tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-380352172024-03-07T04:51:31.257-05:00The Projection Boothrob humanickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03393593631883026810noreply@blogger.comBlogger370125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38035217.post-3455034610690958582015-10-13T11:50:00.001-04:002015-10-13T11:58:01.399-04:00GoodFellas and good food at the Alamo
Firstly, a confession of sorts: I don't have the
statistical knowledge to thoroughly discuss the finer points of
today's moviegoing market from an economic standpoint. More to the
point, I don't want to. Anyone actually interested in this kind of
metadata is welcome to it; not me. Even if there were 72 hours in a
day and our lives comparably longer for it, I'd likely still find it
a rob humanickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03393593631883026810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38035217.post-62395077196920246092015-09-26T19:46:00.001-04:002015-09-26T19:56:30.743-04:00My Summer at the Alamo
I was going to start this piece off by
addressing my dedicated readers, but that would be a misnomer.
Indeed, I have some friends and colleagues who seek out what I have
to say, to which I am flattered, but in order to be dedicated, there
must first be something to dedicate oneself to, and the fact is that
I've barely written much of anything for almost a year, and the
writer's block had rob humanickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03393593631883026810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38035217.post-56006894611209671532015-06-12T14:23:00.003-04:002015-06-12T14:23:31.735-04:00Rebels of the Neon God (1992): A-
After the existentially fraught, almost magnificently crushing experience of Stray Dogs (released stateside last year), Tsai Ming-liang's debut feature, 1992's Rebels of the Neon God, feels positively mainstream. Never officially released in the United States before now, it's a remarkable film, not only for the fact that Tsai's use of composition and extended, languid takes was already rob humanickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03393593631883026810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38035217.post-14703156732258288052014-09-30T18:51:00.000-04:002014-09-30T18:51:00.609-04:00Goke, Body Snatcher From Hell (1968)
It seems impossible to not mention the similarity between Goke, the Body Snatcher and the same year's Night of the Living Dead. Both are quasi-science fiction/horror films about, among other things: a small band of people trying to survive, interplanetary happenings, racial politics, humanoid monsters that devour their victims in whole or part, and a conclusion that doesn't aim to have you rob humanickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03393593631883026810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38035217.post-61622978638995469492014-09-12T21:47:00.000-04:002014-09-12T21:50:42.625-04:00Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014)
Have my tastes changed since I last saw the original 2005 Sin City, or is it nine years later and we now have a shitty sequel on our hands? The latter possibility is the obviously correct one to these eyes, not the least because the original film had its pick of the litter from Frank Miller's original serialized creations. Nor is it entirely the fact that new work from the past-his-prime (some rob humanickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03393593631883026810noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38035217.post-43697707028275385432014-07-22T07:14:00.000-04:002014-07-22T08:35:00.644-04:00Rage (2014)
Rage (aka Tokarev) begins with what appears to be unbridled enthusiasm for otherwise well-worn genre trappings, although it's difficult to determine just how much of this is the film riding the coattails of one Nicolas Cage's particular brand of bottled-lightning near-hysteria. Cage is Paul Maguire, a former criminal whose long-standing efforts to go straight are infringed upon when his teenagerob humanickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03393593631883026810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38035217.post-78237040957801094482014-05-04T16:23:00.001-04:002014-05-04T16:23:29.819-04:00The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
Despite the talent put into it, 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man failed in large part as a result of its own redundancy. Not merely serving as an almost-remake of a film barely a decade old, the entire affair reeked of something thrown together as a last-minute necessity (which, after Sam Raimi walked away from a potential fourth film), its plot mechanics an unfortunate amalgam of rob humanickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03393593631883026810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38035217.post-83802082794346100752014-04-30T22:33:00.000-04:002014-05-04T01:57:52.044-04:00Under the Skin (2013)
The impulse to compare filmmakers (especially those whose work might be described as "slow" and "arty") to Stanley Kubrick is one I wish we would get away from. Much as it might laud the man who might be my favorite to ever make movies, as a comparison, it's overused, reductive, and does nothing to illuminate the many ways these directors (e.g. Paul Thomas Anderson, David Fincher) are great; itrob humanickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03393593631883026810noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38035217.post-4289311640294015952013-08-10T08:22:00.000-04:002014-05-04T16:33:18.809-04:00Clear History (2013)
A stunningly unfunny comedy, Clear History's failure is all the more disheartening when one considers that it comes from the same minds that penned some of the finest episodes of both Curb Your Enthusiasm and Seinfeld. Nathan Flamm (Larry David, channeling his usual schtick) is an eccentric marketing executive with an upstart electric car company, but the name of their new product—“Howard,” rob humanickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03393593631883026810noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38035217.post-65088809854949489132013-06-13T21:05:00.002-04:002013-07-07T21:06:21.747-04:00Current, HRW Film Festival, "The Guillotines," "Beetlejuice," etc.
Less output than I'd have liked the past few weeks, but given that I've finally started proper full time employment for the first time in nearly two years (as opposed to multiple part time job employment in excess of 50 or 60 hours a week), I consider this much in the way of published material to be something of a triumph.
The meatiest is by far my coverage of this year's Human Rights Watch rob humanickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03393593631883026810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38035217.post-86190054020499500142013-05-23T02:24:00.004-04:002013-05-23T02:24:59.837-04:00Current: "The Great Gatsby," "The Last Stand," etc.
A few links to catch up on. Though mixed, I'm ultimately in favor of Baz Luhrmann's all-over-the-place adaptation of The Great Gatsby, my review of which can be read online at the Berks-Mont News here. Less favorable was my take on the threadbare indie comedy 3 Geezers! at Slant Magazine, but it was a film I adored compared to the patience-testing experience that was Pilgrim Song (autopsy rob humanickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03393593631883026810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38035217.post-43391642167092321612013-05-07T12:58:00.002-04:002013-05-07T12:58:49.232-04:00Current, "Iron Man Three," "The Big Wedding," etc.
Not much new over these past few weeks, but some exciting news in that I'll now be contributing to the online (and occasionally the print) edition of The Southern Berks News. My first review for them is for this summer's first mega-release, Iron Man Three, which I rather shamelessly enjoyed (twice, actually; the 3D is ultimately unnecessary, but well rendered, surprisingly so for a rob humanickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03393593631883026810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38035217.post-91057035692536233812013-04-18T17:31:00.001-04:002013-04-18T23:36:03.614-04:00Current: "Naked Lunch," "MST3K XXVI," etc.
Time to catch up on my latest critical endeavors: Murph: The Protector came and went and as near as I can tell no one cared. Fists of Legend may still be playing but, despite some energetic fighting sequences and good performances, it's hardly worth a trip to the theater. On the home video front, it's always excited when I get to review a Mystery Science Theater box set, even the tepid rob humanickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03393593631883026810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38035217.post-24273140605687011512013-04-08T15:21:00.000-04:002013-04-08T15:21:05.136-04:00Roger Ebert, 1942 - 2013
There isn't much I can say that hadn't already been repeated a thousandfold by this past Thursday evening. Roger was a mentor, a poet, and even though I never met or corresponded with him directly, a friend. His death comes at a crossroads in my own life and will likely be of greater influence than many live relationships I've had or will have. My first conscious awareness of Roger's presence rob humanickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03393593631883026810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38035217.post-9753281862390122142013-03-15T18:23:00.000-04:002013-03-15T18:23:14.017-04:00Current: "Vanishing Waves," "College," etc.
Three new pieces at Slant Magazine for your reading pleasure: Vanishing Waves (pictured above), the best new film I've seen so far in 2013, is out this week in New York and other privileged locations. Greedy Lying Bastards opened last week but is still lingering and is worth a recommendation for those into the whole angry liberal diatribe thing. Finally, and most relevant (to me at least), is rob humanickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03393593631883026810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38035217.post-28628034123230683382013-03-02T12:43:00.003-05:002013-03-02T12:43:52.636-05:00Current: "Pavilion," "The Last Exorcism Part II," etc.
Two reviews at Slant Magazine for new releases this week: Pavilion, which was quite good, and The Last Exorcism Part II, which was not.
In other news, as of yesterday, I'm one of the new members of the Online Film Critics Society Governing Committee; over the coming months, I expect to learn more than I can imagine about the intricacies of the film industry and the criticism wing. With some rob humanickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03393593631883026810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38035217.post-87822349892785957692013-02-18T18:01:00.002-05:002013-02-18T18:07:20.286-05:00Escape from Planet Earth
It's hard to exhibit anything other than pity toward Escape from Planet Earth, an energetic and well-meaning but thoroughly watered-down and creatively ossified kiddie flick unceremoniously dumped into theaters after languishing in development and production hell for nearly six years.
Click here to read the rest at Slant Magazine.
rob humanickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03393593631883026810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38035217.post-18520761353728429942013-02-15T15:05:00.001-05:002013-02-15T15:05:12.554-05:00The Berlin File
...a sporadically entertaining, modestly ambitious shoot 'em up that frequently succumbs to spelling out its subtext. At least the fisticuffs and gunfights are skillfully composed and edited, none better than an apartment brawl that ends with our protagonist functioning as an impromptu wrecking ball...
Click here to read the rest at Slant Magazine.
rob humanickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03393593631883026810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38035217.post-20137013723426066202013-02-10T14:30:00.002-05:002013-02-10T14:34:28.506-05:00Freebie Flicks: RMS Titanic Edition
In Nacht und Eis (In Night and Ice, 1912)
Atlantis (1913)
Atlantic (1929)
Titanic (1943); if you download the file, you can use these subtitles.
1958's A Night to Remember (embedding disabled).
And James Cameron's Ghosts of the Abyss, a film I cannot recommend but for the extraordinary footage it includes of the wreck. If this silly documentary ditched Bill Paxton and so much of its rob humanickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03393593631883026810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38035217.post-39007351118650390062013-02-09T22:44:00.002-05:002016-09-20T23:46:56.204-04:00Lists I've Published on Letterboxd
Because this will be much easier for everyone than navigating the local database.
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
Favorite horror films
Godzilla movies, ranked
Personal bottom 10
Paste's Top 100 Martial Arts Films
Paste's Top 100 B Movies
Jim Emeron's 102 Films to become movie literate
Universal Monsters (Chronological)
Slant Magazine's 100 Greatest Horror Films
rob humanickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03393593631883026810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38035217.post-1550391173202609062013-02-09T10:04:00.001-05:002013-02-09T10:04:28.721-05:00Freebie Flicks: Oscar Edition, Part IIrob humanickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03393593631883026810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38035217.post-12435905856582992592013-02-06T20:26:00.001-05:002013-02-06T20:26:38.205-05:00Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008): A
In 2004, Guillermo Del Toro's Hellboy stood apart from the usual slew of blockbusters with the most unlikely and smart-assed of characters to yet grace the superhero-savvy screen. In returning to the character after the Oscar-lavished Pan's Labyrinth, it only makes sense that Del Toro would take things to eleven; like the take-every-chance zeal of an enthusiastic young director's first film (rob humanickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03393593631883026810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38035217.post-12744329822359058622013-02-05T11:55:00.001-05:002013-02-05T11:55:24.099-05:00Freebie Flicks: The Keep (1983)rob humanickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03393593631883026810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38035217.post-14092351585024580282013-02-04T18:35:00.001-05:002013-02-04T18:35:40.896-05:00Quantum of Solace (2008): C-
So often does the bad accompany the good in life, perhaps out of necessity, so that we may truly appreciate the latter. After the ravishing James Bond reboot Casino Royale – arguably the best in the series – it would appear inevitable that the next film ratchet things down a few notches; a cynical view, yes, but one reinforced by the dearth of sequels that rise to the occasion presented before rob humanickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03393593631883026810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38035217.post-66904390685462147952013-02-03T20:02:00.001-05:002013-02-03T20:10:43.527-05:00Freebie Flicks: Jerry Maquire (1996)
The related portion of this video starts at the 2:45 mark.
Happy Superb Owl!
(With acknowledgement of the artwork of Takeshita Kenji.)
rob humanickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03393593631883026810noreply@blogger.com0