Family/Adventure, 102 Minutes, 2014
This was a good movie. A fun movie. No complaints really. Solid, if clichéd, characters, cool visuals and some weepy-eyed moments. Heck, Disney went all out on this by (sorta) orphaning this hero twice! Everybody knows that a Disney hero isn’t worth shit unless they’ve got at least a few dead family members (yes, Merida, Bob Iger’s going to get your parent’s Scottish asses any minute now).
Still… was it really all that?
Drama/Family, 117 Minutes, 2012
I’ve unfortunately lost track of anime in the last few years. I’d keep up with the latest releases from Studio Ghibli and the odd TV show, but overall I just didn’t maintain my interest as I once had. Dipping my toe back in, I looked for recommendations and this kept getting mentioned.
I’m so glad it was.
“Love & Teleportation” on IMDB
Romance/Sci-Fi, 92 Minutes, 2013
[Disclosure: This was screened at the request of the filmmakers. No other considerations were made.]
Why hello there sir, a moment of your time – a mere moment! Now sir, what if I told you that there’s a no budget movie – yes, no budget at all – that’s actually good? Even really good? Yes sir, you’d call me crazy!
As fans know, the Marvel cinematic universe is split across multiple production companies; the result of a coordinated sell-off to stave off bankruptcy years ago. This is why you won’t see an X-Man helping out an Avenger or Spider-man chatting with The Fantastic Four even though they live a few blocks from one another. It’s worked out well enough for all involved, but it does create some friction.
Drama, 85 Minutes, 2010
This is exactly the kind of simple, quiet indie drama that causes film festival attendees to drool. Unfortunately it’s also the kind that send most other people running to see more ‘splosions and superstars. Yes, a move like this is a lot of work, but given the chance it can pay off.
More of my son’s vulgar, frenetic tributes to vidya games.
Apparently he found about annotations as well. Apparently he does not understand what annotations are.
I was 11 years old in 1982 when “Poltergeist” came out. Not only does that make me very old now, but it also means that that the MPAA hadn’t gone quite as monkey-slapping-crazy as they are now and gave this movie a PG rating. Tobe Hooper [IMDB] and Stephen Spielberg [IMDB] could have easily gone for a hard “R” (studios still hadn’t decided to be horribly afraid of it). Instead they tossed out one of the hands-down scariest experiences of my childhood and still brought it in with a PG.
Horror/Thriller, 114 Minutes, 2013
[Disclosure: I previewed an online, pre-release screener of this at the request of the filmmakers. The film was recently picked up for distribution, something you can read more about on their Facebook page. The version reviewed may be different slightly from the release.]
More of my son’s vulgar, frenetic tributes to vidya games.
Hey, at least he’s not in prison!
“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” on IMDB
Fantasy/Adventure/Action, 144 Minutes, 2014
So, we’ve successfully slogged through “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” [My Review] and “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” [My Review] and we’re finally now ready to wrap things up in the shortest entry in the series at only 144 minutes. So, for those keeping track at home, that’s just a shade under eight hours to adapt a book you can read in under 10.
