Category: Documentaries (Page 4 of 43)

A Richard Pryor movie moment for Martin Luther King Day

January 17, 2011 / Bob Westal

On a day where a lot of people are talking about where the proper lines are in humor that also happens to be the birthday of one of this nations’ greatest figures, this clip of Richard Pryor from “Live on the Sunset Strip” involving the worst racial epithet most of us know seems more apt than ever. I think this is a great moment that gets more moving every time I see it, but it may not be appropriate for work or around kids, for obvious reasons.

I think this moment changed the way a lot of people talk.

Documentaries, External Entertainment, External Movies, Humor, Movie Comedies, Movies

Live on the Sunset Strip Richard Pryor Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip

Friday trailer #1: So how big a b.o. 3D bump will Will Herzog’s “Cave of Forgotten Dreams” get?

January 14, 2011 / Bob Westal

I’m way busy and way behind, so this week’s Friday movie news dump will have to itself be dumped. Nevertheless, I’ve got time for trailers. Also, yes, when you start mentioning grosses in connection with a Werner Herzog documentary about miraculously well-preserved cave paintings, you’ve definitely been writing too much about movie box office.

In any case, here’s a trailer for “Cave of Forgotten Dreams,” the latest documentary from Herzog which really will be in 3D. Take a look.

h/t Movieline.

Documentaries, External Entertainment, External Movies, Movies, Trailers

3D Cave of Forgotten Dreams Cave of Forgotten Dreams trailer Werner Herzog

A roundtable chat with actor Danny Trejo, aka “Machete”

January 4, 2011 / Bob Westal

More than a few tough guy actors have been, to one degree or another, actual tough guys — soldiers, cops, even petty, and not so petty, criminals. Still, Danny Trejo earned those intimidating facial lines with perhaps the toughest real-life background of anyone to ever transition from a life of crime to a successful life in the fantasy factory of Hollywood.

Of course, it’s that authenticity that’s attracted casting directors since the start of Trejo’s career in the mid-80s. His early small roles eventually led to Trejo’s association with Robert Rodriquez, who coincidentally turned out to be his second cousin as well as the filmmaker who would finally give him his first starring role. Starting with “From Dusk ‘Till Dawn” through the “Spy Kids” trilogy, it was a long path that first led to the funniest fake trailer in “Grindhouse” and then the ultra-violent yet entirely tongue-in-cheek Mexploitation action-fest, “Machete,” now available on Blu-ray and DVD. In his mid-60s, Danny Trejo is now a movie star.

A Los Angeles native with an astonishing 201 roles to his credit, the actor grew up within a half-hour’s drive of the film studios in Burbank, but his tough neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley might as well have been in Tierra del Fuego. He was a heroin addict by age 12 and, way-too-shortly thereafter, an armed robber on a supersonic path to jail or the grave. Fortunately, as depicted in the biographical documentary “Champion” (available via streaming video on Netflix), jail got Trejo first. He eventually found his way to a 12 step program that allowed him to turn his life around to the poing where he could stop being a hard case and, with the benefit of a fortuitous encounter with the late ex-con author and “Reservoir Dogs” actor, Eddie Bunker, start playing them instead.

A voluble gentlemen, Trejo enjoys talking to the press and is not a difficult interview by any means. The roundtable nevertheless started with a slightly awkward moment of silence when a writer who had been patched in via telephone for some reason didn’t come up with the first question and was never heard from again.

Eventually I chimed in with a query, perhaps a bit serious for an opener. I mentioned “Champion” and how, in the film, Trejo discusses how criminals, both inside and outside of prison, are forced to present their natural fear as anger in order to survive in a brutal environment. I wondered if Trejo considered that world of false but convincing bravado to be his first acting class.

Action Movies, Actors, Documentaries, External Entertainment, External Movies, Interviews, Movie Comedies, Movies, TV, TV Action, TV Comedies, TV Dramas

Andrey Konchalovskiy Antonio Banderas Champion Charles Bronson Danny Trejo Danny Trejo interview Death Wish 4 Desperado Eddie Bunker From Dusk Till Dawn Governor Rick Perry grindhouse Headlines Kingpin Machete Modern Family Once Upon a Time in Mexico Robert De Niro Robert Rodriguez Runaway Train Spy Kids The Good Guys The Young and the Restless

Catfish

January 3, 2011 / David Medsker

It’s shocking that this movie didn’t find a larger audience, given that it’s the “Facebook movie” that its users can best relate to. A New York photographer begins to receive correspondence from a young girl in Michigan, and soon is in tight with her family on Facebook. It is here that he meets the girl’s older sister, and…well, we really can’t say anything more than that, but let’s just say that roughly two dozen “Wow” moments follow. Unfortunately, in this post-“I’m Still Here” world, the nagging question of whether the movie’s events are real lingers over everything that happens after the 25-minute mark. (The filmmakers and its star admit that it looks a little too perfect, but insist that they simply got lucky and the story is 100% true.) This does not distract from what is a truly fascinating story, even if it does play its hand a bit too early (again, at the 25-minute mark). We’d say more, but really, this is one you just have to experience for yourself.

Click to buy “Catfish”

Documentaries, External Movie DVDs, External Movies, Movie DVD Quicktakes, Movie DVDs, Movies

Ariel Schulman Catfish Catfish DVD review Henry Joost Nev Schulman Premium Hollywood

2010 Year End Movie Review: David Medsker

December 28, 2010 / David Medsker

No year in recent memory got off to as slow a start as 2010 did. In the end, it turned out to be a pretty damn good year – especially once I compare this list of movies to my picks from 2008 – but there were some rough patches early on, where nearly every movie we were seeing wasn’t merely mediocre but downright bad. The difference between this year and other years was the event movies; no one expects them to be award-winners, but it makes such a difference when they’re at least good (“Iron Man,” for example). This year, with a couple of exceptions, they were not good (“Iron Man 2,” for example).

People like to put down movie critics for being cranky sourpusses, but the truth is most of us want to like the movies we see. “TRON: Legacy,” “Salt,” “Due Date“… I wanted those to be awesome. They weren’t.

Luckily for me, there were just over 10 movies that were awesome, which means I have enough for a list, yay! And here they are, along some movies that were most decidedly not awesome. Happy new year, everyone. Now let’s all close our eyes and pretend we don’t see the 3D. Maybe, that way, it will go away.

Best Movies of 2010

1. Black Swan
The beauty of Darren Aronofsky’s psychological thriller about a fragile ballet dancer is that there is rarely a point where you know whether you’ve swallowed the blue pill or the red pill. The mirror work alone demands repeat viewings, if you’re brave enough.

2. The Social Network
Where Jesse Eisenberg officially stops being ‘that guy who acts like Michael Cera’ and puts on a showstopping performance as the brilliant but socially inept Mark Zuckerberg. Rooney Mara, meanwhile, is on screen for about six minutes, but makes every second count. And she’s right about the Internet – everything’s written in ink.

3. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
The most wildly entertaining movie I saw all year. From the dialogue to the editing to the on-screen sound effects, I had a stupid grin plastered to my face from start to finish. Even better to see Chris Evans and Brandon Routh poke fun at their superhero images. And I want to swim in Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s eyes.

4. Inception
There is a backlash growing against Christopher Nolan. I do not understand why. His movies are well-plotted, well-acted, smart and gorgeous. What’s not to love? Yes, “Inception” was chatty, but pardon the pun, it dared to dream, and I love movies that go for it. And so did a lot of other people, as its $290 million box office take will attest.

5. Toy Story 3
There isn’t a movie out this year that touches the last 10 minutes of “Toy Story 3” in terms of emotional impact. Terrifying one minute, heartbreaking the next, and armed with a bittersweet yet pitch-perfect ending. I still can’t make it through the ending, or even the beginning, without crying.