All in Film
The heart of the film is about time, specifically time running out. It’s a theme that’s set up within minutes of the picture’s opening, when Bond (loved up and retired) turns to amour Madeleine Swann and declares, “We have all the time in the world.”
Up until this point, Gershon was probably best known for her recurring role on Melrose Place. The argument could be made that, in contrast to Berkley’s, the movie helped Gershon’s career, probably because Gershon’s sumptuous, femme fatale turn as Cristal Conners possibly could have worked if it were featured in literally any other movie with these themes.
The film didn’t kill Tucker in his mid-20s, though, and it didn’t kill his career. He kept working in Hollywood, made it onto some big projects, and now there’s an independent filmmaking award named after him. A fellow could do a lot worse than that in an industry that eats its own.
And like every "right and wrong side of the tracks" story, such as The Outsiders, Far and Away, or Rebel with a Cause, there has to be a bad boy to make Deborah Foreman's female protagonist Julie's world catch on fire. And for the valley girl Julie, it was a punk, unwilling to don an Izod shirt or Members Only jacket.
Drunk Monkeys celebrates Gabriel Ricard and the 10th anniversary of his column, Captain Canada’s Movie Rodeo!
One of the only NYC movies that made me feel like I was heading to my unglamorous, low paying job in Times Square. Director Ramin Bahrani and cinematographer Michael Simmonds use their limited budget to capture the city with an honest, simple, naturalistic style. They depict our sisyphean hero's struggles with just as much honesty and care. Ahmad is a Pakistani ex-rockstar who scrapes by as a breakfast cart vendor. It’s refreshing to watch a movie about the working life that doesn’t romanticize, idealize, or pound our faces in with spoon-fed ideology. Looking for a cinematic hug? Look elsewhere.
Gabe wrangles together a documentary, the latest Wes Anderson film, two horror films, and a re-evaluated Western epic in this month’s Captain Canada’s Movie Rodeo.
There are moments when the film overdramatizes. The accounts themselves are powerful, as are the images and facts. But it is, unfortunately, a narrative about the horrors of climate change and the political forces at bay that has been told before. Orner’s major struggle is battling against a jaded and desensitized viewer.
When someone puts so much of themself into a film, it’s easy to assume that film embodies the ideology and values of its creator. This is, to a degree, true. Like Clint Eastwood before him, the beauty of a conservative creative like Gallo is his immense skill in interrogating the flaws inherent to his beliefs.
Gabe rings in the new year with (already failed) resolutions and some films in this month’s Captain Canada’s Movie Rodeo.
A Christmasy Hammer crime movie. That sentence should be enough. Cash on Demand proves that if your story has a strong foundation, you don’t need any frills. You hardly need a budget. Beyond the thrill of the heist is the tale of a bank manager who keeps his emotions locked up in an impenetrable vault (like the money he’s responsible for), and a clever thief who has an earnest interest in his fellow human beings (despite his willingness to torment them for his own gains). A suspenseful little human drama that feels festive without bashing our heads in with it.
You should be the someone watching Lauren Hutton absolutely nail her role in Someone’s Watching Me! She’s endearing as hell in this made-for-TV horror/thriller about a somewhat lonely but upbeat woman named Leigh who is relentlessly harassed by an anonymous stalker. Ya know how sometimes characters feel hollow, like they’re just around to flaunt some writer’s agenda? Ain’t so here thanks to great performances and a balanced screenplay giving us people, not sounding boards. Watch this at night with some popcorn, the lights turned down, and the curtains open wide.
What could have been a humorous buddy flick focusing on the zany antics of two quirky criminals becomes a response to films that idealize just that. It’s a deeper look into the life and times of two low level thugs, one an erratic narcissist and the other a hypersensitive, vengeful, selfish man who is something of a heroic figure in his own mind. But May doesn’t make it easy for us, she humanizes (without romanticizing) them every chance she gets. Some of the best performances I’ve ever seen. It’s a gorgeously lived-in movie, like a quality pair of old jeans.
For all its irreverence, Fired Up! is a pretty fun flick. But the most important reason I love it is because it’s part of the indelible bond I have with my friend Dillon. No matter where we are in life, we can always turn it on, enjoy each other’s company, forget about the world, and laugh for a little while.
Why do I love this movie? By all accounts it's dumb as fuck. But look: I'm a sucker for hair metal. Motley Crue is one of my favorite bands of all time. I'm always on the hunt for a “Too Fast For Love” shirt: I long to have Vince Neil’s ‘80s leathered crotch plastered across my chest.
I bought the movie 3:10 to Yuma because I’d heard it was good and because it was on sale for $5 and to rent it would have cost $3 anyway, so why not, you know? I had every intention of watching it that night, but I didn’t, nor did I watch it the next week, or the month after that, or anytime up to the present, which is 13 years later. I suspect I won’t watch it this year either, though I’m still keeping hope alive. We’ll see.
They aren’t communicating. The whole movie only takes place because Carol and Mike both decide to plan surprise holiday getaways for each other. When they can’t decide where to go, they settle on forcing their children to come home for the holidays.
I have no interest in explaining to you why Tron: Legacy is good. If you don’t want to absorb yourself in this world of candy-coated neon and “bio-digital jazz” (man), then very little I can say here will convince you otherwise. The truth is, I don’t care whether Tron: Legacy is good, but let me tell you why it matters to me.
Winter Prayer, which focuses on the brief exchange between a priest and a stranger in an outside seating area in the middle of winter, is a reflection on vulnerability.
Speaking of the cast, if anything the film's age has made it harder to tell who will live or die for a new viewer, as some cast members have gone on to bigger and better things and will thus be assumed "safe" only to be killed off relatively early.
