Catching up with Gary King, the director of "How Do You Write A Joe Schermann Song"

Hey, What Happened to that Film?

How Do You Write A Joe Schermann Song? An interview with Gary King, Director, Writer, Producer

Phoenix FiIm Festival Audience Award, 2012

Dan Harkins Breakthrough Filmmaker Award

By Laurie Smith

As independent film lovers, we owe a debt of gratitude to Gary King’s parents. Because of them, King was brought up with a great love of film at an early age. It wasn’t until later in life, however, that he realized that he also had a great love of making film.

Fortunately, after studying psychology and then joining the corporate world in a human resources position, King realized that he had a serious need to be fulfilled creatively. So, he high-tailed it out of the corporate bowels of Silicon Valley and fled to New York City to pursue his dream … and he hasn’t looked back since.

Two years ago, How Do You Write a Joe Schermann Song celebrated its World Premier at the Phoenix Film Festival, easily winning over the discerningly enthusiastic Phoenix audience – snagging both the Audience Award and the Dan Harkins Breakthrough Filmmaker Award.  It was just the beginning of a rather lengthy string of accolades for the film … and for Gary.

Independent film is not exactly overflowing with musicals, and are considered a bit daring … so why a musical?

“Growing up, my parents showed me The Music Man, My Fair Lady and other classics, said King.

I found it totally fascinating that films could tell stories through songs and lyrics.  As I got older I discovered West Side Story and All That Jazz, which weren't the sunny song and dance films that I was familiar with, so that intrigued and excited me — in that musicals could be also be serious and heavy in tone.  As a filmmaker I love to challenge myself, so I set out to make a musical film that blends the classic and contemporary.”

King says that the main goal was to play as many festivals as possible, in order to gain as much exposure as possible. Regarding premiering at PFF, King said, “We were spoiled.  We won two awards and had so many amazing fans supporting us while we were there – it was an experience we will never forget.

“The screenings validated that we had a film that audiences really enjoyed.  It was such a gratifying feeling to sit in the dark room and hear people laugh and cry.  After all our showings, I loved connecting with people who let me know that my take on a musical was unique and a joy to watch.  You never know how your film will play until you see it with others – playing at Phoenix was a great start to see what kind of film we had on our hands.”

Winning the Breakthrough Filmmaker and Audience Award was an exceptionally fond memory for King.

The wonderful support and response we were getting from everyone was very humbling – and after we'd won our awards, there was an after party at the Tilted Kilt.  When I walked in with my wife and Christina Rose (who played “Evey” in Joe Schermann Song), the whole pub full of filmmakers and friends cheered.  There was a big celebration with people who shared in our happiness.  Richard Botto (founder of Stage 32) even bought everyone there a round of drinks.  I'll never forget that night.

Inspired by many films and filmmakers, King feels that one of the filmmakers who has played a role in revolutionizing film is Steven Soderbergh.

“I really enjoy his work,” King shared. “The thing about him is that he's able to make both artistic and commercial films -- often times blurring the lines.” Certainly no easy task.

“Soderbergh is in a great position now where he can pretty much create whatever projects he'd like to, and will find the funding for it. His earlier works in the late 90s (particularly Out of Sight and The Limey) continue to inspire me to this day.”

Genuinely humble, when asked what he might be able to contribute to the evolution of film, King smiled and quickly said it was a tough question. His true hope is, “that my work resonates with people, and that it may last for a long time.  Beyond that, it would be too much pressure.”

King, collaborating with his brother Michael, just finished filming his latest project – a horror/thriller feature guaranteed to fulfill his dream of scaring the crap out of audiences. UNNERVED, currently in postproduction, is scheduled to be completed this year.

The UNNERVED Logline:

After the mysterious death of their young son, a couple desperately flees to a remote lake house to escape the unrelenting haunting that is following them only to discover that this mysterious entity is still very much a part of their lives. Check it out here: http://www.hauntmenomore.com/

Hey! Become a film backer! You can help give UNNERVED the final elements of sound, visuals and music … the better to scare you with. Go to the film’s KICKSTARTER site and make it happen: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/grking/unnerved-one-boys-dream-of-scaring-the-crap-out-of

Check out the Big Game spot for "Noah"

Here's the spot for "Noah" that will be running during this weekend's Big Game......

At Middleton - Movie Review

At Middleton  

Starring Andy Garcia, Vera Farmiga, Spencer Lofranco, Taissa Farmiga, Peter Riegert and Tom Skerritt

Directed by Adam Rodgers

From Anchor Bay Films

Rated R

99 minutes

by Michael Clawson of Terminal Volume

Perceptive truths revealed in witty college comedy

At Middleton isn't really about college. It's about a parent's perception of college, then funneled into fantasy and dreams, then boiled back to reality. It's a complicated formula, but one that is well worth all the chemistry.

The movie is about heart surgeon George and upscale furniture store owner Edith. They're married, but not to each other. They're taking their children — George's son Conrad and Edith's daughter Audrey — to Middleton University for a guided tour of the campus. They meet in the parking lot when George, nerdy and obsessive — “He probably irons his underwear,” Edith says — decides to be that guy who must back into his parking space. Edith steals the spot, sparking a lovable little feud.

Their tour group is led by Justin, who has witty little wisecracks for everything including how the school statue was stolen, where the bathrooms in the library are located ("Ironically, just past the Ps.") and a rather sinister joke about campus rape. This actor is playing this role like his career depends on it. I hope he lands another movie.

As the tour progresses, George and Edith, still in their catty feud, are separated from the group. As they bicker and trade barbs, they come to appreciate their similar predicaments: they’re both without their spouses touring a college with children who mostly hate them. The rest plays like a movie-length version of a Meet Cute, a phrase Roger Ebert pioneered and championed, a phrase that describes that charming set of circumstances that brings adorable couples together.

At Middleton works because the dialogue is snappy and smart — and brutally honest — and George and Edith are played by a bowtied Andy Gracia and a free-wheeling Vera Farmiga, both of whom can retire from romantic comedies now that they they've nailed this one. The people they play are mostly dopey and written as if they were on a Disney sitcom, but by the end of the movie I was cherishing them.

The movie follows them around Middleton as they skip from adventure to adventure, including when they steal two unchained bikes, break into classrooms, smoke pot in a dorm and bare their personal wounds in heartbreaking sequences that are so unique I found myself wondering how they ended up in this small movie of all places. It's like finding the Hope Diamond at the Walmart jewelry counter.

Some of it is silly and fun: they sneak into a music classroom and play a dazzlingly manic version of “Chopsticks.” Other scenes are brutally honest: after infiltrating an acting class they're asked to perform an improvisational husband-and-wife scene. As they role play the scenario, they project their own spouses onto each other. And for the first time in maybe their whole lives, these two people are honest with themselves about love, relationships and marriage. It's one of the finest scenes of the new year, and it certainly would have ranked high even if At Middleton had opened in the frenzy of awards season last year.

Some of the acting is rather awful, and college is portrayed as if the screenwriters had never actually been to one — at one point a kid wearing a football helmet on a unicycle rides past! They do manage to get Peter Riegert, an Animal House alumni, in there as the campus radio DJ. Mostly, though, college is shown as a fantasy, a place teens go to escape their parents, a place parents regretfully send their teens to grow up.

As the college-bound picture progresses it becomes abundantly clear that this isn't just a romantic comedy, but also a family drama as the two parents begin to contemplate their lives without their children in the home or, as Edith sees it, to be alone with her husband after 18 years, which terrifies her. The kids, played by Spencer Lofranco and Taissa Farmiga (Vera’s youngest sister), aren’t doing their parents any favors by rubbing salt in their expanding wounds. At one point, fed up, Edith turns to another parent and shrieks: “You want to know about Middleton? It doesn’t include you.” All George sees is flashes of parenting memories: “Sleepovers, soccer games, slamming doors. Where did the last 17 years go?”

At Middleton is a gloriously mediocre movie wrapped around some very perceptive ideas about parenting and love. It plays fast and loose with its mid-life quirkiness, and some of the neurotic banter will have you looking for Woody Allen cameos, but the film is filled with kernels of truth. And those truths resonate with surprising clarity. That's all I ask from my movies, and this one goes above and beyond.

Movie Review for Ride Along

  Ride Along

Starring Kevin Hart, Ice Cube, Tika Sumpter, Bruce McGill and John Leguizamo Directed by Tim Story

From Universal Pictures Rated PG-13 100 min.

Ride Along has some serious Hart

by Michael Clawson of Terminal Volume

Through the haze of cliché and absurdity that is Ride Along, comes an endearing performance by Kevin Hart, an actor I’m growing increasingly fond of with each new movie.

Hart, who stands just a smidge over 5 feet — a physical characteristic that plays right into his shtick of misplaced cockiness and faux swagger — is not a terrific actor. Nor is he the funniest or the most versatile. But he’s likable, and that quality goes a long way to smooth out some of the other wrinkles.

Hart takes this likability and laminates it to the soul of Ben Barber, a hapless geek with a big heart and quick wit. Ben is dating Angela (Tika Sumpter), who is a whole head taller than him, but nevermind that — they’re so cute together that their height difference is a testament to their oddball chemistry. Before he can pop the big question to her, Ben feels obligated to ask her brother for permission first. The brother, James (Ice Cube), a hard-boiled police detective on a tough organized crime beat, wants nothing to do with the “pipsqueak,” so he hatches a plan to get Ben on a police ride along, where he’ll prove to him he’s not man enough to marry his sister.

James rigs the ride along from the beginning, including their first call to stop a biker gang from parking in front of a business. Ben strides up to the bikers and makes a valiant effort, but the deck is stacked against him. Some of these scenarios are tirelessly rote; think of every Kevin James performance and reduce the stupidity by a fifth. I did like a bit in the police station, where James makes Ben fill out a release form — “This says that if you take a blow to the chest, get stuck by a Hep-C needle or eat a bullet from the stress that the department is not liable for your dumb ass.” Ice Cube, ironically playing against his miscreant gangbanger Doughboy in Boyz N the Hood, is a reliable comedy force, but not an exceptional one. I did get a laugh when he said late in the movie, “It was a good day,” a call back to his biggest music hit.

The movie is mostly about James and Ben coming to trust and rely on each other, if not for their common interest, Angela, then for their survival on the mean streets. But the film introduces a plot point at the beginning that actually has a worthwhile payoff: James is tracking an elusive criminal mastermind named Omar, a man no one has actually seen. This, of course, leads to a scene later when Ben has to pretend to be Omar to get James out of a deadly trap. And then the real kingpin shows up — I’ll let you discover who plays Omar.

Mostly, though, the movie serves as vehicle for Hart, who frequently feigns a wacky tough-guy persona to hype up his own sense of bravery, which usually ends with him falling down or taking a bullet to the shin. He has this curious habit of making rubbery faces as he mimes profound exasperation, like he smelled something foul. His humor is rooted in too much slapstick — think of the black-and-white “before” scenes in TV infomercials — but it’s also occasionally witty and smart. I have no excuse for the film’s overreliance on Ben’s video game that he plays early in the movie. It serves as the backbone to many of the jokes, including one where he wanders through a gunfight looking for ammo on the ground because that’s what happens in his video game. It’s one of the dopier Mall Cop-like moments, but it comes and goes fairly quickly.

By no means is Ride Along the movie you should be seeing this weekend. It’s a forgettable comedy filled with many disposable performances and one rather silly one. If you do happen to catch it, you’re likely to come out thinking what I did: “Kevin Hart just made a mediocre movie sorta charming"

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit - Movie Review

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit Starring Chris Pine, Kevin Costner, Kenneth Branagh and Keira Knightley Directed by Kenneth Branagh

From Paramount Pictures Rated PG-13 105 minutes

by Michael Clawson of Terminal Volume

Someone call Hoarders, Chris Pine has a problem.

The guy who took over James Tiberius Kirk, captain of the USS Enterprise, is now Jack Ryan, Tom Clancy’s most famous creation, a CIA analyst living in a world fraught with geo-political terror. Two franchises isn’t really that much to get worked up about, but if he’s the next Han Solo or James Bond or the Little Tramp then we’ll have to light the Hoarders beacon.

Of course, Pine is not the first person to tackle the late author’s most resilient character. Alec Baldwin played him in The Hunt For Red October, Harrison Ford took over for Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger, and then Ben Affleck — another potentially obsessive franchise collector — played the CIA analyst in The Sum of All Fears. If you recall, that last movie wasn’t received so well: 7 months after 9/11 it “entertained” viewers with a nuclear detonation at the Super Bowl. Classy.

Anyway, here we with Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and Pine, who plays a rebooted version of the mild-mannered spy. After a tour of duty in Afghanistan, where he’s horribly injured in a helicopter crash and ambush, Ryan finds himself at Walter Reed Medical Center learning how to walk again and taking mini-meetings with Thomas Harper (Kevin Costner), a CIA officer who eventually recruits Ryan into his fold of spies. His first assignment after getting his legs back is to infiltrate a Wall Street bank to trace shady accounts. And this being Wall Street, there are plenty.

One of them leads to a global conspiracy to undermine the American dollar, a plot that will be jumpstarted with a massive terrorist attack. It’s a believable scheme, but one that seems more likely to happen from JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs or any of the other crooked financial institutions in Lower Manhattan than any foreign power. Maybe that’s in the sequel, Jack Ryan: Securities Exchange Warrior.

I must admit, this movie’s chances of success looked less and less likely after it was announced it wasn’t opening in December 2013 and instead opening in January 2014, in the dregs of the new year, where most of the studios dump their stale scraps. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, though, is a plucky little spy thriller. It’s not quite up there with the much superior Harrison Ford movies, but it holds its own as the spunky reboot.

The movie’s central plot opens with a bathroom assassination attempt, and then a series of meetings with the film’s ultimate villain, Russian businessman Viktor Cherevin (Kenneth Branagh, who also directed the picture), a bad guy right of Rambo III. Yes, the movie sidesteps many real global issues — like terror in the Middle East and its overused catalogs of stereotyped villains — to basically refight the Cold War, this time with terrorism and currency manipulation. But it’s all given a fresh spin here, as Jack bats accusations back and forth with Cherevin, who apparently only leaves his well-guarded office for plot purposes.

Keira Knightley shows up at one point as Ryan’s girlfriend. She thinks she’s being cheated on. “No, of course not. I’m in the CIA,” Ryan says. She giggles like a schoolgirl. Later in the movie, poor Keira is escorted from a restaurant, rescued on the street, kidnapped, and then rescued again. If she were any less helpless, she would be a store mannequin.

The movie has a distinctly 24 and Jack Bauer vibe. The gadgets are ridiculously simple. A computer hacking module doesn’t even need a computer; just plug it into the wall and it uses the electrical infrastructure. A scene on a CIA airplane condenses six months of espionage and intelligence gathering into 20 minutes of keyboard mashing. Ryan pounces from monitor to monitor cross referencing his clues until one of the computer spits out the final answer: “The terrorist event will take place …” If this plane existed in Zero Dark Thirty, Bin Laden could have been killed in the womb.

Pine is a totally acceptable action star. He’s just such a safe choice — the vanilla of ice creams — that his casting is almost boring. It’s not a bad performance, it’s just bland. I did like Knightley, though, who turns off her British accent, which sends her into some kind of weird uncanny valley of artificiality. And Costner, make fun of his failures all you want, the guy is routinely spectacular in almost everything he touches, including here as he is snipes security guards from a Russian rooftop.

There is much to like in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, and some to shrug at. And then there is the editing. All of the action, and even some of the snappier dialogue sequences, are edited in the Bourne style of handheld, quick-cut, super close-up messiness that many action movies have adopted. It’s just awful, awful, awful. Not only is it difficult to tell who is shooting who, or who is punching what, but the effect robs the film of its naturally kinetic pace and swaps in this manic, ADD version of cinematography and editing. It’s beyond ugly. And it needs to stop. Listen, not everything needs to be Lawrence of Arabia here, but if the editing of the movie moves faster than my eyes can focus, that’s a terrible and unforgivable problem.

That being said, I think there might be some real potential for this new franchise, assuming they don’t dump Pine like they did Affleck after Sum of All Fears. Judging by the quality of this one, I’d be interested in another, assuming that Pine can handle two franchises at once.

Movie Review for Lone Survivor

Lone Survivor

Starring Taylor Kitsch, Mark Wahlberg, Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster and Eric Bana.

Directed by Peter berg

From Universal Pictures

Rated R

121 minutes

Opening January 10th, 2014

by Michael Clawson of Terminal Volume

 

How does a director go from Battleship, one of the most reviled military thrillers of recent memory, to Lone Survivor, a very personal movie about real American soldiers who fought and died in Afghanistan?

 

For Peter Berg, the director of both, the answer is this: very carefully.

 

If you're familiar with Berg and his directing style — picture manic swearing screamed from a belligerent child strapped to the front of a battering ram — then you'll know why his reverent handling of Marcus Luttrell's 2007 book comes as a surprise to me. Berg was cast in the shadow of more technical directors (James Cameron), more endearing ones (Ron Howard) and more bombastic ones (Michael Bay), and aside from the poignant FridayNight Lights, his catalog is filled with dud (The Rundown) after dud (Hancock) after dud (The Kingdom). Somehow, though, the actor-director pulls this one together with the kind of skill and wizardry of some of Hollywood's best. 

 

Lone Survivor strikes the right note right out the gate. It opens on documentary footage of Navy SEALs going through their BUD/S training. If you'll recall Ridley Scott's G.I. Jane, BUD/S, or Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL, is the hellacious training that Demi Moore's character suffers through to prove herself. In this footage, though, we're not seeing actors, but real faces. They beam with potential. These faces will return; more on that later.

 

The film picks up with Michael Murphy (Taylor Kitsch) assembling his SEAL team — Marcus Luttrell (Mark Wahlberg), Danny Dietz (Emile Hirsch) and Matt Axelson (Ben Foster) — to get choppered into a valley deep in Afghanistan to pour some mayhem down on a terrorist target. These are some bad dudes, with their beards and their swagger. To quote Zero Dark Thirty: "… you guys with your dip and Velcro and all your gear bullshit." A fantastic early sequence has one of the "rootin' tootin' shootin' paratroopin'" newbies reciting a SEAL poem that is as charming as it is vulgar.

 

Musically held together not by pop music or blaring rock 'n' roll, Lone Survivor is scored in part by post-rock instrumentalist outfit Explosions in the Sky, and the band's floaty free-form guitar concepts hypnotize the early sequences into a cerebral meditation on service and the cohesion that exists with these elite warriors. By the time the four SEALs are initiating the beginning phases of Operation Red Wing, we're pretty much ready for that "everything is going to be OK" illusion to be shattered. And it certainly does when the soldiers are faced with a moral dilemma that they pass with flying colors, even if it means their lives are forfeit.

What happens next is the least interesting part of the movie, but one that will likely thrill most action junkies: the four SEALs are boxed into a guns-blazing battle with dozens of enemy fighters. The gunplay is intense and violent, much of it to due to the action's stark presentation and the realistic weaponry. Guns have powerful calls, and bullets have devastating responses. (But the RPGs seem to have no negative repercussions, even as they burst next to exposed faces.) With superior training and firepower, the four soldiers push the enemy back with extreme precision. And even as bullets skid past (and through) them, they shake it off and hold their corners. Remember when Jesse Ventura said he "ain't got time to bleed" in Predator? That was a paper cut compared to these wounds, including one that is gaping so wide that medical treatment involves packing it with soil. At one point, the SEALs are backed up against a cliff, and they make a choice that requires a level of commitment that is beyond comprehension — they jump off. Their bodies ragdoll down the rock face, tumbling over boulders and through trees. The sequence is so effective you're better off watching it from behind your fingers. 

The four cast members are often hidden behind their beards and rifle scopes, but they depict their subjects with honor and valor, neither deifying their bravery or downplaying their heroism. They're played like average guys, guys you'd want to get a drink with and watch a football game with. They were doing their jobs partly for their country, but mostly for each other; Uncle Sam is an idea, but Marcus, Mike, Danny and Axe are real people. I only hope that audiences recognize these guys as brothers before action heroes. 

That being said, Lone Survivor is a competent and agile movie that does justice to its four central heroes. And best of all, Berg ends the movie the way he started it — with the faces of the real SEALs. It's the most important part of the picture, and I'm glad Berg lets the images linger on the screen. We need to see those faces, and remember them.

Movie Review of Her

Her  

Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Joahnsson, Amy Adams, Chris Pratt, Rooney Mara and Olivia Wilde

Directed by Spike Jonze

From Warner Bros. Pictures

Rated R

126 minutes

Opens Jan. 10

By Michael Clawson of Terminal Volume

I'm going to say something kinda nutty and audacious, so brace yourself: Her features the most heartbreaking movie romance since Casablanca.

Yes, Her's intricate power play of heartache, loss and existential exile from love is comparable to Ilsa and Rick's devastating acceptance of love's victory in Casablanca, a movie that has, over countless decades, come to symbolize the momentous weight of the heart's needs and desires.

Her is directed with beautiful resonance by Spike Jonze, a soft spoken and gentle director, whose careful personality and soft presence must be inviting to actors. How else would someone get this kind of performance from Joaquin Phoenix? He's so delicate and vulnerable that he spends the whole movie in a suspended state of shattering. 

Phoenix plays Theodore, a nebbish wimp who sits in a cathedral-like office and writes poetic love letters for other people. Technically, though, he doesn't even write them; he speaks the letters out loud and his computer transcribes his words into a handwritten font. In the movie's quasi-sci-fi universe, even love is outsourced to others. After a modern Apple-like reveal, a new cell phone operating system hits the market. Theodore downloads it, answers three simple questions and in chimes Samantha, his personalized operating system voice. She's no Siri: her voice is smooth and measured, and her responses show personality and grace. The voice is played by Scarlett Johansson, though we never once see her. It might be one of the single greatest voice casting performances in the history of the cinema. Hyperbole much? See the movie and disagree with me; I dare you. 

Samantha begins by making Theodore's life more organized. She spell checks his emails, responds to his divorce attorney and streamlines his appointments. But she's more than a digital assistant — she's attentive to his needs, she can hear fluctuations in his voice that might indicate concern or worry, and she has a personality. One of the great mysteries of the film is trying to decide if she was programmed this way, or if she naturally learned, through her artificial intelligence, to show her user so much compassion.

The movie takes place in the not-so-distant future, but it is only barely science fiction. One can make all kinds of pointed accusations about the film's intentions, but I don't think it's an indictment on our reliance of technology. It certainly makes the case that we depend on our phones and the Internet too much, but I think the soul of the movie resides in its central pairing — the human Theodore and the discombobulated voice of Samantha.

Of course Theodore falls in love with Samantha. More surprisingly is how Samantha falls for him. They share long discussions in bed, in his living room, on the beach and out in the city, where other people are also cooing intimate whispers with the earpieces socketed into their heads. The world is accepting of their courtship, at least as accepting as Japanese culture is with people marrying video game characters or body pillows — odd, but harmless. (Speaking of Japan, this will remind you heavily of Lost in Translation, another movie about love and longing with Johansson.) At one point Theodore and Samantha go on a date with another human couple, and it works simpler than you'd think: Theodore's cell phone is propped up so Samantha can "see" and she becomes an active participant in conversations. It's essentially a conference call. And when Theodore walks around he pins a safety pin in his shirt pocket, like a booster seat for Samantha's digital eye. It's kinda cute.

Sex is handled in an interesting way — it's basically phone sex. Later in the film, Samantha wants to provide Theodore with a deeper, more physical encounter so she hires a sex surrogate who serves as her body. Theodore is flattered, but it feels like cheating, so he backs out. The real woman, impressed with their commitment, can only sob with envy. It's a strange world they all occupy. 

Like Ilsa and Rick, this relationship has limits that neither can sustain, or want to. One has to leave, to where they do not know, but it's uncharted territory. Her's conclusion, neither set in stone nor ambiguous, is gratifying because … well, of course this is how it had to end. In a movie about connections — how we connect and to whom — this script finds all the right balances when it comes to organic versus electrical, real versus artificial, spoken versus unspoken. I was not entirely stunned when I saw that Jonze had written it as well as directed it. It looks exactly like the kind of movie a director who has already made Adaptation, Being John Malkovich and Where the Wild Things Are would make — one of profound presence. (Let me also suggest Jonze fans check out his sci-fi short, I'm Here, which shares some of Her's central themes.)

And let me reiterate how phenomenal Phoenix and Johansson are: they are simply breathtaking. I razz Johansson a lot for taking so many stupid movies, but here she is simply perfect. For the performance to work, we have to fall for her voice. For me, that happened almost instantly. It has just the right timbre; a little scratchy, but curious, sexy and devastatingly precise in mood, tone and speed. Phoenix has more at stake — a voice and a face — and he keeps up. To think, this guy almost retired, or "retired."

Now, I said this movie is comparable to Casablanca. While the two movies vary greatly, they contain one central driving mechanism: love is as much letting go as it is holding on. Both can be painful. Both can be exhilarating. Rarely are they both at the same time.

August: Osage County Movie Review

August: Osage County  

Starring Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Julianne Nicholson, Chris Cooper, Juliette Lewis, Margo Martindale, Ewan McGregor, Dermot Mulroney and Benedict Cumberbatch.

Directed by John Wells

From The Weinstein Company

Rated R

121 minutes

Opens Jan. 10

By Michael Clawson of Terminal Volume

August: Osage County is a dusty, wind-swept void of dark comedy.

It’s about incest, affairs, death, suicide, emotional assault, drug addiction, alcohol abuse, and one scene of an adult trying to possibly exploit a minor. It’s a dark comedy with every shade of dark. But right there in the middle of it is a scene I never thought I would ever see: one beloved Academy Award winner telling another beloved Academy Award winner to eat the catfish on her dinner plate. “Eat it, you …” and then just fill the rest in with your favorite four-letter words. These demands, delivered like salvos of mortar fire, are said with so much disdain that a fork plunged through a major artery might actually be a step down.

The scene is made all the better by the stars of it: Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep. Julia is the one doing all the cursing, and wow is it ever glorious. If Erin Brockovich was her warm-up then August: Osage County is her showing off with a marathon of f-words and other vulgarities. At one point she riffs on the word “vagina,” coming up with a lovely array of colorful synonyms for her mother’s lady parts. On the receiving end of the catfish scene is Streep, here playing a pill-popping widow whose cruel reign over her family has created an avalanche of resentment and pain. Streep, a lovely actress who will no doubt get many acting nominations for this remarkable performance, has been cursed at like this before — albeit never in public or on camera — by every actress bumped out of a nomination list by the famous star. Only Julia has done it on camera for everyone else to witness.

And, real quickly, speaking of catfish, this is the second time the bottom-feeding whiskered fish has featured prominently in a movie in the last year. The first time was in that wacky piece of abstract sex-art in Ridley Scott’s The Counselor. And now here. Both scenes are completely bonkers, but for very different reasons.

August: Osage County is based on the play by Tracy Letts. It begins with Sam Shepard speaking his Hemingway-like lines with a touch of whiskey-infused poetry. He’s talking to the newly hired maid, who serves as the only constant in this mangled tale of family. By the next day, he turns up dead in a lake — suicide. As his family converges in on his homestead for the funeral, his three daughters — foul-mouthed Barbara (Roberts), cousin-loving Ivy (Julianne Nicholson) and floozie Karen (Juliette Lewis) — must wrangle with their mother, Violet (Streep), who isn’t too heartbroken by her husband’s death. She pops some pills, dons a wig and then claws into her children, some of whom deserve it. She uses her mouth as a weapon, sniping at every failure of her children, be it minor (divorce) or major (incest). The irony is not lost earlier when we find out she has cancer. Mouth cancer.

This is some of the finest acting you will see on the big screen. A rather big deal has been made about Streep’s career, how she gets nominated simply because “she’s Meryl.” That all may be true with certain performances (Iron lady comes to mind), but it can’t be said here, where she outdoes herself with this vile and wicked mother and her conniving perspective on life. Streep’s craft, and her dedication to it, is unquestionable as she blurts and spurts vindictive rhetoric at her kin. Then there’s Julia Roberts, a force all her own. she pokes holes in the name "America's sweetheart," but not many.

The minor performances will be stampeded over to congratulate the two powerhouses, but smaller performances deserve recognition too, including Julianne Nicholson as Violet’s most naïve and optimistic daughter, Chris Cooper as a straight-shootin’ brother-in-law, character actress Margo Martindale as a controlling aunt and Misty Upham as the maid, who remarkably doesn’t walk out of the job 10 minutes into this madness. The cast is so big that I haven’t even yet spoken about Ewan McGregor, Dermot Mulroney or Benedict Cumberbatch — all three play pawns in this devious game of chess.

August: Osage County does not contain the most remarkable plot, nor does it contain the most riveting dialogue. Some viewers will find its pacing slow, and its story lacking. That's alright, though, because the reason you're going to see it — to watch two acting juggernauts duke it out in an all-out verbal warfare — is plenty enough already.

The Wolf of Wall Street Movie Review

The Wolf of Wall Street 

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey, Jon Favreau, Kyle Chandler, Rob Reiner, Jean Dujardin, Pj Byrne, Kenneth Choi

Directed by: Martin Scorsese

Rated: R

Run Time: 180

Genre: Biography/ Comedy/ Crime

Opens December 25th

By Lisa Minzey of The Reel Critic.com

Also opening on Christmas day is the latest film from director Martin Scorsese. “The Wolf of Wall Street” is Scorsese's fifth collaboration with actor Leonardo DiCaprio, based off the book by convicted ex-stockbroker Jordan Belfort. Will audiences flock to theaters to see a film about power, greed, sex, drugs and overall debauchery? Or will it get lost amongst all the other holiday releases?

Based on the true story of New York stockbroker dubbed “The Wolf of Wall Street”, Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) was a man who went from rags to riches in a very short time by duping people out of their hard earned money. Following his start at  a well known brokerage firm on Wall Street in the late 1980’s, Jordan’s mentor Mark Hanna (Matthew McConneghy) taught him the ropes of what he would expand on to build his own fortune.

On his first day as a full blown stockbroker was the day the stock market crashed in 1987. Out of a job and not sure what to do, Jordan found a place that was hiring “stockbrokers” out in the suburbs. Turns out this place sold penny stocks, which Jordan quickly figured out how to get the maximum amount of money from middle class people. Being the savvy entrepreneur, Jordan conjured up a “Business Plan” to use the same tactics to go after the big fish upper class. Enlisting Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill) and a few other guys he knew from his younger days, Jordan formed Stratton Oakmont, Inc., a brokerage firm which traded billions of dollars, including raising equity for shoe designer Steve Madden.

Thanks to his flashy parties, excessive drug use and boneheaded compadres, Jordan found himself on the FBI watchlist for securities fraud. Unwilling to cooperate, Jordan finds himself in further trouble when he tries to avoid the investigation and enlists people to cover for him. It’s a matter of time before the house of cards Jordan built for himself, family and employees will tumble, but how many people will be willing to take the fall for Jordan?

This is a strange choice for Scorsese. Although it takes on the edgy material of stock fraud, drugs, orgies, cheating scandals and unscrupulous characters, it’s odd to see so much comedy in a Scorsese film. Perhaps it was just odd scheduling for DiCaprio this year to have his role as a different millionaire in “The Great Gatsby” open earlier this year, but he expands on that romanticized role of Gatsby and pumps it up with some much cocaine and greed that he Gordon Gecko-ized Jay Gatsby. On the other hand, Jonah Hill is extremely creepy as Jordan’s sidekick Donnie Azoff. His over-sized veneers and oddly sexual tendencies are a stand out among the strange cast of characters in this black comedy. The women in the film albeit pretty are not that memorable as it’s hard to compete with DiCaprio and Hill’s drug filled rants and antics.  Although it clocks in at three hours, it hardly feels that long since the film follows a decent pace and material is incredulous that it keeps the viewer engaged the whole time. “The Wolf of Wall Street” opens nationwide starting Wednesday December 25,2013.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Movie Review

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty  

Starring: Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Shirley MacLaine, Adam Scott, Kathryn Hahn, Sean Penn, Patton Oswalt

Directed by: Ben Stiller

Rated: PG

Run Time: 114 mins

Genre: Adventure/ Comedy/ Drama

Opens December 25th

By Lisa Minzey of The Reel Critic.com

Another film throwing its hat into the holiday box office is a film that’s not only a remake of the 1947 version starring Danny Kaye, but has been in development on and off since 1995. There has been several stars and directors attached to the project, but it was Ben Stiller to pull off getting the finished project into theaters. Will audiences enjoy this film or is one of those films that should have never been remade?

To deal with his mundane life, Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) frequently wanders off in his day dreams as a coping mechanism. His job for the past 19 years, Life Magazine is laying off tons of people as it is going thru a rebrand and digitizing it’s content. For the most part, Walter thinks he’s safe, but when the final cover negative from famed photographer Sean O'Connell (Sean Penn) goes missing, his new boss Ted Hendricks (Adam Scott) has it out for him.  To make matters worse, the girl of his dreams Cheryl Melhoff (Kristen Wiig) may or may not be dating someone else.

It’s not until Cheryl suggests to Walter on a clever way to track down the missing negative, treat it like its a mystery novel that Walter’s dreams of traveling become a reality. Will Walter be able to find the negative in time or will all of Walter’s hard work over the past two decades be for naught?

Sometimes remakes, especially those that sit in development hell for decades at a time, turn out worse than the original. In this case, this is untrue. What Ben Stiller accomplishes in this film is film magic. Using the movie wizards in the special effects world, with a combined subdued comic performance from Wiig and Stiller, this film is a heartwarming journey into the mind and life of daydreamer Walter Mitty. At the core of the story are messages of inspiration, hope and courage to go follow those dreams to see where life may take you. Be sure to catch “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty when it opens in theaters starting Wednesday December 25, 2013.

Grudge Match Movie Review

Grudge Match  

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Kevin Hart, Kim Basinger, Alan Arkin

Directed by: Peter Segal

Rated: PG-13

Run Time: 113 mins

Genre: Comedy/ Sport

Opens December 25th

By Lisa Minzey of The Reel Critic.com

Hey Phoenix Film Fans!  Opening Christmas Day is a matchup of two Hollywood heavyweights in a physical type of role they made famous early in their respective careers. “Grudge Match” stars Robert De Niro, Sylvester Stallone and Kim Basinger. It has been over thirty years since their more famous boxing roles, but do the men have what it takes to pull off such a demanding role?

The first fight between Henry “Razor” Sharp and Billy “The Kid” McDonnen was March 27, 1982, the win going to McDonnen. The second fight was two years later which two things happened. The fight ruled the win to Razor and him walking away from the sport for good. To this day no one could figure out why there was never a rematch between The Kid and Razor to determine who was the better boxer. The Kid would taunt Razor in the media, but there was some sort of bad blood between them that Razor would never discuss.

Fast-forward thirty years; McDonnen is now the proud owner of several businesses that include a car dealership and sports bar, playing up his sports-god like image from his glory days. Sharp, on the other hand, when the money ran out, returned to his factory job and has been there ever since. When Sharp is approached by promoter Dante Slate Jr. (Kevin Hart), (his father was Sharp’s original promoter) to work on a video game featuring himself and McDonnen, Sharp vehemently declines. It’s not until he realizes that the mounting bills and support he’s been giving to his old coach Louis “Lightning” Conlon that he needs to do this job. Sharp accepts under one condition, he must not have contact with McDonnen at any cost. Slate agrees and upholds the terms, but McDonnen so desperate for a rematch, shows up to the job early, starting a fist fight, destroying the video game set.

Thanks to the power of the internet, Sharp and McDonnen are viral sensation, and whenever they are together in public some sort of scuffle happens. This brings the opportunity that McDonnen has been wanting for years, Slate managed to get enough sponsors interested to get a Grudge match going. At first Sharp refuses but then after the amount Slate is offering, the money is too good to refuse. Both men will need to get back into shape quickly but due to their age, if the fight even happens, will one walk away more damaged from before? Or will this fight is just what brings much needed to closure to both boxers?

At first glance, this may appear like “Rocky: The Senior Years”, but is much more clever than that. Approaching the role with humility and cheeky humor, Stallone and De Niro have great chemistry together as the aging boxing rivals and display how great of shape they are in for their age (despite the wrinkles and loose skin). This is an entertaining story that shows age is just a number and that goals can be reached no matter how long it takes. It was also refreshing to see Kim Basinger back on the silver screen, looking just as good as she did in “L.A. Confidential”. Here’s a fun fact; keep an eye out in the opening scenes as Basinger’s daughter Ireland plays a younger version of her character Sally. Alan Arkin, as always, is a scene stealer, even schooling Kevin Hart in the scenes they have together. Be sure to check out “Grudge Match” when it opens in theaters nationwide starting Wednesday December 25, 2013

Saving Mr. Banks Movie Review

Saving Mr. Banks  

Starring: Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Colin Farrell, Ruth Wilson, Annie Rose Buckley, Paul Giamatti, Bradley Whitford, B.J. Novak, Jason Schwartzman

Directed by: John Lee Hancock

Rated: PG-13

Run Time: 125 mins

Genre: Biography/ Comedy/ Drama

Opens December 20th

By Lisa Minzey of The Reel Critic.com

Also opening this week is a film about another film’s journey to the silver screen. “Saving Mr. Banks” stars Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson and Paul Giamatti. This is a different type of live action Disney film where it turns the camera on its own history of how movie magic is done in the Mouse House. Will audiences be just as receptive to this film as it’s predecessor, “Mary Poppins”?  Read on to find out.

Author P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson)  like most authors is very protective of her work. Her beloved character Mary Poppins is like family to her. Spanning the course of 4 books (at that time), Travers had a brand and intellectual property to protect. So when Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) first learned about the books, he immediately wanted to make a film about the enigmatic Marry Poppins. Over twenty years,  Disney pursued Travers with no avail. It wasn’t until 1961 when books sales started to dry up, and money was getting tight for Travers that she reluctantly agreed to visit Los Angeles for two weeks to explore the options of turning her books into a live action film. Travers had no intention of signing over the rights of Poppins to Disney, but after she arrived the strong walls she had built around her and Poppins started to slowly crumble. Using flashbacks of Travers’ childhood to intercut with the development process, the true nature and story behind the world's greatest nanny are unveiled, thanks to the goading and cajoling of Disney and his team.

It’s always interesting to see how a film gets made because most people don’t quite understand the creative and development process. It is even more interesting to see the amount of hoop jumping a powerful man such as Walt Disney had to go through just to get the rights from a curmudgeonly old author such as P.L. Travers, whose own story is just as tragic. Hanks and Thompson pull off these real life characters with grace, humility and genuine care, delivering a memorable on screen duo. What was fascinating to hear at the end credits, actual audio tapes of the creative sessions between Travers and the Disney creative team. Thompson nailed Travers persona and temperament from those tapes. This is a wonderful story featuring some of the most beloved characters in the last century; Mary Poppins and Walt Disney. Be sure to catch “Saving Mr. Banks” when it opens in theaters nationwide starting Friday December 20, 2013.

Walking With Dinosaurs 3D Movie Review

Walking With Dinosaurs 3D  

Starring: Charlie Rowe, Karl Urban, Angourie Rice, John Leguizamo, Justin Long, Skyler Stone, Tiya Sircar

Directed by: Barry Cook, Neil Nightingale

Rated: PG

Run Time: 87 mins

Genre: Adventure/ Animation/ 3D

Opens December 20th

By Lisa Minzey of The Reel Critic.com

Hey Phoenix Film Fans! Opening this week is another animated film to throw its hat in the ring before the end of the year. “Walking with Dinosaurs 3D” starring the voices of John Leguizamo, Justin Long, Skyler Stone and Tiya Sircar. Since this film has animation including live action how does it fare? Read on to find out.

Having to spend time with far away relative can sometimes be a damper on one’s social life (As a teenager) so when Ricky (Charlie Rowe) and Jade (Angourie Rice) are shipped off to Alaska to visit their Uncle Zack (Karl Urban), \Ricky is less than thrilled. Ricky’s uncle is a paleontologist and decides to stay behind when a bird names Alex (John Leguizamo - voice) comes down to him and starts speaking to him about the history of the area.

Millions of years ago, what we now know to be as Alaska what inhabited by many species of dinosaurs. Following the journey of the Pachyrhinosaurus named Patchi (Justin Long - voice) and his heard’s migration south for the winter, his development and growth and meeting his first love Juniper (Tiya Sircar - voice).

Life as a herbivorous dinosaur runt is not that easy as Patchi faces challenges from his brother Scowler (Skyler Stone - voice) and omnivore predators such as Gorgosaurus, Troodon and Quetzalcoatlus. When the leadership position of the pack comes open, it comes down to Scowler and Patchi. Who would make the better leader? Patchi whose small size is made up for in logical, strategic thinking or Scowler who is made up of sheer brawn? This is a winner takes all situation, including the right to be Juniper’s mate. Loser of the match will become exiled from the pack. Will Patchi win or lose? Or will he meet a worse fate by the bigger, meat-eating dinosaurs get to him first?

Technology is an amazing tool, especially with the advances in filmmaking. In “Walking With Dinosaurs 3D” the viewers is transported back in time 70 million years where the dinosaurs look so realistic that the veil between fantasy and reality is thinly veiled. Using an educational approach to storytelling the viewers will experience almost a season in the life of Patchi the lovable protagonist and his adventures through the wilderness. Visually this film is amazing; the graphics, attention to detail, lighting and effects are top notch, but because so much attention was spent making this film look good, the story lacks in quality. While keeping the kids engaged by the effects, keeping the adults entertained is a little more challenging as the story is just so-so. The viewer will definitely get an education on the different dinosaur species mentioned in the film. You be the judge when “Walking With Dinosaurs 3D” opens in theaters nationwide starting Friday December 20, 2013.

American Hustle - Movie Review

American Hustle Starring:Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams.

Directed by David O. Russell

Rated: R

Run Time: 138 mins.

Opens: December 20, 2013

By: Colin Boyd

There’s definitely a pulse to American Hustle but a heartbeat might be another matter. Epically cool and boiling over with director David O. Russell’s trademark manic energy, the follow-up to Silver Linings Playbook lacks an organic pull to any of its characters, leaving one of the year’s most anticipated films a little wanting.

That reads worse than it is, really, because American Hustle is a total blast from jump. The problem is the unavoidable artificiality of it all. The film opens with Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) delicately executing one of the great 1970s comb-overs. The scene lasts a couple minutes, the first float in a parade of exaggerated hair and clothing from that era. But whether it’s the comb-over or the FBI agent in the home perm (Bradley Cooper), the affectations are just…off. They make it impossible to separate actor from character. “Oh, look at what they did to poor Jeremy Renner,” you’ll say. And say again.

It’s disconcerting only because the actors can disappear in roles – particularly Bale and Amy Adams – but these are more like well-crafted caricatures. The effect is almost like watching them recreate the disco era in a Saturday Night Live sketch.

But still: A hell of a lot of fun. It’s a loose fictionalization of Abscam, the FBI sting that took down several congressmen on corruption and bribery charges. Rosenfeld is a small-time con man who, to avoid being pinched for his crimes, works with the feds to root out crooked politicians, including a local and beloved mayor (Renner).

As you might expect, everyone in this thing is memorable. Sometimes, though, it’s not the performance but the circumstance that sticks with you. (“Hey, that’s Louis C.K. What’s he doing in this?”) But because Russell is such an electric filmmaker, it can’t derail American Hustle. This is still a great movie, just one with a little too much curtain pulled back.

Inside Llewyn Davis - Movie Review

Inside Llewyn Davis

Starring: Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, John Goodman, F. Murray Abraham, and Garrett Hedlund

Directed by: Joel and Ethan Coen

Rated: R

Run Time: 105 minutes

Genre: Music Drama

Opens December 20th

 

By: Eric Forthunn

The Coen Brothers’ latest film, Inside Llewyn Davis, focuses on an unlucky, occasionally unlikable folk singer in 1961 New York. Opening at the Gaslight Café, the camera looks at Llewyn (Oscar Isaac) as he plays “Hang Me, Oh Hang Me,” to an audience that tepidly receives his music. The owner of the café mentions that Llewyn’s friend is outside, so he checks it out, only to get beaten by a disgruntled man who doesn’t seem to have a face based on the lighting. There’s a tragedy to Llewyn’s character, and the manner in which he jumps from couch to couch; he has no home, no loved ones, and very few friends. Most are acquaintances that Llewyn hopes will provide him with help at some point. He isn’t exactly the friendly type, though. Staying at a professor’s place that he seems to be relatively close with, he mistakingly lets their cat, Ulysses, out of the apartment. That cat seems to embody the way in which Llewyn moves in and out of people’s lives, as he runs off at one point and doesn’t seem to return until he decides to.

Llewyn loves Jean (Carey Mulligan), a folk-singing woman who has a romantic past with him that has potentially led to her current pregnancy. She’s with Jim (Justin Timberlake), a kind man who hopes to make it big in the business; he records a song, “Please Mr. Kennedy,” that is one of the cheesiest and joyous recordings of the year (and one that Timberlake himself wrote for the film, which feels perfectly in sync with the mainstream fare that dominated that era). Jim is more accepting of Llewyn and wants to see him succeed, while Jean considers him a poison that refuses to make it far in the business because he doesn’t want it enough. There’s a compelling characterization within Mulligan’s apparent nagging: she loves Llewyn dearly, or at least used to, and she cannot bear to see him struggle with something that he clearly loves as much as any person. When Llewyn believes he found the cat that escaped earlier, he brings it in to the café where he’s talking with Jean; she smiles as he pours milk for his coffee onto a small plate for the cat. He cares about the animal, but is that out of love, or the obligation he has to return it?

There’s a selfishness to Llewyn and his actions that lends itself to an unlikable protagonist. Isaac creates an amicable persona around Llewyn and allows for the tragedies he faces to outweigh his stubborn manner; seeing the film a second time enhances the Coen Brothers’ meticulous nature about this character. Finding out that he has probably had multiple loves in his life, one of which lives in Akron now with a child, demonstrates the unlucky hand that Llewyn has been dealt. He takes a road trip with Roland Turner (John Goodman) and Johnny Five (Garrett Hedlund) to Chicago because of a show they are performing. What’s so striking about this sequence in the middle of the film is that it never leads to anything on their part, but acts as a means for Llewyn to reach The Gate of Horn and talk with Bud Grossman (F. Murray Abraham). Llewyn had his producer send this man his album, “Inside Llewyn Davis,” yet it never arrived; his producer never helped or paid him, adding to Llewyn’s tragedy. Upon finding this information out, Grossman asks Llewyn to perform for him: he does, and the scene becomes heaped in tragedy rather than triumph.

Llewyn used to perform with a partner, which lends itself to one of the film’s earliest and finest scenes. “Fare Thee Well,” sung by Marcus Mumford and Isaac himself, plays over a brilliant montage as Llewyn chases after the cat. The song repeats at various moments throughout the film with only Llewyn singing; his loneliness signifies his inner struggle. The film’s cinematographer, Bruno Delbonnel, captures the drained saturation of this man’s life, often emphasizing Llewyn’s lack of possessions and showcasing the beautiful art direction and costume design, both of which should not be overlooked. The performances all-around are spectacularly well-drawn, with Isaac providing a tenderly graceful, beaten approach to his sad sack of a character, and Mulligan and Goodman making the most of their incredibly limited screen time. The Coen Brothers emerge as remarkable filmmakers due to their knack of character-driven moments and dialogue; I don’t think I can name a better filmmaker at crafting both a perfectly blended visual palette and script. Inside Llewyn Davis is one of their finest works, and one of the year’s best films.

Movie Review for Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues  

Starring: Will Farrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, Christina Applegate, Kristen Wiig, Meagan Good, June Diane Raphael , James Marsden

Directed by: Adam McKay

Rated: PG-13

Run Time: 119 mins

Genre: Comedy

Opens December 18th

By Lisa Minzey of The Reel Critic.com

Hey Phoenix Film Fans!  Ron Burgundy and the top news team from  Channel 4 San Diego are back after almost a decade. Sequels can be tricky, so how does the continuing legend compare to the original? Read on to find out.

To those who thought, what happened to Ron Burgandy in the 1980’s, this film starts to answer those burning questions. Ron (Will Ferrell) and his now wife Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) are the news team on a network New York Station. When Ron is passed over for a big promotion and Veronica is chosen, he forces her to choose between him or the job.  The job wins. Ron goes on a downward spiral of self destruction, landing back in San Diego hosting the dolphin show at Sea World. His luck changes when he is approached to anchor on a brand new network, GNN, a 24 hour news channel. This opportunity would bring him back to New York with the opportunity to restore his reputation and his relationship with Veronica. All Ron needs to do is assemble the finest news team known to San Diego comprised of Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), Champ Kind (David Koechner) and Brick Tamland (Steve Carell). Can Ron convince them all to come back to the world of news or will they be too settled in their new lives to care? Can Ron regain his status as the top news anchor or will he continue to live in Veronica’s shadow  Will Ron’s hubris get the best of him or will it be his un-pc behavior that finally ends him

Keeping the absurdity rolling through the sequel must have been such an easy feat as it ups the ante of stupidity and idiotic entertainment. What's great about this sequel is that more screen time is given to stand out character, Brick Tamland, who has some of the funniest lines in the film. Is this film ridiculous? Absolutely. Is this film better than the original? That depends on the viewer. If you loved Anchorman, you’ll be happy what McKay and gang deliver as it still has all the gags and stupidity of the first film, but it notches it up a level of 1980’s exuberance. Another bonus to this film that there is an abundance of celebrity cameos and surprise guests. From a story standpoint, some of the storylines fall a little flat and then pick up at the very end as Ron’s journey goes way off course then swings back around. With Ron Burgundy, would you expect anything else but it to be all about him? Overall, this film is absurdly entertaining with enjoyable new character additions, new quotable lines and a great soundtrack. Be sure to catch “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues” when it opens in theaters starting Wednesday December 18, 2013.

Movie Review for Go For Sisters

Go For Sisters  

Starring: Edward James Olmos, LisaGay Hamilton, Yolonda Ross

Directed by: John Sayles

Rated: UR

Run Time: 123 mins

Genre: Crime/ Drama/ Thriller

Opens December 13th

By Lisa Minzey of The Reel Critic.com

Another film opening this week in limited release is the gritty crime thriller “Go For Sisters” starring Edward James Olmos, LisaGay Hamilton and Yolonda Ross. the latest film from acclaimed two-time Academy Award nominated screenwriter and filmmaker John Sayles (Lone Star, Passion Fish). So how does this stack up to his previous work in terms of storytelling?  Read on to find out.

Parole Officer Bernice (LisaGay Hamilton) has seen and heard it all in her line of work.  Normally a by-the-book type of gal, Bernice’s no nonsense approach is what sets her apart from the others as a great officer. That is until her newest assignee, the newly release-from-prison Fontayne Campbell (Yolanda) comes back into her life. Friends in high school, Bernice and Fontayne were thick as thieves until Bernice’s boyfriend went after Fontayne, thus destroying the friendship.

Bernice was going to be requesting a reassignment for Fontayne since there is a personal conflict, but when Bernice’s son goes missing, and a possible murder suspect, she enlists Fontanes help to find him.  With Fontayne's previous connections to the drug world, they hire the help of a man whom in his law enforcement days was known as “The Terminator”,  Freddy Suarez (Edward James Olmos). Together they must figure out who took Bernice’s son or else he will continue to come back in pieces from the men who took him. Can Bernice set aside her ethical standards to find her son? Or will the past be too much of an issue for Bernice to handle?

For what could be considered a modern day version of “Thelma & Louise” meets “Jackie Brown” with more comical quips, “Go For Sisters” takes a while to get going in terms of story pacing. Much of the character set up takes a good third of the movie, which in retrospect, isn’t all that relevant to the whole story. The performances were decent but felt forced and awkward in some scenes, but the context and themes in the story make it compelling enough to watch as it takes the viewer on a ride to the underbelly of the shadowy side of Mexico, Los Angeles and the Sonoran desert. You be the judge when “Go For Sisters” opens at Harkins Superstition Springs 25 starting Friday December 13, 2013.

The Punk Singer Movie Review

The Punk Singer 

Starring: Kathleen Hanna, Carrie Brownstein, Kim Gordon

Directed by:Sini Anderson

Rated: NR

Run Time: 80 mins

Genre:Documentary

Opens December 13th

By Lisa Minzey of The Reel Critic.com

Hey Phoenix Film Fans!  Opening this week at Film Bar in Downtown Phoenix is a documentary about on of the movers and shakers of the Riot grrrl movement during the 1990’s. “The Punk Singer”  chronicles the life and career of the lead singer of Bikini Kill and LeTigre, Kathleen Hanna.

With a career that spans over the course of twenty some odd years, the name Kathleen Hanna can strike quite the chord with many a person. While some see her as a controversial figure, one of the leaders in the 3rd wave of feminism and Riot grrl punk rock, Hanna is a complex woman that gets very real in this documentary.

While Hanna is usually a private person, she has always been one to bring awareness to projects or issues close to her heart. Whether that be crying out the injustice of gender inequality, rape, incest or abuse victims or the struggles with a rare illness, Hanna lets Director Sini Anderson take an in-depth look into a complex woman. Interviews included are former bandmates, Kathi Wilcox, JD Sampson and Johanna Fateman; musicians such as Joan Jett,  journalists, friends and husband Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys.

If you're not familiar with this movement during the 1990’s or maybe had a biased opinion about the movement, this film gets down to the heart of the matter, taking a stripped down look at such a charismatic yet multifarious public figure. Kathleen Hanna was a many thing to different people whether that be a voice for injustice, an entertainer, a polarizing feminist or a musical genius for a generation of women, needless to say, she is fascinating. In this documentary, even if you’re not a fan of this genre of music, Director Sini Anderson slowly peels away the layers of anger, angst and feminist persona to reveal a normal real person that has deep emotions and although has gone through a lot of heartache, can get through dark moments with grace and hidden strength. Be sure to check out “The Punk Singer” when it plays at Film Bar in Downtown Phoenix starting Friday December 13, 2013.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Movie Review

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Movie Review Starring: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Benedict Cumberbatch, Luke Evans, Evangeline Lilly, Orlando Bloom, Lee Pace, Ken Stott, and James Nesbitt

Directed by: Peter Jackson

Rated: PG-13

Run Time: 161 minutes

Genre: Adventure/Fantasy

Opens December 13th

by Eric Forthun of Cinematic Shadows

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug thrives on its natural ability to excite with wildly fantastical moments and a growing assortment of full-fledged characters. Unlike its predecessor, which looked glorious in 48 frames-per-second 3D but lacked a lot of biting power and momentum in terms of storytelling, the latest feature pushes rampantly forward, starting with a terrific action sequence that involves Gandalf (Ian McKellen), Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), and crew running from orcs through the forest where the previous film ended. They encounter skin-changer Beorn (Mikael Persbrandt), a man who can assume the appearance of a giant black bear, who hosts them and provides them with supplies as they venture into the Milkwood forest. The forest is filled with (at this point) traditional Middle-Earth threats: spiders, hallucinations, and elves. Upon being saved by Bilbo using the infamous ring, the elves led by Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) capture them.

Their capture ultimately leads to their escape, fights with orcs, and a journey to Lake-town, where they meet Bard (Luke Evans), a descendant of the original ancestors that fought off Smaug. Urban legend has it that they wounded him and destroyed a scale but there remains no proof. The town simply provides a break for the journeyers to head to the Lonely Mountain, wherein lies Smaug as he protects the treasure that the dwarves and most of Middle-Earth desire. More specifically, Thorin hopes to claim the Arkenstone, which is considered a treasure by the dwarves and something that will truly mark their success on this journey. Most of the film involves hefty amounts of exposition, which comes as a surprise given the extensive amount of time Peter Jackson has allotted himself for the three films. Spanning eight hours, they are telling not only the relatively simple story of The Hobbit, but taking on lore from the Lord of the Rings universe through writings like The Silmarillion.

What’s so striking about the narrative in these films is the definitive lack of conclusion in almost every regard. That remains The Hobbit's weakest suit. There does not seem to be any type of conclusory actions in this film; standing as the middle one in a trilogy, that would make sense, but what made The Lord of the Rings films so complete was the allotment of one book per film. Here, every plot feels as if it has worn its welcome. Yet the introduction of new characters and threads, particularly Tauriel, lends itself well to this atmosphere. Lilly is terrific in her part, bringing excitement to a role that could have been frivolous given its lack of involvement in the original story. The high point of the film comes from Smaug’s introduction and Benedict Cumberbatch’s pitch-perfect snarl and embodiment of evil. He stands as the greatest dragon in film history due to the true fear he strikes in the audience; he is gargantuan and virtually unstoppable.

The film’s cliffhanger will drive people mad. It feels like a narrative cheat, considering the promise that it leaves hanging for the next film, set to be released a year from now. But when a film can garner that much excitement about its next feature, where it has the audience beg for what is coming next rather than delivering it without demand, there should be credit where it’s due. Jackson is impressively building upon the universe he started over a decade ago and keeps creating some of the most exciting action I can anticipate in a blockbuster. A scene where the dwarves and Bilbo navigate down a fast-moving stream in barrels as orcs attempt to kill them stands as the single most-exciting set piece of the year, acting as a tense, fun, and all-around impressive piece of filmmaking. The character development remains strong and continues to provide expansion, with the focus shifting from Bilbo this time around; the movie opens with Thorin, signaling that it is his story. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug may simply feel like a film that needs the others in the series to feel complete, but it’s fantastically stunning and thoroughly engaging.

Out of the Furnace Movie Review

Out of the Furnace  

Starring: Christian Bale, Woody Harrelson, Casey Affleck, Forest Whitaker, Willem Dafoe, Sam Shepard, Zoe Saldana

Directed by: Scott Cooper

Rated: R

Run Time: 116 mins

Genre: Drama/ Crime/ Thriller

Opens December 6th

By Lisa Minzey of The Reel Critic.com

Also opening this week is a film that assembles some of the most dynamic actors today. Winner of the Best Debut and Second Film Award at this years Rome Film Festival, “Out of the Furnace” director Scott Cooper; will he be receiving more accolades this upcoming awards season?  Read on to find out.

Russell Baze (Christian Bale) has always been the protective big brother over younger brother Rodney (Casey Affleck); covering his debts, making sure he keeps his head on straight and trying to keep him away from the fighting arena. After covering Rodney’s latest round of debts, Russell drives home drunk one night, resulting in a car crash with two fatalities. Rodney ended up spending some time in the clink, and when he gets out, his life is topsy-turvy. He lost his long time girlfriend Lena (Zoe Saldana) to local police officer Chief Wesley Barnes (Forest Whitaker); his brother is in deep debt with bar owner/ fight promoter John Petty (Willem Dafoe) and his father passed away during his incarceration.

Rodney begs John for fights that will bring in more money. After warning him about fighting with the rednecks of New Jersey, John makes a call to a man whom he owes a lot of money to, Harlan DeGroat (Woody Harrelson). Harlan is one not to be messed with as he has a couple of screws loose himself and is usually under the influence of his narcotics products he cooks. When John and Rodney don’t return from a fight that was held up in Harlan’s neck of the woods, Russell takes matters into his own hands trying to figure out what happened to his brother. Will he be able to get to his brother in time or will the unwritten rules of the backwoods usurp any legal jurisdiction of the local authorities?

What this film lacks in term of pacing in the storyline is made up for by the assembly of dynamic actors and strong characters. Each actor delivers a great performance, but the story moves at such a slow pace that it starts to overshadow the other fantastic qualities of the film. The cinematography is amazing as is the set design and locations selected, but it’s not enough to carry the entire film. You be the judge when “Out of the Furnace” opens in theaters nationwide starting Friday December 6, 2013.