Out to own today:
World War Z
“Is anyone doing better than we are?” Gerry Lane
Any zombie movie lover surely has pondered the potential result, if the resources of a tent-pole summer blockbuster were allocated to the subgenre? When Brad Pitt was aligned to get Max Brooks’ inventive and intelligent-beyond-the-realms-of-the-expected book onto the big screen, I was salivating at the prospects. Pitt’s choices have been savvy in front of, and behind, the camera. Don’t forget, he produced THE DEPARTED and KICK-ASS, as well as THE TREE OF LIFE and THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD - evidence of pedigree and integrity. And it thus saddens me at the resulting mess of this movie, and the direness of the adaptation. [To read more, click here.]
Any zombie movie lover surely has pondered the potential result, if the resources of a tent-pole summer blockbuster were allocated to the subgenre? When Brad Pitt was aligned to get Max Brooks’ inventive and intelligent-beyond-the-realms-of-the-expected book onto the big screen, I was salivating at the prospects. Pitt’s choices have been savvy in front of, and behind, the camera. Don’t forget, he produced THE DEPARTED and KICK-ASS, as well as THE TREE OF LIFE and THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD - evidence of pedigree and integrity. And it thus saddens me at the resulting mess of this movie, and the direness of the adaptation. [To read more, click here.]
The East
“We are The East and this is just the beginning,” Izzy
So says the intimidating voice over from Ellen Page, commencing on images of an oil spill devastating sea life. Fifteen million barrels worth have infected the environment, and the C.E.O. of the corporation responsible has gone unpunished, until now – a group of anarchists are caught on CCTV in his mansion delivering their own (fire)brand of poetic justice. We are then told that the C.E.O. has decided to step down for personal reasons. [To read more, click here.]
So says the intimidating voice over from Ellen Page, commencing on images of an oil spill devastating sea life. Fifteen million barrels worth have infected the environment, and the C.E.O. of the corporation responsible has gone unpunished, until now – a group of anarchists are caught on CCTV in his mansion delivering their own (fire)brand of poetic justice. We are then told that the C.E.O. has decided to step down for personal reasons. [To read more, click here.]
Renoir
“A painting should be something pleasant and cheerful,” Pierre-Auguste Renoir
The French Riviera, 1915, a beautiful flame-haired woman rides a bicycle in the countryside, shot through in warm dappled light. An effigy of a German soldier hanging above the road breaks the image of a kind of paradise. The film sets out its stall immediately; we could have been looking at a painter at any point in his career, the choice of creating art amid a world war raises an enquiry of relevance. In times of global conflict and austerity, does it have a place? Well that is the question initially asked, but is barely explored. And that typifies RENOIR; a piece that poses, in more ways than one, but chooses luscious imagery and melodrama over analysis. [To read more, click here.]
The French Riviera, 1915, a beautiful flame-haired woman rides a bicycle in the countryside, shot through in warm dappled light. An effigy of a German soldier hanging above the road breaks the image of a kind of paradise. The film sets out its stall immediately; we could have been looking at a painter at any point in his career, the choice of creating art amid a world war raises an enquiry of relevance. In times of global conflict and austerity, does it have a place? Well that is the question initially asked, but is barely explored. And that typifies RENOIR; a piece that poses, in more ways than one, but chooses luscious imagery and melodrama over analysis. [To read more, click here.]
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