Author: Alexis Gentry
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Depp channels Thompson in wandering tale of excess and corruption
The Rum Diary, based on the early Hunter S. Thompson novel, takes a searing look at excess and corruption in Puerto Rico in 1960. Johnny Depp stars as Paul Kemp, a journalist who travels to the island to write for a failing newspaper. Paul is a go-with-the-flow kind of guy who’s not out to mix…
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’50/50′ combines cancer and comedy
Typically, when the main character of a film is dying of cancer, you can’t expect a lot of laughs in the script. That’s not the case with 50/50, which combines comedy and drama in a way that emulates the natural ebb and flow of emotions in real life to create a film that is both…
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Pitt and Hill score with ‘Moneyball’
Just like most sports movies, Moneyball is about underdogs, a ragtag group of guys no one ever thought would make but who end up impressing everyone in the final scene. Unlike most sports movies, Moneyball’s underdogs aren’t necessarily the players, and it’s this shift in perspective that makes the movie so unique and successful. Brad…
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Visual storytelling a key strength in ‘Contagion’
It all starts with a cough. Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) is returning from a business trip to Hong Kong and chatting on the phone at an airport bar. She seems to have a little cold, but she keeps on snacking on the tray of peanuts in front of her and preparing to return home to…
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HBO Go a step in the right direction
There are a million different ways to watch TV these days. You can record a show on your DVR, watch it on-demand on your cable box, view it on your computer or iPad using Hulu, Amazon Instant Video or Netflix and even go old school and buy it on DVD and Blu-Ray. And these are…
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‘Fright Night’ should be more fun
The remake of 1985’s Fright Night combines two of today’s hottest trends, vampires and 3D, in an effort to entertain audiences. Instead of sparkly, teenage vampires, Colin Farrell’s Jerry is meant to be dark and menacing and instead of the colorful world of Pandora in Avatar, the 3D is used for shots of the suburbs…
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’30 Minutes or Less’ loaded with comedy heavyweights
If you’ve read Trashwire for any length of time, you know I love the cast of 30 Minutes or Less. We’ve had articles about Jesse Eisenberg’s star-making turn in The Social Network, several about Danny McBride adding flavor to any movie and even an interview with Nick Swardson. As hardcore fans of these guys, I…
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Dominic Cooper dazzles in ‘The Devil’s Double’
Imagine being best friends with a rich, famous guy who throws the best parties and gets all the hot girls. Sounds like an episode of Entourage, except that this famous guy isn’t Vinny Chase, he’s Uday Hussein and he’s also a psychotic, arrogant maniac.
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‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ a solid prequel
If you had told me a year ago that I’d really enjoy the prequel to a 1968 Charlton Heston movie starring James Franco and a bunch of CGI chimpanzees, I would have seriously questioned your ability to predict the future. Fast forward to today and I would have asked you for the lottery numbers because…
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Trashwire talks to Joe Cornish and John Boyega about ‘Attack the Block’
In anticipation of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, we’re bringing back a throwback post from Comic Con 2011 when we sat down with John Boyega to discuss his film debut in Attack the Block, a funny and innovative sci-fi comedy from Joe Cornish.
