All hail Sacha Baron Cohen in ‘The Dictator’
Sacha Baron Cohen can wholly become a character like few other actors working today. As we saw in Borat and Brüno, he seemingly transforms beyond recognition into whatever heavily accented, exaggeratedly foreign, brazenly funny character he is embodying. While The Dictator is more of a traditional, narrative film that his two previous mockumentaries, Cohen still manages to fully become his character and give us some crude, sharp and satirical jokes. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Movies
Burton’s ‘Dark Shadows’ disappoints
Back in the 1990s, Hollywood started taking old TV shows and making them into movies, set in present day, and making fun of just how outdated they seemed by today’s standards. The Brady Bunch Movie, The Adams Family and even Pleasantville showed us that the characters of old would have a tough time fitting in with our cool, hip, progressive society. Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows is a lot like those fish-out-of-water parodies, just with more … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured Stories, Movies
‘The Avengers’ gives fans the most bang for their buck
What do you get when you combine Hollywood’s most profitable superheroes in one film? You get action, effects, humor and fun. In other words, you get The Avengers. In case you’ve been living under a rock, or movies based on comic books are so not your thing, The Avengers are a team of heroes from various comic books who have been brought together by S.H.I.E.L.D., a secret military law enforcement agency, on a mission to save … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured Stories, Movies
Tone keeps ‘The Raven’ from flying
Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most well-known and important names in American literature. His work has been adapted time and time again for both television and film, most notably by The Simpsons and the legendary Roger Corman. The Raven, the new film from director James McTeigue, has an interesting take. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Movies
Director Drew Goddard talks ‘Cabin in the Woods’
I recently had the opportunity to sit in on a discussion with director Drew Goddard about his new film and feature length directorial debut Cabin in the Woods. Goddard, a pleasant, down-to-earth individual, started off as a writer that was stuck in a room alone for ridiculous amounts of time and now he’s working with 300 different people with a common goal of making a fun enjoyable film. Take a look at what I got … Read entire article »
Filed under: Interviews, Movies
‘Cabin in the Woods’ a new twist on horror traditions
“You don’t know the story,” that’s the tag line for The Cabin in the Woods. So I’m like, “Oh, ok first time feature director Drew Goddard, show me what you got!” So I sit down in a theater full of critics and take in this film only to find that he was right. Now, be warned this film is best viewed without knowing too much about it. I didn’t know the story and I think … Read entire article »
Filed under: Movies
Phoenix Film Festival wrap-up: The good, the bad, the surprising
The Phoenix Film Festival has become my favorite way to spend three or four days away from home. That even beats out Disneyland, which I went to for the first time this year. This year’s Phoenix Film Festival did it again with a ton of great movies, parties and seminars. There wasn’t enough time for me to take it all in so I dedicated most of my time to watching movies and eating Harkins concessions. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Arizona, Film Festivals, Movies
‘Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope’ captures passion of San Diego Comic-Con
Perhaps the most overused word when describing fans is “passionate”, but that is the best way to describe all those who attend the behemoth convention that is Comic-Con. Morgan Spurlock has taken on the task of telling the story of Comic-Con 2010 in the documentary Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope–not an easy feat due to the plethora of characters that attend this convention. Comic-Con is a unique experience for everyone who attends, but Spurlock chooses … Read entire article »
Filed under: Celebrities, Comic Con, Movies, Pop Culture
‘Andrew Bird: Fever Year’ a fest favorite
Andrew Bird is described as an American musician, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has a bachelor’s degree in violin performance and has made tons of music in the genres of folk, jazz, swing and blues. He’s been on albums with multiple bands but failed to get viable commercial success. He was later asked to open for a band in his hometown, but his band mates were unable to make it to the opening. So he did … Read entire article »
Filed under: Arizona, Film Festivals, Movies
‘The Hunger Games’ a spectacular adaptation
Let’s face it, Hollywood rarely succeeds in making a book-to-screen adaptation that lives up to the original. Even True Blood, one of my favorite shows, takes quite a few creative liberties with Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse novels. After reading (and totally loving) Suzanne Collins’ best-selling The Hunger Games, I was keeping my fingers crossed that the film version would live up to all the hype. Thankfully, director Garry Ross gives us a film that perfectly … Read entire article »
Filed under: Movies, Pop Culture
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