47 RONIN (2013) review
written by: Chris Morgan and Hossein Amini
produced by: Pamela Addy and Eric McLeod
directed by: Carl Earl Rinsch
rating: PG-13 (for intense sequences of violence and action, some disturbing images and thematic elements)
runtime: 119 min.
U.S. release date: December 25, 2013
Like any film genre, the samurai genre played itself out in the 1970s after wave of wave of flicks hit the screen. The genre had its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, directors like Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Gosha, Masaki Kobayashi and Kihachi Okamoto putting the samurai on the popular culture map. Damn the 1970s, a decade that helped kill the western too! So now in 2014, it’s cool to see new takes on familiar stories from a genre that was once hugely popular, like the recent “47 Ronin”.
Announcement: 2014 Academy Award Nominations – Surprises & Snubs!
This morning, actor Chris Hemsworth (who starred in last year’s “Thor: The Dark World” and “Rush”) announced the 86th Academy Awards® nominations with Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Cheryl Boone Isaacs at 5:38am (pacific), from the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, CA. Boone Isaacs described the announcement of the nominations as a celebration of “the heroes of moviemaking”, which led to her introduction of Hemsworth, “lucky for us, we have a superhero with us”. As expected, there are some inevitable surprises and snubs, which I will touch on below. Below are the entire nominees….
THE LEGEND OF HERCULES (2014) review
written by: Daniel Gat, Giulio Steve, Renny Harlin & Sean Hood
produced by: Boaz Davidson, Danny Lerner, Les Weldon & Renny Harlin
directed by: Renny Harlin
rating: PG-13 (for sequences of intense combat action and violence, and some sensuality)
runtime: 99 min.
U.S. release date: January 10, 2014
From the director who brought you “Cutthroat Island” and “Exorcist: The Beginning” comes…Oh, wait, that doesn’t do it for you, does it? Ahem….From Renny Harlin, director of “Die Hard 2” and “Cliffhanger” (ah, that’s better) comes a new sword and sandal epic that tells….oh, I just can’t – this movie sucked. It has unbearably bad acting, laughable dialogue and special effects that aren’t quite ready for PS4. No one should really be all that surprised. After all, it wouldn’t be January without crappy movies.
LONE SURVIVOR (2013) review
written by: Peter Berg
produced by: Peter Berg, Sarah Aubrey, Randall Emmett, Norton Herrick, Barry Spikings, Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson & Vitaly Grigoriants
directed by: Peter Berg
rating: R (for strong bloody war violence and pervasive language)
runtime: 121 min.
U.S. release date: December 27, 2013 (limited) and January 10, 2014 (wide)
“Lone Survivor” saw a limited release in December in order to qualify for award consideration. That was ambitious of Universal Pictures. While clearly designed to pay tribute to the real-life failed operation in Afghanistan involving four Navy SEALS back in 2005, it’s execution is full of war movie clichés, patriotic bravado and jingoistic laziness. Brutal and intense in its depiction of desperate survival in a no-win war zone, “Lone Survivor” will do well as “a Mark Wahlberg” movie, especially for January moviegoers, but for those of us who’ve been manipulated by one too many “based on a true story” war movies, the viewing experience ends up frustrating and exhausting.
The Top Ten Films of 2013
It feels like more than a year since the last time we posted a year-end Top Ten List! That probably means we’ve been really busy or we’ve watched a ton of films over the last year. As usual, if I were to combine the 2013 films I’ve yet to see and the ones I’ve seen and still haven’t reviewed, it’d be a long list. That’s just how it is. After a while, you gotta call it and labor over that list. And seeing as how this was an exemplary year at the movies, this list really did involve some time and sweat (not to mention all the last-minute viewing). The end result, between the four of us, has the usual similarities, as well as some odd and unique choices. It’s all subjective, folks.
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS (2013) review
written by: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
produced by: Scott Rudin, Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
directed by: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
rating: R (for language including some sexual references)
runtime: 105 min.
U.S. release date: December 6, 2013 (limited) and December 20, 2013 (wide)
It’s a wonderful thing one when a film turns out living up to the anticipation surrounding it. I always look forward to the latest from Joel and Ethan Coen, two brothers who’ve been making memorable films for decades, but when I heard their latest film would be touching upon the Greenwich Village folk scene in the early 60s and reuniting with musical director T Bone Burnett (“O Brother, Where Art Thou?”), my interest increased, being a fan of that particular singer/songwriter scene. “Inside Llewyn Davis” offers a week in the life of a restless folk singer, who can’t seem to find his place in life. While the film has many of the trademark Coen-isms, for me, this is their most affective film to date.
HER (2013) review
written by: Spike Jonze
produced by: Megan Ellison, Spike Jonze and Vincent Landay
directed by: Spike Jonze
rating: R (for language, sexual content and brief graphic nudity)
runtime: 126 min.
U.S. release date: December 18, 2013 (limited) and January 10, 2013 (wide)
I’m still getting used to people talking to themselves on the train or as they walk down the street. Of course, that’s not what’s really happening. Those people are usually talking to someone on their cell phone, using an earpiece or some form of wireless device. They’re hands are free for them to hold grocery bags or drive a car. It’s still strange to me, but I guess I should get used to it. Because according to writer/director Spike Jonze (“Where the Wild Things Are”, “Adaptation” and “Being John Malkovich”) in the near future we’ll be doing the same thing when our very own computer – or operating system – becomes our best friend. We’ll be able to talk to, travel with and possibly even fall in love with him, or, in this case “Her”.
AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY (2013) review
written by: Tracy Letts
produced by: George Clooney, John Doumanian, Grant Heslov, Steve Traxler, Bob Weinstein and Harvey Weinstein
directed by: John Wells
rating: R (for language including sexual references and for drug material)
runtime: 121 min.
U.S. release date: December 27, 2013 (limited) and January 10, 2013 (wide)
Family is a big, complex subject, and it’s inherently a personal one. Dramatizing family can generate scoffs of disbelief, or nods of familiarity with the exact same scenes. Family, as a subject matter, has the wonderful dichotomy of being universal, while also being utterly unique.
THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY (2013) review
written by: Steve Conrad
produced by: Samuel Goldwyn, Jr., John Goldwyn, Stuart Cornfeld & Ben Stiller
directed by: Ben Stiller
rating: PG (for some crude comments, language and action violence)
runtime: 114 min.
U.S. release date: December 25, 2013
Going into “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”, I knew the gist of the 1939 short story by James Thurber that appeared in The New Yorker it’s based on. The title character is a nebbish daydreamer who escapes into his own fantasies, where he’s a hero or a romantic lead is the exact opposite of who he is in real life. That being said, I haven’t seen all of the 1947 movie adaptation starring Danny Kaye, but it would seem to me that a source material this cinematic is about due for a modern re-imagining. That’s where Ben Stiller comes in, directing and starring in a feel-good movie for the whole family that predominately plays it safe.
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (2013) review
written by: Terence Winter
produced by: Martin Scorsese, Riza Aziz, Joey McFarland & Emma Koskoff
directed by: Martin Scorsese
rating: R (for sequences of strong sexual content, graphic nudity, language and drug use throughout, and for some violence)
runtime: 179 min.
U.S. release date: December 25, 2013
Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street” is a raucous, wild ride that follows the rise and fall of Jordan Belfort, who thought he could get away with anything as long as he has money to throw at it. It is one of the most intoxicating movies of the year, drenched in an unrelenting amount of sex, mansions, sports cars, drugs and a luxury yacht (with a helicopter pad), the lengthy film may be a challenging watch for some. But it offers one of the best lead performances by Leonardo DiCaprio, out of all the films he and Scorsese have worked on. It is certainly not a good gateway to those unfamiliar with one of the greatest American directors working today, but for those of you who’ve been looking forward to the latest Scorsese/DiCaprio collaboration, you will not be disappointed. In fact, prepare to be wowed.
