A weekly talk show hosted by film critic Christopher Crespo
Anyone looking for a dose of political allegory mixed with some intense action and a few outbursts of surprising violence? Want to see Matt Damon in a cybernetic exoskeleton suit? Do you desire an action movie that is more than just chases and gun fights but also includes thoughts and ideas? Then get thee to a movie theater and check out “Elysium,” because this flick is smarter than the average fare (see that? See what I did there?).Continue Reading …
Acclaimed author Cormac McCarthy has hit novel-to-movie adaptation pay dirt lately, what with his books No Country for Old Men and The Road both being made into films, and recently someone got him to write his first straight up screenplay, an original story meant only to be made into a movie, and that movie is Ridley Scott’s “The Counselor.”
When boiled down into a log line, “The Counselor” seems very simple: a lawyer (Michael Fassbender) decides to get into the drug dealing business to make a little extra money, and of course things go wrong. But then again, a quick synopsis of either “No Country For Old Men” (a man finds a briefcase full of money) or “The Road” (a man and his son try to survive in a world destroyed by nuclear weapons) would make it seem as if those movies are very simple stories, when we all know that they both have a lot to offer, especially the fantastic NCFOM. So while the plot synopsis is simple, the below recently released trailer hints at a wild movie in which Fassbender’s lawyer character will go down the rabbit hole of danger, betrayal and who knows what else.Continue Reading …
Any year we get a new Spike Jonze movie is a good year, which means when November 20, 2013 comes around, this year will officially be “good,” because that is the scheduled release date for “Her,” Spike Jonze’s new movie about an anti-social fella who falls in love with a voice on a computer.
This anti-social fella is played by Joaquin Phoenix, who took a short break from acting so he could “retire” and focus on being a hip hop artist (all shown in the Casey Affleck-helmed mockumentary “I’m Still Here“), and now he’s back in full force it seems, especially after that incredible performance in last year’s “The Master,” and it looks like he has another one under his belt, as the below trailer for “Her” is very compelling and pretty much looks like what one would expect from the maker of “Being John Malkovich” and “Adaptation.”Continue Reading …
“End of Watch” is the opposite of most movies featuring the Los Angeles Police Department at work, as it portrays LAPD police officers not as crooks or corrupt or racist or terrible, but instead as normal people just trying to do their job, a job which happens to be very dangerous and rather underappreciated.Continue Reading …
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In episode 30, Chris and Drew review a plethora of movies including The Wolverine, 2 Guns, Only God Forgives, Grave Encounters and Europa Report. They also go over the Netflix Instant Pick of the Week (End of Watch), Chris has a double round of Drewster Cogburn vs The World for Drew, they talk about the new movies coming out on DVD and in theaters and more!
Also discussed in this episode:
Drewster is back from his trip to NYC.
Ellen hosting the next Oscars.
David Yates is directing the Scarface remake.
DC/WB announce a Flash TV show for the CW.Continue Reading …
Starting out as a “slice of life” type of movie and ending as a brutal tearjerker (a two-hanky movie, they used to call ’em), “Fruitvale Station” is a small movie about a big issue, and the timing of this particular film couldn’t be any more perfect. Just as a gigantic mirror has been held up to this great nation so we can see just how racist we still are as a whole, this movie comes along and openly questions the perceived value of the life of a black youth in today’s America.
You have two choice right now: you can do a Google search on “Oscar Grant” and read about the tragic event that this movie is based on, or you can just go into the movie and let the shocking events fold right in front of you. Now, while I am sure it would be interesting to watch this movie play out without really knowing what the story is really about, I think it actually does the movie a great service to know ahead of time how the story is going to end. And since “Fruitvale Station” starts with real-life cell phone footage from a very fateful and horrendous night on a train station platform in Oakland, California in the early morning of New Year’s Day in 2009, it is apparent that writer/director Ryan Coogler knew this and wanted to make sure the audience indeed knows what this movie is going to end up.Continue Reading …
“Some days you just can’t get rid of a bomb!” At one point in the 1966 “Batman: the Movie,” this is a line exclaimed by Batman (Adam West) as he tries to dispose of a cartoon-looking bomb in a public place, and if you can’t get with this kind of campy, over the top, tongue-in-cheek style of comedy in the midst of your 1960’s comic book movie, then stay far away from this week’s Netflix Pick of the Week. But if you can get down with stuff like Bat-shark repellent and dehydrated and then rehydrated henchmen, then you will enjoy the hell out of this ridiculous movie.
The first Batman movie was made based on the popularity of the television series, and followed many of the hallmarks of this tv show, which includes the big “KA-POW” and “WHAPP” title cards during the fight scenes and the bold colors and just general ridiculousness. And fans of the Caped Crusader should really dig the awesome convertible Batmobile, as well as the awesome Batcopter, Batboat and the Batcycle…I mean, who wouldn’t want to ride in that sweet side car?Continue Reading …
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In episode 29, Chris is joined by special guest co-host DJ Ed Shuffles a.k.a. Ed Luvables (on Twitter at @edluvables and @djshuffles), and they unwrapped this week’s Crespodiso, in which they BOTH have Netflix Instant Picks of the Week, and Chris reviews Fruitvale Station and The Wolverine.
Also discussed in this episode:
Chris calls out the Orlando Film Commission and demands they financially support more local filmmakers.
Adam Sandler movies = money in the bank.
What’s the difference between PG-13 and R-rated movies?
G.I. Joe Retaliation comes out on DVD.Continue Reading …
“The Wolverine” is the sixth time Hugh Jackman has played the adamantium-laced, clawed, mutton chopped character of Logan, a.k.a. the Wolverine, and the overall quality of the movie aside, this may be my favorite portrayal of this character to date. Focusing on his gift slash curse of healing and pretty much being immortal and his deep sense of loss and loneliness that has built up over the years, this movie is free to get into Logan’s damaged psyche and really dig in the character and what makes him tick, and in the long run it pays off.
“The Wolverine” is a sequel to (the god awful) “X-Men: The Last Stand,” in that Wolverine’s love interest Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) is dead and the rest of the X-Men are pretty much disbanded, leaving Logan all by himself (they also seem to pretty much ignore “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” which is somehow even worse than “X-Men: The Last Stand“). He is literally wandering from town to town, living in the wilderness, looking like a crazy person, and it’s sad to think about such a powerful person just hiding out and having nightmares every night about horrible things that happened in his life. They hit this pretty hard, but obviously it must be horrible to live forever because you get to watch people you care about die all around you, and even if you meet new people and start to care about them, they are going to die eventually as well, and you’ll outlive them all, and that’s a bummer. How many times can you lose people before you stop trying to connect to them anymore?Continue Reading …
This is going to be a rough ride, peoples. After several viewings of “Upstream Color,” I feel I have a grasp on the ins and outs of the story itself, but I’ll be honest and tell you that I am struggling with what this thing is actually about, know what I mean? So in the spirit of this film, which is a just a little experimental, I am going to try something new with this particular entry; we’re going to figure this thing out together.
First off, I’m going to need you to see “Upstream Color” for this to work. We need to be on the same wavelength. If you need a quick “review” before checking it out, I offer you this:
“Upstream Color” will surprise you. It will confuse you, and if you are paying attention and also allow it to wash over you, it will also reward you. To simply summarize the story and plot here before you see it would be a disservice, so instead I will say that this movie is about a woman meeting a man and together they help each other understand the world they live in and the forces effecting them, all subconsciously of course, and it all boils down to basic, simple human interaction, wordless even, thoughts conveyed through expressions, emotions reverberated and amplified with a look, all the things we know in our own lives, reflected in this movie that quite simply defies basic classification. Is it a romance? Science fiction? Horror? A mystery? An art film? A tone poem? A thriller?Continue Reading …