I was in as soon as I heard ‘Martin Scorsese’s new film’. Doesn’t mean I’ll automatically love it (we’ll get to that), but I’ll see what he’s selling. And Leo. He’ll always have the blessing and the curse of Titanic, but as an actor, he almost always comes through with the parts (and choices) he makes. Like […]
This is starting to feel like a year from the 70s. A lot of really good films, but they cover a lot of different territory. American Hustle is the ‘fun’ film, and 12 Years a Slave is the ‘important’ film…but if you wanted to make the case that Gravity is the ‘most cinematic film’ (and the Producers Guild seems […]
Let me start by telling you (if you didn’t already know) that whenever I see the title card that says ‘Written and Directed by Woody Allen,’ that’s an automatic plus one on the review. Blue Jasmine follows a middle aged woman (the always on point Cate Blanchett) who has to move in with her sister […]
I didn’t know this before last week, but as soon as the film started, I realized August: Osage County is based on a play. Lot of name actors, every major character has a monologue at some point (which is like chum for actors). The basic story is one that’s familiar: a parent dies and all the […]
Don’t know if it’s the best film of the year, but I get why everyone is into American Hustle. It’s fun. It’s a lot more fun than most of the ‘serious’ stuff that gets promoted for awards season. As the opening title card suggests, the film is loosely based on the well known ABSCAM stings […]
Captain Phillips is based on the true story of a merchant marine (Tom Hanks I think accurately referred to them as ‘the truckers of the sea’) who sees his ship hijacked by Somali pirates, then kidnapped and held for ransom by those same pirates before finally being rescued by the U.S. Navy. Tom Hanks stars […]
Dallas Buyers Club is based on the true story of Ron Woodruff, a purebred blue collar Texan who contracts the HIV virus in the mid 80s. Fighting against our own notions about what caused the disease (this was pre-Magic) and more importantly, the FDA and the pharmaceutical industry who controlled which drugs were legal in this […]
Where to begin with this one… All public record but a little of my own background again: both sides of my family are from rural Louisiana. Some of my most vivid childhood memories are of my father taking me to visit my great-grandmother and his aunt, and their small (I mean, three room small) […]
malikaziz.com 