Powered By Blogger

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Upcoming movie reviews

      Look for my reviews on "Captain America" and "Cowboys and Aliens" ; coming soon.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Comments on movie blog

     I was just looking over my settings page on my blog when I found that the default setting to comment required the reader to be a member of google blogger.I have changed this so that any of my blog readers can now post a comment.Thanks.
                                                                     Julie

Monday, July 18, 2011

Pirate Radio

     This movie is a period piece set in the mid 1960's.The movie is about a pirate radio ship broadcasting 24/7 off the coast of England to eager listeners wanting to hear rock & roll music; music that the BBC of that time esentially ignored.
     Starring Phillip Seymor Hoffman,as a good natured American DJ,and Kenneth Brannaugh,as the British government official intent on shutting down this percieved threat to English dignity,good taste and morality,the movie covers the antics,lives and loves of a motley band of intrepid broadcasters intent on providing the English public their daily dose of rock & roll.
     The script meanders through multiple story lines as it interlaces a wonderful sound track of mid 60's top 40 style music.This is snapshot of the tone of the time both literally and metaphorically.If you lived through the history and music of this era, you will detect the shift from the harmonizing love,surf and car songs of the early to mid 60's to the more psychedelic and moody songs that somewhat lead to the approaching "metal sounds of the 70's and 80's.
     This movie made a brief run at the big screen before being quietly moved to DVD and movie channels where it can be found today.Enjoy this movie for what it is; a light hearted look at our musical past.
     I give this movie a C+.
                                                                            Julie

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Assassination Tango

          This gritty piece is filmed primarily in Buenos Aires,Argentina.Tango is the backdrop along with the city of Buenos Aires itself for this movie.This film is written and directed by Robert Duvall.Duvall also plays the central character John J.Anderson.
          Anderson leads a double life as assassin and businessman/father figure.Anderson is ready to end this dichotomy and settle comfortably with his new love,played by Kathy Baker and her daughter.His booking agent for his assassin jobs offers him one more very lucrative "3-day" hit in Argentina.He agrees to do it.
         Three days turns into three weeks and Anderson discovers a Tango school connected with the boxing gym that is the front for his nefarious activities.He is smitten with the dance and his dance teacher and he interlaces his planning of the hit with dance lessons and an exploration of the Tango lifestyle.
         The tension of the Tango in performance and style serves as metaphor for John Anderson and vice versa.Duvall as writer/director portrays an inner dichotomy of spirit that may be present to a greater or lesser degree in each of us.
         To  fully enjoy this movie,you must be open to the pace that a character study style as used here invokes to move the story.The frenetic pace of todays movies is not present in this film despite moments of tension.
         I give this movie a C+.It is about 10 years old so you will have to search for it on DVD,Netflix or cable movie channels.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Horrible Bosses

     Risque to say the least; this comedy richly deserves it's R rating.This movie is dripping with sexual innuendo,direct sexual suggestion and language that would make a sailor blush.
     Nick(Jason Bateman),Dale(Charlie Day) and Kurt( Jason Sudeikis) are good friends and drinking buddies who coincidentally have the same basic problem.They each have a really horrible boss.
     Their worsening work environments are shared over drinks at their favorite bar and a collective boiling point occurs; beginning the mayhem and irony that fuels a non stop comic romp.Their bosses: Dave(Kevin Spacy),Dr. Julia(Jennifer Anniston) and Bobby(Colin Farrell) cause relentless grief for our hapless trio of friends.What to do?
      There are numerous laughs as our characters hatch their plot and we roll towards resolution-- or not.
      I thought this movie was funny but for sure it is raucous and racy so if you get uptight about things like this you better skip it.Definitely not for the kiddos.I give this one C+.
                                                                                                                  Julie

                                                                                                             

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Midnight in Paris

     This is the best movie I have seen so far this summer.Written and directed by Woody Allen and starring Owen Wilson,Rachel McAdams and the French Actress,Marion Cotillard as the central characters, we are given a tour of Paris that is most imaginative.Since Woody Allen is in my opinion one of the masters of ensemble film work there is of course no shortage of talent in support of our main characters.
     Owen Wilson plays Gil Pender,a successful Hollywood screenwriter,in Paris on his future in-laws dime with his fiance Inez,played by Rachel McAdams.
     Gils big dream is to write a novel and in fact he already has the majority of his manuscript ready.Inez,her parents and two friends, think Gil's desire to live and write in Paris is a hopeless delusion.The two friends by "happy coincidence" appear in Paris at the same time as Gil,Inez and her parents.
     Not surprisingly,Gil does not fit in with the aforementioned group and begins a series of late night walks to lament his feeling that he has been "born too soon" and has missed the "Golden Age" of the 1920's where great writers,artists and poets commiserated in a fabulous time of great artistic achievement.Perhaps some of the magic will rub off on him.The clock strikes Midnight;the magic begins.
     No special effects here-just pure imagination;a seamless progression of story in a most unusual way.Do you know of the artists and writers who have lived and worked in Paris?If you do,you will enjoy this movie all the more.
     I give this movie an A-.I really enjoyed it !

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Favorite Directors--a work in progress


This is a list of directors who I feel have made some truly excellent films.This does not mean I like every film they have made but most have a sigificant body of work that includes some truly wonderful films.Some are still making movies,others have moved to another level of existence but their works live on.

  • Clint Eastwood
  • Martin Scorsese
  • Stanley Kubrick
  • Billy Wilder
  • Orson Welles
  • Steven Speilberg
  • Darren Aronofsky
  • John Sayles
  • Woody Allen