Cinegasm Episode 015

Episode 015 - Click to listen in your browser
or right-click and "Save Target As" to download

Go to iTunes

Host: Kevin Brotman
Co-Hosts: Brian J Blottie, Stephen LaRose, Melissa Hanson

• Box Office Rundown
  
• Upcoming Weekend: Burlesque, Faster, Love and Other Drugs, The Nutcracker in 3D (3D), Tangled (3D)
• Last week's poll: Best book to movie adaptation - Chris, also mentioned: Babe & Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas / Favorite movie snack? Bunchacrunch, pretzel bites

• Movies we've seen this week
• Stephen - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (Review)
• Melissa - The Next Three Days (Review)
• Brian - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (Review)
• Kevin - Legion
• What did you see this week? Do you want to review movies? Email us at cinegasmpodcast @ gmail.com

• Nicolas Cage Match: Best movie that has aged poorly VOTE
• Brian - Team America: World Police
• Melissa - American Pie
• Stephen - Mr 3000
• Kevin - Tron

• Topic of the Week: The advent of solely streaming content (Hulu+, Netflix's new shindig, Redbox, etc.)

Review: "The Next Three Days" (2010)

IMDB link

by Melissa Hanson

Life is good with husband and wife John and Lara (Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks) until she is convicted of murder and put away for life. Their son is three years old when she goes to prison, and through the next three years, (see a pattern?) life is tough as John tries to scrap by filing appeals and focusing on his son. Things take a turn for the worse when the last appeal is denied and Lara attempts suicide. I think you can guess how it goes from here.

I am a big Russell Crowe fan, but I had a hard time buying him as a school teacher not knowing how to put bullets in a gun. I really didn't feel he was right for this role. He's a great actor and he can play so many characters so well. He was amazing in A Beautiful Mind as well as The Insider. His character didn't developed subtly, he seemed to all of a sudden be a badass. It could be that there were crucial scenes cut from the movie that filled in the gaps, but as the final theatrical cut, I didn't see it. I think he was trying to keep it low-key, but it just didn't work for me. Unfortunately, neither did Elizabeth Banks. I also really like her work, but this felt very cardboard to me. I could tell that I should feel more sadness for her character, but I didn't.

I really did enjoy the last third of the movie and how it played out, but, it was very difficult for me to understand how John set it all up just by having one enlightening conversation with ex-con, Liam Neeson. We see John planning and going to the library, etc, but no other help from there. Nothing on how his emotions are breaking down. Just LOTS of dumb luck in situations.

The saving grace is that it keeps a good pace and has some very tense moments. It's not a waste of time, but I think it's doom is acting as though we don't know how it's going to turn out.

On a side note, can I just say that Kevin Corrigan is in EVERYTHING.  He's one of the most entertaining and employable actors in Hollywood. From the first shadow of his hair, I knew it was him and I was happy.

Review: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part One" (2010)

IMDB Link

by Brian J Blottie

For nine years, Harry Potter has been one of the most successful film franchises in the history of film. As the years passed, and it's core audience has grown up, the movies themselves grew up with them, taking on a darker and more foreboding tone with each release. Finally, the end is near, as the first half of the two part conclusion, "The Deathly Hollows", has been released, and it continues the progress from light-hearted to dread-filled series successfully.

This is, by far, one of the darkest, most despairing fantasies to be put to film. The sense of wonder is gone, replaced by an almost Nazi-like narrative, in which Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) and his cohorts go to great lengths to hunt down Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) and his friends, taking over the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts through fear and murder. A great deal of the film sees Harry exhausted, uncertain of what to do next, while Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) try their best to support him, though their own doubts and fears slowly tear the trio apart. This is not a children's film, as the dark story combined with the frightening characters and graphic depictions of violence and death are closer to Pan's Labyrinth than the initial offerings. With that said, this is a much stronger movie than any of the Harry Potter series before it, as you truly do feel the sense of hopelessness that pervades the film.

The supporting cast is fantastic, from Ralph Fiennes horrific Voldemort to Bill Nighy's Head of the Ministry, with Rhys Ifans' portrayal of Xenophilius Lovegood particularly great. But the real star of the show is Rupert Grint, who brings more depth and emotion to Ron Weasley than ever before. While Daniel Radcliffe will forever be known as Harry, and Emma Watson has grown into a beautiful but passable actress, Grint is the actor who has the brightest future ahead of him. When he is gone from the screen, you realize just how powerful his acting is, as things seem to fall flat when Watson and Radcliffe are left to carry scenes on their own. This is no knock to either star, as they still carry it well, but instead is praise for Grint.

From scene to scene, there is very little light, further enhancing the gloomy narrative with a realistic but almost overwhelming apprehension. This is not the world that left you breathless with awe in the first few films; it's a lonely world, filled with whites and grays, as the trio of heroes are left for the first time to fend for themselves. The special effects are incredible as usual, but do not take anything away from the story told. Rather, they enhance each scene, guiding you from place to place in the narrative.

Splitting the film into two might actually be a great idea in this case, as the end of the film actually feels like an ending and a beginning. What felt originally like a money grab by the studio instead feels like a completely natural end point of the film, and leaves you wanting for more. Eight months is a long time between movies, but in this case it's actually worth the wait; it'll take that long for all of the symbolism and complexities presented to really settle in on subsequent viewings.

The darkest film in the series, the first part of a story that finally concludes the tale of Harry Potter, "The Deathly Hollows" is finally here. Some will see it as too depressing, as a film meant to scare rather than impress. Others will see it as the finest film in the series, a slow build to what is sure to be a spectacular conclusion. Whichever side of the fence you are on, this film will stick with you for longer than it's two-and-a-half hour running time, which only the best films in cinema do.

Review: "Morning Glory" (2010)

IMDB Link

by Casey O'Connor

For decades, "chick flick" has been a part of the American vernacular. Those feel-good movies that make us believe anything is possible. In Morning Glory, Rachel McAdams plays Becky Fuller - a spunky morning show producer. It takes less than five minutes to establish Fuller as an ambitious, if personally scatterbrained, workaholic. It's clear the script follows the same vein as, well, just about every female empowerment movie of the last twenty years. McAdams fires off stuttering, self-deprecating monologues with a speed that can only be considered exhausting.

The premise is fairly straight forward; instead of getting the expected promotion, Becky Fuller is laid off due to budget cuts. So she takes the only job she can get, as executive producer of a failing morning show. Thankfully, things pick up at this point, with the introduction of the supporting cast.

Harrison Ford, as an aging newsman essentially blackmailed into taking a co-anchor spot, is inconsistent at best. The one true high point of the film is Diane Keaton. Her determination to keep the show alive provides most of the film's positive moments.

At the core, the problem with Morning Glory is not it's predictability; many well-made films follow well trod paths. The real problem is that the film can't decide what it wants to be. With quick shifts between romantic comedy, to self-discovery story, and every stereotype in between, the script simply fails to find a nice.

If you're looking for a light-hearted comedy, grab your Working Girl DVD and save the ticket price.

Cinegasm Episode 014

Episode 014 - Click to listen in your browser
or right-click and "Save Target As" to download

Go to iTunes

Host: Brian J Blottie
Co-Hosts: Stephen LaRose, Graham Malin, Chris Perkins, Melissa Hanson

• Box Office Rundown
  
• Upcoming Weekend: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, The Next Three Days
  
• Last week's poll, Stephen and Melissa tied
  
• Nicolas Cage Match: Best book adapted to a movie VOTE
• Melissa -  Jackie Brown based on Rum Punch by Elmore Leonard
• Stephen - Goodfellas based on Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi
• Graham - V for Vendetta based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore
• Chris - The Hustler based on the book by Walter Tevis

• Movies we've seen this week
• Melissa - Today's Special (Review), I Love You Phillip Morris (Review)
• Stephen - Skyline
• Graham - The Walking Dead
• Chris - nonsense
• Brian - Red
•  What did you see this week? Do you want to review movies? Email us at cinegasmpodcast @ gmail.com

• Topic of the Week: Favorite movie snack
• Melissa - popcorn & Milkduds
• Stephen - Peanut M&Ms
• Graham - Sour Patch Kids
  
• Chris - Movie Pretzels, Bon Bons
  
• Brian - chocolate covered raisins & popcorn

Review: "Today's Special" (2010)

IMDB link 

by Melissa Hanson

It's a familiar story of a father and son, but director David Kaplan manages to keep the audience engaged and entertained. He directs Aasif Mandvi (The Daily Show on Comedy Central) and a first rate cast in this lovely indie comedy.

Samir (Aasif Mandvi), a sous chef in a Manhattan restaurant is passed over for a promotion by the head chef, Steve (played by the charming Dean Winters) because he doesn't see the passion in Samir's cooking. Samir impulsively quits his job and tells one of his co-workers, Carrie (Jess Weixler), that he's moving to Paris to apprentice. This, of course, backfires as Samir ends up taking over the family business, an Indian restaurant in Jackson Heights, (Queens) New York.

He enlists the help of a taxi driver, Akbar (Naseeruddin Shah), whom he struck up a conversation with days earlier. Yeah, it's contrived, but in a most indelible way. The new chef is completely opposite of him and soon Samir is embracing his roots, falling in love and rediscovering his passion for food. Aasif' gives an amazing dimension to the role with subtle gestures and pitch perfect timing while Naseeruddin's performance makes even the most non-cooking people (myself included) understand the passion of chefs.

The film is refreshingly authentic and close to home. Instead of mocking or exploiting the various aspects of Indian culture, it celebrates it and shows the audience a family. You will leave this movie happy and hungry.

Opens in limited release November 19th, 2010.

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Review: "I Love You Phillip Morris" (2010)

IMDB link

by Melissa Hanson

My sister: "So how was the movie?"
Me: "Jim Carrey was hilarious."
My sister: "Haven't heard THAT in a while."

I gotta say, it's really awesome to see a funny Jim Carrey movie. He plays Stephen Russell, who's true story was adapted by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, the first-time directors of the film. Stephen is a cop in Georgia, married to a lovely wife (Leslie Mann) with a daughter when he has an experience that causes him to start living his life to the fullest. He comes out as a gay man and develops extravagant tastes to the point where he starts conning people to pay for it all.

There are so many "bait and switch" moments in the movie that you're never quite sure when you'll be hit again. Stephen is flawed, but completely likeable. Even when he does terrible things, we forgive him, as we see his intentions weren't entirely selfish. Stephen showers affection on his new boyfriend, Phillip (Ewan MacGregor) and goes to great lengths to sustain their lifestyle. At one point he pays to have a guy beat up, just so Phillip can sleep through the night. Now that's love.

At the core, it's a love story. It's a hilarious love story that happens to be between two gay men. Jim Carrey is back to being a charming and ridiculous character. This was a perfect movie for him. He also does some physical comedy which is completely valid for the story and almost nostalgic.

It reminds me of Catch Me If You Can, but sillier. It's a good movie. I quite enjoyed it.

Opens in limited release in New York and Los Angeles on December 3, 2010.