Archive Page 365
December 28th, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
Never a post of joy, but every year does see the release of films that are not very good. I never seek out films with the purpose of hating them and a majority of these are not without redeemable elements, but if I have at least 10 films on a list that I consider better than the rest I saw this year, then this is a list that features at least 10 films I would say are worse than everything else I saw. I have also included the films I was most disappointed in, which are not necessarily bad movies, but not ones I would say lived up to their potential. Final note: this is my list, meaning I only saw so much of what was generally considered ‘terrible,’ basically meaning that I was not racing out to see Blended or I, Frankenstein, while I was also fine with certain ‘alleged’ atrocities, such as The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Trans4mers, so they won’t be anywhere near this list. And with all that said, let’s dig into the bottom of barrel.
Continue reading ‘Top Ten: Aaron’s Most Disappointing Films & The Worst Of 2014’
December 26th, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
There is something I find fascinating about a man struggling not to be a criminal. This was something played to near-perfection by Al Pacino in The Godfather films, but it is a character type that we have seen a lot in the crime and gangster films before and since those first two ‘masterpieces.’ In regards to this superb crime drama from writer/director J.C. Chandor, I think my fascination has something to do with the idea of understanding lead character Oscar Isaac’s sense of morals, but seeing how much ‘easier’ it would be for him if he more willingly stepped onto the dark side. Regardless of what the case may be, A Most Violent Year is the kind of slow-burn, tactics-heavy, crime drama that I was easily taken in by, thanks to a level of confidence behind the camera and strong performances matched with cinematic beauty in front of it.
Continue reading ‘‘A Most Violent Year,’ A Most Wonderful Film (Movie Review)’
December 26th, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
I enjoy putting together different year end lists, as they tend to function as a way for me to put emphasis on a lot of film that I would hope people check out at some point (or avoid, in the case of the ‘Worst of’ list). This year, given how I have ranked a large number of films in an effort to put together an ultimate Top 10+ list, I wanted to spend time creating a list focused on a solid selection of films that I may not go all the way in pronouncing as my end-of-year favorites, but certainly want to bring as much notice to them as possible. With that in mind, here is a list of 20 films in alphabetical order, consisting of comedies, horror films, genre fun, documentaries and more, which I have a high level of admiration for.
Continue reading ‘Top 20: Aaron’s Odds & Ends of 2014′
December 25th, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
In a film about high stakes gambling and the crushing weight an addiction (or whatever Mark Wahlberg’s character wants to call it), knowing how to balance the tension and frustration of someone constantly risking it all with cinematic skill is very important. Rupert Wyatt’s directorial follow-up to Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a drastically different type of film in terms of scale, but this remake of 1974’s The Gambler clearly shows that he can balance entertainment with intelligence within the confines of mainstream studio fare. Not that we do not see this from other filmmakers in any given year and it is also not like The Gambler is not without its share of issues, but as much as Wahlberg is the star actor in the film, Rupert Wyatt is really selling himself as the star director.
Continue reading ‘Wahlberg Goes All In With ‘The Gambler’ (Movie Review)’
December 25th, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
I am a fan of Benedict Cumberbatch. I even like to refer to him by his full name, Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch, because I enjoy celebrating just how British he is. It is clear to me that I am not alone in my appreciation for BTCC, but I do enjoy that it is coming from not just his work on BBC’s Sherlock, but from seeing him branch out into so many different roles. Now he stars as Alan Turing in The Imitation Game, which feels like a role perfectly suitable for him, given the challenge of portraying this complex persona, yet having a familiarity with portraying someone with an idiosyncratic nature, especially when it comes to interaction with others. As for the film as a whole, it is perfectly entertaining in the “important biopic that you probably won’t feel the need to see more than once” kind of way, but the presence of Cumberbatch and his strong performance may certainly defy that kind of logic.
Continue reading ‘‘The Imitation Game’ Is An Entertaining One (Movie Review)’
December 24th, 2014 by Brian White
The Gambler is just what Hollywood needs, another remake. The American crime drama, directed by Rupert Wyatt, is simply that, a remake of the 1974 film of the same name (nothing to do with Kenny Rogers). This time out, it stars Mark Wahlberg as the gambler with contributions by big name stars such as John Goodman, Jessica Lange, Brie Larson and more. So I guess you can tell from my less than colorful opening monologue here, the story of a literature professor addicted to gambling who’s in deep with gangsters just doesn’t have me doing excited cartwheels over it, but I digress. That’s what the review below is all about. Continue reading ‘‘The Gambler’ Gambled With My Time (Movie Review)’
December 24th, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
[Note: I had no real desire to dig too far into the controversy surrounding this film, as I have been fascinated, but exhausted with keeping up with what has gone on in this surreal situation leading up to the eventual release of this film. That said, my friend Scott Mendeslon, over at Forbes, has written a number of pieces that go into it, including This. As it stands, I just wanted to write about the film.]
A small part of the world cried foul, threats were made from various sources, but here we are with the movie that presents an insane premise and matches it with the same sense of humor and themes that have made successes out of the filmmaking team that is Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. While the real-life fallout from producing The Interview was likely something the duo could not have imagined, the actual film is merely silly fun, with only hints of truly biting social commentary. That said, I know what to expect, for the most part, from Team Rogberg at this point, and while this may not be their greatest effort, it is certainly an entertaining one.
Continue reading ‘‘The Interview’ Is Just A Comedy (Movie Review)’
December 23rd, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
If you are like any of us at Why So Blu, you have a huge movie collection. Even if you don’t, this is still something you may want to check into. My Movies 2 is now available for iPhone and iPad. The original app was a well-designed one, with a simple design enabling individuals to keep track of all of the films in their possession. This new version of the app is a nice improvement, which offers a variety of new ways to best organize your collection, catalog all of your Blu-rays and DVDs, as well as a number of other great editions that allow for quite the experience. Continue on to learn more.
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Continue reading ‘Bring You Movie Collection Everywhere With ‘My Movies 2’’
December 23rd, 2014 by Gerard Iribe
From executive producer Alan Ball, creator of True Blood, this Cinemax action drama charts the continuing twists and turns that follow Lucas Hood (Antony Starr), an ex-convict who improbably assumes the identity of sheriff of the rural, Amish-area town of Banshee, where his former lover and partner-in-crime (Ivana Milicevic) lives under her own alias, Carrie Hopewell. Season 2 takes up immediately after the S1 finale, when Carrie’s father, gang kingpin Rabbit (Ben Cross) was left for dead after a climactic warehouse shootout. Carrie, now exposed and estranged from her husband and kids, is torn between her devotion to her family and her connection to Lucas, who had given himself up in order to save her years earlier. The new season finds Lucas, having escaped detection after being interrogated by FBI agent Jim Racine (guest star Zeljko Ivanek), with his hands fuller than ever as sheriff, dealing with (among other things) the murder of a Kinaho tribe girl, the continuing escalation of tensions between Amish overlord Kai Proctor (Ulrich Thomsen) and Kinaho tribe leader Alex Longshadow (Anthony Ruivivar), and the unwelcome appearance of a surprise visitor: the reprobate son of the real (dead) Lucas Hood. Continue reading ‘Banshee: The Complete Second Season (Blu-ray Review)’
December 23rd, 2014 by Gerard Iribe
When Nick (Elijah Wood) discovers that he’s won a dinner date with his favorite star Jill Goddard (Sasha Grey), he’s incredibly excited to finally get the chance to meet her. That excitement deflates when Jill refuses to honor the contest and all of Nick’s hopes are dashed. He’s intrigued when Chord (Neil Maskell), a man claiming to be Jill’s campaign manager, offers him something he can’t quite refuse: Chord will give Nick the ability to constantly view Jill via computer. Nick is initially reluctant but is finally persuaded, unaware that this decision will put both himself and Jill at risk. Continue reading ‘‘Open Windows’ on Blu-ray & DVD January 27th!’
December 23rd, 2014 by Gerard Iribe
From provocative Oscar®-nominated writer and director Atom Egoyan (Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director, The Sweet Hereafter, 1997) comes a suspenseful tale, The Captive, arriving on Blu-ray (plus Digital HD) and DVD (plus Digital) March 3, 2015 from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. Released theatrically by A24, the tense action-thriller starring Ryan Reynolds, Scott Speedman and Rosario Dawson follows a man who must unravel the mystery of his daughter’s disappearance before it’s too late. The Blu-ray and DVD, featuring audio commentary by writer/director Atom Egoyan, a behind-the-scenes featurette, an alternate ending, and deleted scenes. Continue reading ‘‘The Captive’ on Blu-ray & DVD March 3rd’
December 23rd, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
I have been told I have something of a knack for impressions. Not particularly in how I look or even sound, but in finding the cadence in whatever humorous display I may be attempting to put on. David Oyelowo does not really look like Martin Luther King, Jr., but he does more than just get the cadence of the man down in Selma. Oyelowo brings to life the presence and soul of Dr. King in a way that is entirely worthwhile in a film featuring him as both the man and the influential leader that inspired so many. That is no easy task for an actor or a film that would want to feature such a character in the dominant role. Still, Selma has found a way to bring Martin Luther King, Jr. into a movie, without having to do the heavy-lifting of telling the man’s whole story and trying to truncate all of what he accomplished into a two-hour motion picture. Instead, fitted with a commanding lead performance, as well as several powerful supporting performances, and plenty of other great filmmaking-related aspects, Selma is a film addressing a particular time in a wonderfully impressive way that is both cinematic and quite relevant to our current time.
Continue reading ‘‘Selma’ Is Incredible, Inspiring, and Important (Movie Review)’
December 22nd, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
First Mister Babadook and now this! SpongeBob SquarePants has a new movie arriving in February, next year, but he currently has a happy message to share with everyone. Continue on to see a video message from SpongeBob!
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Continue reading ‘Happy Holidays from SpongeBob SquarePants’
December 22nd, 2014 by Brandon Peters
On Golden Pond was a sort of swan song for legendary screen actors Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn back in 1981. The film was critically heralded and come awards season, handsomely rewarded. The film received ten Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. It wound up taking three home, but two of them being the important “farewell” awards for Fonda and Hepburn in their respective roles. The film was also well represented at rival awards ceremonies The Golden Globes and BAFTAs as well. On Golden Pond was a film that was a pretty big deal back when it arrived and for some time after, but I think has sort of been lost in the conversation over the years and I’m not sure if today’s youth or up and coming film buffs would even know what you’re talking about if it was brought up. Maybe its just one of those “in the moment” or “of its time movies” that are hot in awards season and are quickly forgotten as the years move on and because they didn’t win the big one, we become foggier on them. I had always heard of it and knew what it dealt with, but until now for this review, I’d never had the pleasure of viewing it. Continue reading ‘On Golden Pond – Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray Review)’
December 22nd, 2014 by Brandon Peters
One of my absolute favorite horror films of all time is the original Candyman. Its quite possibly my favorite thing that Clive Barker has ever been associated with when it comes to film. That film still works today, and is an absolutely engaging and terrifying endeavor. When I was a kid I had trouble looking in mirrors for a while after seeing that movie. The film also created one of the last great and iconic horror villains before the Scream era, in Tony Todd’s Candyman. I still find it this way, but back in the 90s when the sequel was announced, I had found the original film so perfect, that I was against this follow up as that I thought it would taint the legacy of the original. So, I didn’t see it til later on VHS when it came out for rental. My only memory of it was that it was nowhere near as good as the first one, but I found further respect for it once they dropped that third one years later. Scream Factory has given me the opportunity to revisit this follow-up to the my perfect original, and I couldn’t think of a better guide. Continue reading ‘Candyman: Farewell To The Flesh (Blu-ray Review)’
December 22nd, 2014 by Brandon Peters
In 1984, the United Kingdom, under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher saw the start of what would be a year long strike from the National Union of Mineworkers after the government closed down twenty coal mines. With the picketing came a surprising amount of violence related to the topic as well. Hell, I mean there’s even a part of this story called the “Battle Of Orgreave” which was between picketers and the police. The view on the miners was sort of indifferent publicly at the time, but support of them came from an unlikely source that viewed their troubles as similar to their own. Lesbians and Gays Support The Miners became one of their biggest backers, which shocked a town, but also managed to enlighten them through the trials and tribulations of it all. The film we’re here to discuss today is about this very piece of history and bond between two very different peoples to link for common causes. Continue reading ‘Pride (Blu-ray Review)’
December 21st, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
Arrested Development is one of my all-time favorite television series. Mitch Hurwitz created the kind of sitcom that was hilarious, witty, well-acted, one-of-a-kind, and ahead of its time. All of that means it was very well-regarded by critics, won numerous awards, and pockets of audiences knew the amazing show they were getting, only see it cancelled after a shortened third season. Now, after years of rumors, we were able to find the entire cast back together again for a noble Netflix experiment. Season 4 of Arrested Development was released last year on the popular streaming service and has now arrived on DVD in a nifty three-disc package. Now I can really delve into my thoughts on the latest adventures of the Bluth family.
Continue reading ‘Arrested Development: Season 4 (DVD Review)’
December 21st, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
On the surface, Unbroken has everything needed to not only be a surefire hit for audiences and critics of a certain generation, but also one that could seemingly have awards just handed over to it. This is a film adaptation of a best-selling and well-reviewed novel based around the true story of a former Olympic athlete, who went to war, survived a plane crash, spent time lost at sea, and then lived a tortured life in a prisoner of war camp, only to prove how strong the human spirit can be. This film is directed by a major Hollywood player, who happens to be female, and was co-scripted by the two of the most celebrated filmmakers working today. What is not to like about that? Certainly not a lot, as Unbroken is a good film, with its heart in the right place and plenty of other positive elements going for it. With that in mind, the film does have an issue with finding a way to connect in a stronger sense, given what we are seeing. Unbroken misunderstands that seeing so much happen to someone is not the same as really getting us to understand how much some of these things may matter.
Continue reading ‘‘Unbroken’ Is An Epic Story In A Decent Film (Movie Review)’
Never a post of joy, but every year does see the release of films that are not very good. I never seek out films with the purpose of hating them and a majority of these are not without redeemable elements, but if I have at least 10 films on a list that I consider better than the rest I saw this year, then this is a list that features at least 10 films I would say are worse than everything else I saw. I have also included the films I was most disappointed in, which are not necessarily bad movies, but not ones I would say lived up to their potential. Final note: this is my list, meaning I only saw so much of what was generally considered ‘terrible,’ basically meaning that I was not racing out to see Blended or I, Frankenstein, while I was also fine with certain ‘alleged’ atrocities, such as The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Trans4mers, so they won’t be anywhere near this list. And with all that said, let’s dig into the bottom of barrel.
