In the interest of full disclosure, I should tell you that I’ve been a Rush fan for almost 30 years.
With that said, when I heard a full-length documentary film about Rush was in the works, I broke out my autographed copy of Exit…Stage Left, tapped my Rush bobbleheads a few times and prayed that the film would be shown on the big screen here in Austin.
Thank you, Alamo Drafthouse for answering my prayer.
When, over the course of multiple movies, you develop a deep emotional connection to certain big-screen characters, something else grows with that connection.
Dread.
Why? Well, as George Lucas proved, it only takes two hours to destroy that connection. And when Pixar announced that their next movie would be Toy Story 3, I was torn. On the one hand, who wouldn’t want to spend another amazing ninety minutes with Woody, Buzz and the gang? On the other hand, it could be another Phantom Menace.
So, as I donned my 3-D glasses, I hoped for the former and steeled myself against the latter.
Someday, someone will have to explain to me why we need worthless labels like “mumblecore” to describe films. When the average person has to pull up Wikipedia to figure out what the fuck kind of movie it is they’re going to see, things may have gotten out of hand.
For those of you out there not wearing a t-shirt with a hiply-ironic print on it, in the case of Cyrus, mumblecore just happens to mean “a charmingly off-putting comedy driven by fascinating characters with enough neuroses to make them challenging and authentic.”
You know you’re at a certain kind of film when objects find their way into rectums on multiple occasions. That “kind” of film usually involves Judd Apatow at some level.
Get Him To The Greek, with Apatow as executive producer, presents many such moments of violation. And they’re all pretty damn funny, as is the rest of the movie.
“Sweep the leg, Johnny.”
With those four simple words, 1984’s The Karate Kid became the stuff of classic cinema. Naturally, as Hollywood does, they decided to reinvent this beloved film. (Okay, beloved by me, maybe.) And with executive producers Will Smith and his wife driving the bus, the new film is a vehicle for their soon-to-be-bankable-star Jaden.
O’ Ralph Macchio! Where art thou?
Let me ask you, dear readers, a simple question…
If I, a dog, am truly man’s best friend, why does my “best friend” assign me movies to review that make me want to dash onto a crowded interstate highway? If only I were so lucky. That would be but a moment of pain, then blissful release into the hereafter, instead of sitting through the 90 minutes of shrill torture that is J-Lo’s latest film, The Back-Up Plan.
I hesitated to write this review. Not because the piece under review isn’t worthy, it certainly is. But as part of a marketing campaign, it stands as more of a piece of quality branded content than a true piece of documentary film.
That said, Up There is a fascinating portrait of the men who paint the urban landscape.
I won’t bore you by offering up the long list of horrendous movies based on Saturday Night Live sketches.
I will simply tell you that the newest SNL sketch-cum-movie adventure, MacGruber, isn’t nearly as bad as It’s Pat, but doesn’t quite reach the comedic heights of Wayne’s World.
When the recent Oscar nominations came out, there weren’t really very many surprises. Okay, there usually aren’t, because by that time, there have been so many awards handed out the lead horses are easy to spot.
But in the category of Best Animated Feature, one film earned a clear “huh?” from most. That film is The Secret of Kells, and while it may not have had the wide release or big box office of Up or Fantastic Mr. Fox, its nomination was well-deserved.
Anyone who underestimates the power of art to transform our lives needs to look no further than the White House. Shepard Fairey’s graphically striking image of Barack Obama helped move a man from candidate to consciousness, and changed the face of American politics forever. Fairey, like shadowy underground characters named Banksy and Invader, is a “street artist,” but the influence of his art goes far beyond the streets.
With the Sundance-lauded documentary Exit Through The Gift Shop, first-time director Banksy shines as bright a light as the dark world of street art would ever allow. But the question is, what exactly is that light illuminating?
