Archive
THEATRICAL REVIEW: The LEGO Movie
Directed by: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
Produced by: Dan Lin, Roy Lee
Written by: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller (screenplay)
Edited by: David Burrows, Chris McKay
Cinematography by: Pablo Plaisted
Music by: Mark Mothersbaugh
Starring: Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Nick Offerman, Alison Brie, Charlie Day, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman
Year: 2014
I actually saw this movie weeks ago. Like… I couldn’t stand the wait and saw it the opening weekend, in fact. I was just so freaking excited for the movie, and it was going to be my first post-“2013 IN REVIEW” review, and – well, it still is, but not nearly as early as I intended. (Hey, life gets in the way. I’ve been working more from home, getting more tired at work, and then my sister had the audacity of getting married, which required some clothing search. ANYWAY…) Read more…
REVIEW: The Blair Witch Project
Directed by: Eduardo Sánchez, Daniel Myrick
Produced by: Robin Cowie, Gregg Hale
Written by: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez
Edited by: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez
Cinematography by: Neal Fredericks
Starring: Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, Joshua Leonard
Year: 1999
Found footage -style movies are a dime a dozen these days. Though mostly used in the horror genre (notably the Paranormal Activity films), the technique has also found its way into giant monster/kaiju films (Cloverfield), superhero films (Chronicle), and even loathsome teen “comedies” (Project X). The Blair Witch Project certainly wasn’t the first film to use the format (the controversial Italian film Cannibal Holocaust from 1980 is largely credited as the earliest), but it was, without question, the film that resulted in the technique’s popularization – with studios arguably bringing it to the point of exhaustion by now – Does anyone remember Apollo 18? Read more…
Review: “Foodfight!”
Directed by: Lawrence Kasanoff
Produced by: Lawrence Kasanoff, Joshua Wexler, George Johnson
Written by: Brent Friedman, Rebecca Swanson, Sean Catherine Derek (screenplay) Lawrence Kasanoff (screenplay & story), Joshua Wexler (story)
Edited by: Ray Mupas, Craig Paulsen, Ann Hoyt, Sean Rourke
Production Design by: Jonathan A. Carlson
Music by: Walter Murphy
Starring: Charlie Sheen, Wayne Brady, Eva Longoria, Hilary Duff, Larry Miller, Chris Kattan, Harvey Fierstein, Jerry Stiller, Cloris Leachman, Christopher Lloyd, James Arnold Taylor, Edie McClurg
Year: 2012
Starting production all the way back in 2001, it’d be tempting to call Foodfight! the Duke Nukem Forever of animated movies – with that game’s developer-hopping, financially constrained, 14-year-long development cycle from c. 1997 all the way to its miraculous resurrection and yet disastrous release in 2011 already something of a legend worthy of its own film adaptation – but that would imply that anybody who doesn’t work in marketing actually anticipated this corporate mascot-infested Toy Story rip-off’s release. Read more…
Trailer: “G.I. Joe: Retaliation”
I don’t know how I feel about this. The first movie looked fun and ended up being a boring, loud mess, and while this one looks a little better, I’m a bit wary if director John Chu, whose last directing credit was the Justin Bieber bio pic, Never Say Never. Before that? The two Step Up sequels, which let’s face it, are just as much about spectacle as you’d expect from a movie based on a line of action figures. Plus, this one has friggin’ Bruce Willis, one of the biggest action stars in film history. That’s gotta count for something right?
Who knows? Maybe this’ll be completely awesome! Definitely looks more polished than its Stephen Sommers-directed predecessor. Maybe dance movies are the new music video, and their directors are likewise due to rise up with the likes of music video directors who have been recognized for their filmmaking talents like Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry, and even David Fincher? … Or maybe he’ll be another Michael Bay or McG… And how long until the Transformers crossover?