Vs. Predator, writer-director Paul W. S. Anderson had a lot of work to do. Given the f... Continue reading...
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Winona Ryder, Ron Perlman, Dominique Pinon, Gary Dourdan, Michael Wincott, Brad Dourif, Leland Orser, Dan Hedaya, J. E. Freeman, Kim Flowers, and Raymond Cruz
Sometimes it's abundantly clear when Hollywood is trying to make a quick buck. There are some movies that are just so unnecessary that you're just left wondering why. After Alien 3, who would've thought that another Alien film centering on the character of Ell... Continue reading...
Posted by James Brown on Thursday, May 31, 2012 In : 0.09% Cocktails
Alien 3
Directed By: David Fincher
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Charles S. Dutton, Charles Dance, Brian Glover, Ralph Brown, Paul McGann, Danny Webb, Pete Postlethwaite, Lance Henriksen, Leon Herbert, and Peter Guinness
The biggest problem plaguing the Alien franchise is that there is no central vision for the series. There's nobody steering the ship aside from profit-oriented studio execs. There's no director that has made more than a single installment in the franchise. While this worked ear... Continue reading...
