Category: Movie Dramas (Page 166 of 188)

“One for the Ages” – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

December 24, 2008 /

The raves are pouring in for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” Bullz-Eye.com’s David Medsker loved it.

“Benjamin Button” is a welcome sight in such cynical times. Fincher pulls a stunt of James Cameron proportions, in that he’s commissioned to deliver a crowd-pleasing love story and instead delivers a crowd-pleasing work of art. Death creeps around every scene, yet the movie’s tone is optimistic, even when it addresses Benjamin and Daisy’s aging dilemma. Tragic and sad – the movie’s final ten minutes are heartbreaking – but not depressing. Shrouded in death, but not morbid and at times laugh-out-loud funny. This is one for the ages.

Most critics agree, as the film scored a 78% positive rating from Rotten Tomatoes.

Movie Dramas, Movies, Reviews

The New Centurions

December 20, 2008 /

This entry in Sony’s amusingly vague new “Martini Movies” imprint stars George C. Scott (“Patton”) at the height of his early seventies fame as Kilvinski, a humane cop nearing retirement who bonds with his new partner, a would-be lawyer rookie partner (Stacy Keach) going through some big changes of his own. Adapted from a bestselling novel by ex-policeman Joseph Wambaugh, “The New Centurions” often foreshadows later cop dramas, particularly eighties TV groundbreaker “Hill Street Blues” — right down to earthy pre-patrol briefings and actor James B. Sikking sporting what appears to be the very same pipe he parlayed to semi-fame as the affected, egomaniacal Lt. Howard Hunter. Still, while familiar faces from lighter fare show up (Isabel Sanford of “The Jeffersons,” Erik “CHiPs” Estrada, and the eventually dickless William Atherton of “Ghostbusters”), 1972 was a year when grim was in and even the most mainstream of Hollywood films were often deliberately under-structured. Taking place over what appears to be several years, there is no particular “case” and this is not really a story about crime fighting; it’s an investigation into the effects of police work on vulnerable human beings. Written by Stirling Silliphant and directed by Richard Fleischer (“20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” “Soylent Green,” and “Mandingo”), “The New Centurions” is slowed by overly novelistic/episodic pacing and a few too many contemporary mannerisms (including a wah-wah heavy score by Quincy Jones) but it works more often than it doesn’t because of its two first-rate lead actors and a great deal of sincerity. The film’s benevolent view of the quasi-militarist seventies LAPD may be iffy, but its depiction of the bigger truth here feels true enough: policemen are nothing more than human beings doing a job that can be as seductively destructive as heroin.

Click to buy “The New Centurions”

Action Movies, Actors, External Movie DVDs, External Movies, Movie Dramas, Movie DVD Quicktakes, Movie DVDs, Movies, Reviews

Get ready for “The Wrestler”

December 18, 2008 /

Bullz-Eye.com’s Jason Zingale explains how Mickey Rourke lives up to the hype with a memorable performance in “The Wrestler.”

An engaging character study of a man seeking redemption, “The Wrestler” may be overly sentimental and even a bit long, but Randy is such an interesting subject that you don’t really mind. This is the movie Sylvester Stallone wish he made with “Rocky Balboa,” and though the story itself is predictable, it’s the smaller moments within that elevate the character to something beyond just a two-dimensional clown in a pair of flashy tights. Mickey Rourke’s powerhouse performance is a heartbreaking tour de force that only gets better with each passing minute, and though he has some stiff competition from the likes of Frank Langella, you’d be kidding yourself if you don’t think Rourke will still be a frontrunner at this year’s Oscars.

Bruce Springsteen wrote and sang one of the songs from the film, as you can hear in the trailer below. Rourke explains how that came about:

“I wrote Bruce a letter, because we’ve known each other over twenty years, and he knows what I used to be, or whatever. Where I went. What I’d been reduced to. I told him how I felt lucky now and didn’t have to end up being this guy, being Randy (character from The Wrestler). A while later I got a call in the middle of the night: he said he’d written a little song, for nothing. It’s fucking beautiful, right? I was honoured he took the time, because he’s a busy cat. I mean, I’m so goddam proud of this magical movie and to have Bruce’s input… ain’t nobody in Hollywood with all their millions can just ring the man and he’ll do a song, y’know?”

Action Movies, Actors, Celebrities, External Movies, Movie Dramas, Movies, Reviews, Trailers, Video

Aki Kaurismäki’s Proletariat Trilogy

December 18, 2008 /

Radio humorist Garrison Keillor gets a great deal of mileage poking fun at the taciturn ways of Swedish and Norwegian-Americans in the bleak Midwest. By comparison, Aki Kaurismäki’s similarly Nordic Finnish Fins make the citizens of Lake Wobegone seem like a bunch of raging drama queens. Kaurismäki is known for blending clever ultra-deadpan comedy and classical neorealist filmmaking, and since I love the former and just barely tolerate the latter, his works tend to be a hit and miss affair for me. Nevertheless, the definite class of this no-frills three-disc set from Criterion’s Eclipse line — comprised of three short feature-length movies about the lives of working folks who get themselves into bad, bad trouble — is also, however, the least overtly funny. 1990’s “The Match Factory Girl” is an ultra-dry twist on the pathos-heavy Hans Christian Anderson tale starring Kati Outinen — the female lead of Kaurismäki’s terrific 2002 art-house hit “The Man Without a Past” — as a trodden-upon lass who finally has enough of her vile parents and her even more vile boy-enemy (you can’t call him a friend). Ned Flanders-mustached Matti Pellonpää, who appears un-credited as the cruel seducer, also plays major roles in the less melodramatic, less reliably entertaining, but also very deftly made, films that round out the set: 1986’s “Shadows in Paradise,” a romantic comedy of sorts, and 1988’s “Ariel,” an out of sorts heist picture.

“Match Factory Girl” aside, this is the kind of material that will test the patience of viewers who don’t love such neorealist tropes as watching characters make tea for 15 seconds of real time. On the other hand, if kitchen sink realism and downbeat, ultra-subtle humor is your thing, they all may be your cup of tea. An ecological note: Given that all three features combined run just over 3.5 hours (the longest is an epic 76 minutes) and there are zero extras, someone should ask Criterion why was it necessary to package this brief trilogy on three separate discs.

Click to buy “Aki Kaurismäki’s Proletariat Trilogy”

Actors, Actresses, External Movie DVDs, External Movies, Movie Comedies, Movie Dramas, Movie DVD Quicktakes, Movie DVDs, Movies, Reviews, TV Comedies

Stephen King releases annual Best Films list, no one cares

December 15, 2008 /

Horror author Stephen King is not a film critic; he’s a fan. In fact, he’s mentioned this several times over the course of his last few years writing for Entertainment Weekly, so why does the entertainment mag publish his expectedly crappy list every year? Who the hell knows, but between gushing about his man crush on Jason Statham and his totally serious statement that Samuel L. Jackson deserves an Oscar nomination for his work in “Lakeview Terrace,” here’s hoping it’s the last time it does.

stephen king

King isn’t completely oblivious when it comes to good movies – his Top 3 consists of “The Dark Knight,” “Slumdog Millionaire” and “WALL*E” – but the rest of his list is laughable at best. “Funny Games”? “The Ruins”? “Death Race”? Look, there’s nothing wrong with liking these movies, but there’s a big difference between enjoying them and declaring them one of the best movies of the year. Click here for the full list, where you can read all about why each film made the cut.

Celebrities, External Movies, Horror Movies, Movie Comedies, Movie Dramas, Movies

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2026 Premium Hollywood

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑