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Netflix pick for 11/18/13 – ‘Holy Motors’

Holy cow, it’s “Holy Motors,” one crazy movie from France that people just about fell out for when it came out last year. Critics and cinephiles alike were delighted by this trippy and fascinating movie, while surely your average film watcher was flummoxed by such a bizarre and different film. But it is now in a place where we can all enjoy it together, and afterwards we can talk about our favorite bits and what left us scratching our heads and what guarantees that we will be remembering this movie for awhile.

From my original review of “Holy Motors” published last February:

“The best way to see this movie (or just about any movie, in my opinion, which is why you are here to begin with), is with as little information beforehand as possible. That way there are no expectations and nothing is spoiled and the movie can take it’s time in showing it’s cards. If at all possible, bookmark this review and see the movie first and then come back here and read the rest. You’ll have a more bewildering yet exciting and ultimately fulfilling experience, trust me on that one. And this is the internet, so it is not like this review is going to go anywhere. We’ll all still be here when you get back.

Meanwhile, for those who have seen the movie or who want the deets anyway, this is the story of actor Monsieur Oscar (Denis Lavant) and what appears to be a fairly typical day in his life, which consists of being shuttled around town in a limo from appointment to appointment, where he has to perform different deeds in different costumes, while we (and presumably he) are not told why or who is paying for such acts. It’s like he is being hired to do avant garde performances, usually in public (once in a motion capture studio), and often times ending with people in tears, kidnapped, mangled or dead, and it is evident this is all taking it’s toll on Oscar, as he neglects eating and chooses instead to drink between jobs, looking more and more haggard as the day wears on.”

#45 – Stolen Lightning

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In episode 45, Chris Crespo and Drewster Cogburn review All is Lost, there is a new Netflix Instant Pick of the Week, they recap the box office weekend, they preview the new movies coming out on DVD and in theaters, there is some crazy news involving Tom Cruise comments taken out of context and Mark Wahlberg losing his shit, Blockbuster’s last movie rented out, and so much more!

Things discussed in this episode include:

The Netflix Instant Pick of the Week is HOLY MOTORS, which Drew has yet to see.

Chris and Drew review ALL IS LOST.

Chris and Drew talk about the trailer for NOAH.

They recap the weekend box office top five, which inclues BAD GRANDPA, FREE BIRDS, LAST VEGAS, THE BEST MAN HOLIDAY and THOR: THE DARK WORLD.Continue Reading …

The Crespodisco #2 – Expanding Horizons

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In their second music-centric episode of Cinema Crespodiso, Chris Crespo and Drewster Cogburn talk about the music they’ve been listening to since the high school days, and which bands helped shape their current musical tastes.

To share your thoughts on their five picks, or to share your own songs, you can tweet Chris at @iamChrisCrespo or tweet Drewster at @antihero419 or just tweet the show at @Crespodiso!

You can also send an email to CinemaCrespodiso@gmail.com or share a message with the show on Facebook at www.fb.com/cinemacrespodiso!

Netflix pick for 11/11/13 – ‘Senna’

“Senna” is a documentary about the Formula One racing career of legendary Brazilian racer Ayrton Senna and how he tore up the F1 circuit for ten years straight, and the movie also focuses on the overall safety of the drivers throughout the years and a particular rivalry that Senna has with another racer.

But what makes “Senna” a truly unique and compelling documentary is how there was apparently an abundant amount of home video footage and Formula One archival footage from as far back as the early 1980s, and there was so much footage in fact that a narrative film was able to be made by editing all of this footage together, so we have a documentary without any commentary, or cutting to people sitting in an underlit room and talking about what is was like back in the day — instead we actually get to see it all unfold before us, and it is a really fascinating movie, whether or not you like racing. That’s besides the point. It’s a compelling look at an interesting person.Continue Reading …

#44 – Destroying Human Toilets

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In episode 44, Chris Crespo a.k.a. Crespo and Drewster Cogburn are joined by returning guest Curtis Earth from The Curtis Earth Show and Earth Trivia fame. Chris and Drew review 12 Years a Slave and Thor: The Dark World, there’s a new Netflix Pick of the Week and a Drewster Cogburn vs The World rematch between Drew and Curtis.

Things discussed in this episode include:

Why Chris should just go as “Crespo.”

The Netflix Instant Pick of the Week is Senna, which starts a discussion about racing.

Curtis talks about his fear of heights and movies with people dying from great heights.

Chris and Drew review 12 Years a Slave.

They talk about men crying in movies, and Chris talks about trying NOT to cry during 12 Years a Slave.

Chris talks about hanging out in Alfre Woodard‘s house when he visited Los Angeles years ago.Continue Reading …

Review: ’12 Years A Slave’

Look, no one said this was going to be fun for anyone involved, okay? This is a fairly remarkable story about human endurance and the atrocities of mankind, and while it may not be “enjoyable” or “entertaining,” it still may be essential viewing for many people, whether they be cinephiles or people who just need a quick reminder of where we’ve come from, as that helps see where we need to go. No, no one said “12 Years A Slave” was going to be a cinematic walk in the park. But then again, maybe that’s the very reason why it should be seen.

This is based on the very true story of Solomon Northup, a man from New York in pre-Civil War America who was drugged, kidnapped and sold into slavery in the South, where he spent the subsequent twelve years of his life living as a slave named Platt. This is the story of his survival and the horrors he saw while in this horrible position. Being a free and educated man at the time of his kidnapping, he had the skills necessary to relate his story when it was all said it done, get it down in writing in the form of his memoir, one which was subsequently fact checked and deemed as accurate by scholars over one hundred years later, so what we have here is a first person account of one of the most troubling and disturbing chapters of our American history.Continue Reading …

Review: ‘Thor: The Dark World’

Well here we go, now two movies deep into phase 2 of the Great Marvel Movie Plan, in which entire films are used to set up plot elements for future films, with the rest being nothing but filler. The first “Thor” movie set up the villain for “The Avengers,” and now “Thor: The Dark World” is merely a set up for another movie and what could possibly be phase 3 of the GMMP (more on this later). But what about all the other stuff in there, does any of that matter at all?

And the answer is…kinda, I guess? For all of those people who were dying for more of that great dynamic between Norse god Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and human scientist Jane (Natalie Portman), here you go, another two hours or so of these two looking at each other longingly. Meanwhile there’s some bit of business about some dark elves and the dude who leads them and the great magical power that they seek to harness, etc. etc., I mean for crying out loud why do all of these movies have to be the same freaking thing?

Seriously though, here is yet ANOTHER super hero movie in which an evil character, who is evil for no other reason than because the story dictates him or her to be so, who wants to take over the world, or in this case the whole universe, by somehow just destroying everything. And when this movie had a cold open with a voiceover explaining the movies macguffin, in this case a magical substance that can’t be destroyed and which makes it’s host body super powerful, and then cut straight to a huge Lord of the Rings meets Star Trek: Deep Space Nine battle between a bunch of people that literally didn’t matter in the long run, my eyes glazed over faster than the donuts on a conveyor belt at Krispy Kreme at five in the morning, no what I mean?Continue Reading …

Review: ‘Kon-Tiki’

“Kon-Tiki” is a great Norwegian historical drama about explorer and scientist Thor Heyerdahl, who set out on a journey in 1947 with five men on a raft made of balsa wood from Peru all the way across the Pacific Ocean to Polynesia, in an attempt to help prove his theory that Polynesia was populated by migrants coming from the east, as opposed to the prevailing theory at the time that the settlers came from the west. But really it is a story about how this fella Thor had an idea and was determined to see it through, even if that meant absorbing tons of rejection from all sorts of people and eventually heading out on this dangerous mission just to prove his point.

This is a pretty spectacular movie regardless of whether the story is real or what was fabricated to enhance the drama of the movie (apparently there was some beef with one of the characters being portrayed very differently from his real life counterpart, resulting in the filmmakers even coming out and apologizing to the family members of this misrepresented person). It is a pretty simple set up, in that these six guys agreed to set out on this mission, and the 101-day, 5,000 mile journey pretty much changed them all forever (but then again, how could it NOT?). But while the mission and goal are easy to understand, it is obvious that the trip was not going to be a piece of cake.Continue Reading …

Review: ‘Ender’s Game’

“Ender’s Game” is a nifty sci-fi movie that is more serious-minded and morally complex than most other big budget movies out there. Based on an award-winning and highly touted sci-novel of the same name, this is a story that tackles some pretty big issues, and while it doesn’t get so deep into these things that the movie comes across as a lecture or preachy, at least it feels comfortable enough to even bring these ideas up, daring the audience to actually think about the parallels between this sci-fi world and our real world. Plus there is some cool space stuff, so that helps.

In “Ender’s Game,” our protagonist is 12-year Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), who has been chosen to be groomed to be the next great commander of Earth’s international space fleet, which was formed after an alien invasion years prior nearly wiped out all of humanity. Since the invasion, everyone on Earth banded together to put together a military force that could repel future attacks, and in an effort to find the best leaders possible, children were regularly drafted into the military and put through different camps and schools in order to find the absolute best of the best. Of course, as indicated with the title of this story, Ender is one of these chosen few, fortunate enough to be considered a candidate to be a great leader, and unfortunate enough to have the weight of mankind’s possible extinction placed squarely on his shoulders.Continue Reading …

Dr. Drew’s Two Cents – Video Games

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In the inaugural episode of Dr. Drew’s Two Cents, Drewster Cogburn digs into the rich history of video games and takes us all on a journey from the 8-bit days of the at-home game consoles all the way through today’s advanced machinery which we take for granted.

Things discussed in this episode include:

Drewster Cogburn, along with co-host Chris Crespo, discuss their earliest video game memories and experiences.

Drew and Chris talk about the NES, as well as the Zapper, the Power Glove and the Power Pad, and also discuss their favorite 8-bit Nintendo games.

Drew and Chris talk about the 16-bit era of video game consoles.Continue Reading …