Tag: film
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Happy-Go-Millionaire
Hallelujah! It’s Oscar season! I guess seeing Rachel Getting Married was technically my first dive into this year’s plethora of Oscar bait, but tonight I dove down further by seeing Happy-Go-Lucky and Slumdog Millionaire, two small films that are getting a lot of buzz and landing on some critics’ Best of 2008 lists. Naturally, I…
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The Sting
Originally published in the North Central Chronicle in October 2008 as part of a series called “Chad Picks Classic Flicks.” Welcome back to “Chad Picks Classic Flicks.” I was catching up on more recent films over the summer but I’m excited to start a new year of discovering the new in films of old. This…
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The War by Ken Burns
I’m still working my way through it, but I’ve already come to appreciate Ken Burns’ seven-part 2007 miniseries The War. Burns explains in the making-of feature that he wanted to show the war not through historians but through average citizens, men and women and children from every corner of the country who endured the front…
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No Direction Home
Just watched Martin Scorsese’s 2005 documentary No Direction Home about Bob Dylan and I loved it. A great, detailed history of the moment and the man. I must admit that I have not really gotten into Dylan that much until recently. I have a few of his records on vinyl—Blonde on Blonde is definitely my…
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Quantum of Solace
Not as good as Casino Royale. It was still quite enjoyable, though. I like the director Marc Forster’s style. Previously he directed Stranger Than Fiction, Finding Neverland, and Monster’s Ball. He’s got quite the range. I find that Roger Ebert’s criticism of the film is accurate, though I don’t hate it as much as he…
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1.21 Gigawatts!?
November 12, 1955. Know the date? Hill Valley, California. The Clock Tower. Struck by lightning. At 10:04 p.m. 53 years today. Oh, yeah. In honor of this historic day in the BTTF world, here is an appreciation I wrote for the school paper: If I were asked to name what I think are the greatest…
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Gosh! Idiot!
June 11, 2009. It is the first day I will be able to watch Napoleon Dynamite for the first time. When that movie first came out in 2004, it was hyped up so much by my peers. Everybody recited the lines for about six months and I got really sick of it, as did everyone…
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All Animated Films Are Not Created Equal
Originally published in the North Central Chronicle in October 2008. Are all movies created equal? The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) doesn’t think so. With the creation of the Best Animated Feature category at the Academy Awards, animated movies that deserve to be nominated for Best Picture are unfairly pigeon-holed into this…
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The Dark Knight – Round 2
Just saw The Dark Knight for the second time. I tried to take in all the theories and analyses I read after seeing it the first time and look at the film with a discerning eye. The big thing I noticed was that Bruce’s love for Rachel fuels a lot of his decisions and affects…
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What’s Going On?
Haven’t been on much—camp is keeping me busy. It is nice, though, to be able to unplug from the world for a while and not be able to check your email and keep up on the news even if you want to. Here’s a few thoughts on random stuff: —The Dark Knight was just amazing. I’m…
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Saving No Country For The Band of Brothers
I just noticed this: They all have basically the same design. I love all three of these films so I don’t really care, but I just thought it was curious.
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Iron Man
I think us moviegoers have caught on to the whole Superhero Movie thing. We’ve learned that comic book superheroes are born out of a freak radioactive experiment gone wrong, or out of childhood anger, yadda yadda yadda. We know that evil villains will eventually be outsmarted and killed due to excessive monologuing. We’ve caught on…
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Macho, Macho Men: Vulnerability in ‘Casino Royale’ and ‘The Bourne Identity’
Originally published in the North Central Chronicle on April 25, 2008. John McClane, Rambo, the Terminator. They are the American Action Hero: muscular, terse, a killing machine. They favor spouting clever catchphrases and blowing stuff up over expressing emotion. To them, women are hors d’oeuvres best enjoyed while they serve cold dishes of revenge to…
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The Oscars — ‘Once’ Wins!
I got two of my Oscar picks wrong – not bad. I don’t remember why I didn’t pick Diablo Cody to win, but I’m glad she did. Yay for Once! It was pretty lame that Marketa Irglova got cut off, but pretty awesome that Jon Stewart gave her time later. The only reason why the…
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12 Angry Men
Published in the North Central Chronicle on Feb. 22, 2008, as part of a series called “Chad Picks Classic Flicks.” I was about 7 years old when O.J. Simpson was acquitted of murder. I’ve seen the highlights—the slow-speed chase, O.J. struggling with the glove—but I don’t remember the sensational media coverage or the racial debates…
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Listen Up, Academy…
My 2007 ACADEMY AWARD PICKS: Best Picture Who will win: No Country for Old Men Who should win: No Country for Old Men Best Director Who will win: The Coen Brothers for No Country for Old Men Who should win: The Coen Brothers Best Actor Who will win: Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood…
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Lord of the Rings
The Turner Classic Movies channel is showing Academy Award winning films all day every day this month in a series called “31 Days of Oscar.” I watched Lord of the Rings: Return of the King last night and realized something. I would remember that trilogy for the rest of my life. I hadn’t read the…
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Standing Tall: Comparing ‘High Noon’ and ‘On The Waterfront’
Published in the North Central Chronicle on Jan. 25, 2008 “I have here in my hand…” said Senator Joseph McCarthy in February 1950, effectively hoodwinking the country into a hysterical anti-Communism era known as the Red Scare. McCarthy claimed the list identified 200 Communists within the American government, so he and the House Committee on…