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Review: ‘Hunt For The Wilderpeople’

“Hunt for the Wilderpeople” is the latest from Kiwi artist Taika Waititi, and it is a simultaneously irreverent and sincere movie about a lost foster child and an adrift widower coming together and helping each other out in ways that they didn’t even realize they needed helping. Hysterical and heartfelt, this is a great movie that shows how Waititi continues to grow as a filmmaker and shows so much promise for his future as a storyteller.

Ricky Baker (Julian Dennison) is a young teen making the rounds in New Zealand’s foster care system, and the movie opens with him getting his last shot at a home when he is introduced to the very nice Bella (Rima Te Wiata), who wants very much to take this kid in and make a nice home for him. Much less happy to see him is Bella’s rough and rugged husband Hec (Sam Neill), but he puts up with Ricky because he makes Bella happy.

Of course when things appear to be clicking and this seems to be a great situation for everyone involved, Bella dies because this is a movie and we need drama. The state wants to take Ricky back, which causes him to pack up and try running away in an attempt to just hide out in The Bush, and when Nec goes looking for him, he ends up injured and unable to walk for weeks at a time, forcing them to camp out in the thick forest until he can heal. This causes a problem when child services shows up to Nec’s farm and sees they are gone. Suspecting that he kidnapped the boy, a national manhunt begins and both Nec and Ricky find themselves on the run, neither of them wanting to have a run in with the government for their own reasons.

Review: ‘Newman’

“Newman” is a documentary about inventor Joseph Westley Newman and the greatest challenge of his life, the invention and worldwide implementation of the Newman Energy Machine, a direct current device which would use a small amount of electrical energy from a source like a battery and would then convert that into more energy, not less. This machine proved to be controversial due to these pesky things known as the laws of thermodynamics, as well as the extreme resistance from certain people to Mr. Newman’s claims that his machine worked.

Review: ‘Cheerleader’

Every generation has their set of coming of age movies, films about characters that ring true and which speak to certain people in very profound ways, and for some out there, “Cheerleader” could be one of those movies. A coming of age type of story about a young girl trying to figure out her own way, this is a confidently made movie which dares to be great at times, almost like a 2016 version of “Heathers” but with the emotional truths of the best of John Hughes.

Review: ‘Crush The Skull’

“Crush The Skull” is an indie horror-comedy, which is something that is pretty hard to pull off. Comedy always works well with horror, but usually when jokes and gags are used sparingly to help alleviate some of the tension built up by the film, but making a movie that is equal parts is much harder, because how do you make something scary while constantly making fun of the situation but also how do you make something scary if you keep deflating the horror with a bunch of silly jokes? Throw on top of that the fact that this is obviously a low budget movie with a somewhat ambitious idea, and you have a recipe for something that threatens to not come together and leave the audience dissatisfied.

Somehow “Crush The Skull” does manage to find a nice middle ground between the two genres. Ollie (Chris Dinh) and Blair (Katie Savoy) are a couple and they are also burglars. A screw up in the beginning gets them in some debt that they need to get out of quickly, which forces them to make a bad decision and agree to work a job set up by Blair’s incompetent brother Connor (Chris Reidell) and his one-man crew Riley (Tim Chiou). Very shortly after starting this job, the foursome realize that they unknowingly broke in to the home of a deranged killer of some sort, the type of creepy weirdo who apparently kidnaps girls and keeps them locked up in a dingy basement of torture and murder, and they have to try to get out of this makeshift prison before they become the killer’s next victims. A simple yet effective set up that is a blend of “The Collector” and “The Ladykillers,” this movie is mostly quite solid and entertaining, though it definitely isn’t perfect.

Review: ‘Embers’

“Embers” is thought-provoking science fiction, a mystery with no easy answers, and an accomplished film from a director making a feature-length movie debut. Everyone has lost the ability to make or retain memories, which makes you wonder how society would function in such a scenario? Would it even function? What do people do if they can’t remember anything? How can we even exist as people if we can’t remember who we are, or even why we are?

These are big questions, and “Embers” takes the best way to approach them, with small stories focused on a handful of characters. Instead of trying to portray an entire world grappling with this situation as it goes down (that would be the Roland Emmerich version of this movie), it is about a decade after it has all gone down, after a virus causes everyone to forget everything on a day to day basis, and we see how different people survive even a day in this horrible world. Because yes of course society can’t function and everything has broken down and people are forced to literally sift through the rubble.

The Best Movies of 2015 – 10 through 1

2015 was an interesting year for movies, running the gamut from luscious period pieces, romantic dramas and comedies to over the top science fiction, post apocalyptic action and westerns involving Kurt Russell (which SHOULD be its own genre). It was a good year for raunchy comedies with sweet, emotional centers thanks to “Trainwreck,” “The Night Before” and “Grandma.” There’s been a few solid documentaries like “The Wolfpack” and “Red Army” and “Best of Enemies,” and a handful of really well made “real life” movies like “Bridge of Spies” and “Joy.”

The Best Movies of 2015 – 16 through 11

These movies are almost good enough to make it into my top ten of 2015, and even then, we are kind of splitting hairs because all of these movies are great and I would recommend people check out every single one of them, and if they’ve seen these already, then watch them again. Drama, comedy, budgets big and small, based on real life and science fiction, these movies run the gamut and they are all worth your time.

The Best Movies of 2015 – 21 through 17

It is now that time in which we look back at the previous year in movies and we make arbitrary judgement calls as to which movies were “the best” and which were “the worst.” And with over 600 movies released in North America last year, combined with the fact that movies are art and as such their quality is mostly subjective, determining the “best” and “worst” is a nearly pointless task. And yet here we are, because “best of” lists get clicks and because, despite the pointlessness, such exercises could indeed lead to interesting discussions about different movies.

So if you don’t like this list, just make your own, because we ARE talking about art, after all, and this is merely a listing of my own personal favorite movies of the year, the ones that I kept coming back to, the ones that make an impression on me, the ones I feel like bringing up now. And as for the exact order of this list, don’t agonize over it, because not only is this subjective, but truthfully a good portion of this ordering is arbitrary. I know which is my favorite of the year, and I know the ones that come right before that, but if you asked me to rank these same movies next week, you would likely get a very different order.

So to summarize – relax.

Bonus Episode – 2015 Year In Review

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In this BONUS episode, Chris Crespo and Drewster Cogburn recap the year in movies for 2015. They discuss the movies they liked the least, the movies that disappointed them the most, and of course their favorite movies of the year. NYC senior correspondent Billy D also chimes in with his recap of the year.

So which movies are the best of 2015? Which are the worst? Do you agree? Do Chris and Drew care whether or not you agree?

All this and just a little more in this special bonus episode.

Enjoy the show!

Crespo Guest Appearances – ‘Talking Nonsense – 11/29/15’

Being a regular radio talk show guest and podcaster, I get occasional opportunities to spread my brand of madness to the world on other programs. In addition to Cinema Crespodiso, I also call in every Thursday to The Curtis Earth Show on 91.5 fm WPRK (WPRK.org) to talk about movies for 10-20 minutes, but that can only be heard live as it happens. But sometimes that’s not enough, and I pop up somewhere else, spewing my opinions out like a dragon spitting fire, albeit with far less damage to my surroundings. Here is where these guest appearances are documented.

Podcasting has gotten to the point where there are now all sorts of podcasts all over the country, and thanks to this wonderful and intimate medium, folks from all over are connecting with each other, making this world even smaller, bringing our experiences together, and just making (most of) us better people. And thanks to podcasting, I have been able to connect with a show based out of Wisconsin in a way that feels like we’re old friends and have done this tons of times before, and that is what makes this kind of thing special.Continue Reading …