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Review: ‘Rush’

Not the epic biopic featuring the three-piece Canadian rock outfit that we were all hoping for, “Rush” is the story of a pair of Formula-One racers in the 1970’s who developed one of the most intense and interesting sports rivalries ever. Directed by Ron Howard with consummate skill and featuring very good lead performances from Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Daniel Brühl (Inglourious Basterds) and a tight script from Peter Morgan, “Rush” is actually better than I expected it would be, and is definitely worthwhile for people to check out.

What makes this movie work so well is that it is all based on a true story, which allows for some thinner characterization, as the real story is inherently appealing enough to carry the dramatic weight of the film. It doesn’t matter that English driver James Hunt (Hemsworth) was merely portrayed as a playboy and party animal while the German driver Niki Lauda (Brühl) was shown to be an overly serious fuddy-duddy with a penchant for pissing everyone off by being truthful to a fault; what matters is that we see these two excellent drivers push each other to the limits of their abilities in a sport that was as close to legalized Russian Roulette as any sport could get thanks to the very high death rate of drivers up to this point (the great documentary “Senna” goes into how Formula One managed to make their races much safer, but only after more tragedy hit the sport).Continue Reading …

Netflix pick for 9/30/13 – ‘Dumbstruck’

“Dumbstruck” is a wonderful little documentary about one year in the lives of several ventriloquists and how they ae trying to do the best they can with their chosen hobby or craft, which happens to be speaking through little dummies. This is a balance, well-made and respectful film about a group of people who are easy to mock, and really it is quite a touching movie filled with people that are pretty easy to like…once you look past the ugly dolls that they keep playing with.

From my original review of “Dumbstruck“ after I saw it at the 2010 Florida Film Festival:

“While Dumbstruck does go into the art of ventriloquism and puppet manipulation, and also shows a bit of what goes into honing a respectable routine, it is the stories of the people themselves that takes center stage. And perhaps it is a testament to how interesting these stories are that the movie feels like it ends a little early. Most of the movie’s subjects, if not all five of them, would have benefited from a little more filming. While the film is chronologically set up to be book ended by Vent Haven conventions, it feels like none of the stories wrap up after a year (with the exception of Terry Fator, who by the end of the film only has one place to go, which is down. And we don’t want that, he seems like a nice fella). Another year of following these people around might have resulted in a little more closure story-wise. Then again, it might haven resulted in more opened ended questions and plot threads. Such is the danger of documentary story telling.”

#38 – Dying Cancer Dragon

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In episode 38, Chris Crespo and Drewster Cogburn are joined by Johnny the Hater (@johnnythehater) and they talk about new movies, the box office review, there is a new Netflix Instant Pick of the Week, and Johnny takes on Drew in a new round of Drewster Cogburn vs the World!

Things discussed in this episode include:

Chris announces a new contest to win a show poster.

The Netflix Instant Pick of the Week is Dumbstruck, a documentary about ventriloquists.

Chris, Drew and Johnny recap the top five for the weekend.

Chris and Drew review Rush.Continue Reading …

Review: ‘The Act of Killing’

“The Act of Killing” works on two levels. First off it is a compelling look at the monsters behind the 1965 mass genocides in Indonesia and how they are still in power and see nothing wrong with their past evil deeds (or present evil deeds). And secondly, this documentary stands as a testament to the transformative power of cinema and how movies can indeed change the world, even if at the rate of just one person at a time.

Sounds like fun, no?

The backdrop of this movie is a harrowing one. There’s a reason why this movie starts with a short clip from the director in which he explains how he does not expect people to “enjoy” the film per se, but instead he hopes everyone will be compelled by it and will learn from it. He says this TWICE. “I won’t say ‘enjoy the movie’ because… .” He REALLY wanted to hammer that point home. You won’t ENJOY this. But you will still probably be fascinated by it.Continue Reading …

Bonus Episode – Spoiler Alert!

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(SPOILER ALERT! THIS EPISODE CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR ALL THE THINGS YOU LOVE!)

In this bonus episode, Chris Crespo and Drewster Cogburn spend a little time talking about “spoilers” and today’s “spoiler culture,” which Drew was unaware of until this discussion. Chris and Drew manage to spoil a ton of movies and a couple of tv shows and maybe even a book and/or a play. And Drew gets surprised by a spoiler-riffic bonus round of Drewster Cogburn vs the World.Continue Reading …

Netflix pick for 9/23/13 – ‘Manufactured Landscapes’

“Manufactured Landscapes” is an arty documentary about the toll human living and consumption has on the Earth and the places where live, namely, in how we just have taken everything over in this habitat, to the point that certain parts of the world have been wholly transformed into places comprised of and now existing for only human residenency and exploitation.

From my original write up on Examiner.com:

“Manufactured Landscapes is a movie that will take all attentive and thinking viewers and shake them down to their very foundations. This movie is about the dramatic effect humans and progress and technology have had on the world, focusing heavily on some of the developing nations of the world. The opening shot of the movie is harrowing in a strange way, as a camera slowly tracks along a factory, and four minutes into this eight-minute one-take shot you realize that you are looking at more people gathered under one roof using an ungodly amount of resources than you could even fathom. It is explained, in a voice over from the director, that this movie is not meant to condone or condemn, but instead it is just a record of how things are. Point the camera and observe, it is that simple. Just sit back and watch as a panning shot of a Chinese city, buildings stacked on top of other buildings, goes on and on for what seems like forever. And then ask yourself what images like this mean to you and your world and your future. You might not like the answers you come up with.”

#37 – The Act of Podcasting

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In episode 37, Chris Crespo and Drewster Cogburn review the very intense movies Prisoners and The Act of Killing, which puts them both in a weird mood for the rest of the episode. They also recap the weekend box office, there is a new Netflix Instant Pick of the Week, Drew has a sparring round of Drewster Cogburn vs the World, and he takes on someone’s leftover Lightning Round.

Things discussed in this episode include:

Chris announces the winner of the contest to identify all the movie quotes from the new show intro.

The Netflix Instant Pick of the Week is the documentary Manufacturing Landscapes.

Who is the bigger Chris Brown fan?

What’s there to say about The Family?Continue Reading …

Review: ‘Riddick’

So I saw the latest further adventures of Richard B. Riddick but I realized I didn’t write anything about it so here we go, a little quickie review in which we decide whether or not the movie “Riddick” is actually worth anyone’s time.

And I think this might come down to your enjoyment of the Riddick character himself and whether or not you give any sort of crap about this space outlaw and his mission to find his home planet of Furya, but then again it may also come down to whether or not you like sort of entertaining sci-fi movies that are just a couple of steps above Sy-Fy Channel original movie quality.

While there is a short recap towards the beginning of the film that recaps the very ending of “Chronicles of Riddick” and attempts to explain how Riddick is lost in the cosmos and can’t find his home planet (because it’s all about family…wait a second…wrong Vin Diesel movie…), you really don’t need to see either movie that predates this one in order to follow along with what is happening (but if you haven’t yet, you really should see “Pitch Black,” as it is genuinely quite good).Continue Reading …

Review: ‘The Family’

“Hey! Ooooo! We’re Italian-Americans over heryunh, and yer a buncha snobby Frenchies ovah there, and we are violent people who love our peanut butter and pasta dishes, cause we’re fat Americans and we’re of Italian descent, ooohhhh, fuhgeddaboutit!”

That’s “The Family” right there. Just a bunch of stereotypes shmushed together. But is it any good?

Nope.

But to be fair, it’s not really bad either. It’s so right down the middle of the road, it leans closer to forgettable than anything else.

Basically imagine if at the end of “Goodfellas” Henry Hill and his family get witness protection program relocated to Normandy, France, where cultures clash and hilarity ensues. That’s pretty much the movie, but instead of Hill we got some made up guy played by Robert De Niro, and he’s married to Michelle Pfeiffer and her fake Brooklyn accent, and they have a couple of high school aged kids who look nothing like either of them and one of whom is played by an actress in her 20’s. Tommy Lee Jones shows up to mumble his way through some scenes as De Niro’s government caretaker, the violence is kicked up to warrant an R-rating, and we’re off to the races.Continue Reading …

Netflix pick for 9/16/13 – ‘Dredd’

Almost like a throwback to the stripped down, awesome action movies of the 1980’s, “Dredd” is the little movie that could, as someone (namely actor Karl Urban and writer Alex Garland) decided that they were going to make a bad ass movie about the iconic British-created comic strip character that totally erases the memory of the 1995 filmatic abortion of a movie that is “Judge Dredd,” and lo and behold, these wonderful folks succeeded, giving us the awesome and over the top Judge Dredd movie for which fans of the character have been waiting for years, and which non-fans never knew that wanted or needed, at least until they laid eyes on this gem of a film.

Here is a small excerpt from my original review when the movie came out last year:

“And of course there’s one super bad ass judge amongst them all, the one whose reputation exceeds him, and that is Judge Dredd (Karl Urban, Star Trek). He’s totally by the book, though that doesn’t mean he won’t give you a second chance or a good deal – it’s just that the perp has to be able to recognize when Dredd is actually offering said deal. Sometimes what amounts to compromise for Dredd is simply allowing the criminal offender to pick their poison. And if Dredd gives you an option, you better make a choice quick, cause he’ll shut down negotiations almost faster than you realize you were negotiating, and if he makes the decision for you, it won’t be the one you would have preferred. And Dredd does is all with a permanent scowl and deadpan humor, like a slightly more human version of Robocop…slightly.”