Friday, August 31, 2012

Joker

Bollywood meets Ed Wood, with lots of color, dancing, romance, and an epic lunatic fringe search for ET, with spectacularly funny and heart-warming results. Where else could you get the alien boogie, fireflies, pumpkins, beautiful dancing girls, NASA scientists, the FBI, crop circles, WW II aircraft, and exotic ruins in the forgotten corners of rural India? We LOVED IT!~ 10/10

Boogie on,

Dan

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Premium Rush

Bicycling adrenaline-junkie crack, with heart. Who would think being a bicycle messenger could be so cool and exciting? 8/10

Dan

Thursday, August 23, 2012

The Odd Life Of Timothy Green

Beautifully artistic, poetic, with a surprising depth I didn't expect. You could predict it somewhat, like you can feel Autumn in the air...and like you know Spring follows Winter. Visually, this film is rich and beautiful. 9/10, and I'll throw in an extra point for being so magical.

Dan

Riff Trax Live: Manos, The Hands Of Fate

Gloriously funny, and it's hard to believe such awful films got made. Ed Wood was better. The perfect fodder for riffing. Not Rated - just go.

Dan

The Intouchables

Hilarious, heart-warming, heart-breaking, surprising, and just damn good. It's refreshing to see something new under the sun done so well, and with such outstanding acting. 9/10.

Dan

Bourne Legacy

I really enjoyed this. It did a lot toward explaining outstanding mysteries in the series. Some of the action is in the "over-the-top/surreal/unbelieavable" range, but that's Hollywood now, isn't it? Go for the fun. 8/5.

Dan

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Sparkle

Loved - most of - the music. Acting was a bit flat, but not too bad. But, *set in the 60's*? Puhlease! The dresses were WAY sexier than anything in the 60's, and ladies of color with straighened hair were rare. I would've found this much more believable set in the mid-to-late 70's in the post-Motown era. And they did far too little with Whitney Houston's musical talent, for whatever reason. Ceelo Green was an excellent cameo. I like everyone in this film, I just think it failed to really come together. Sadly, Whitney will never get another chance. 6/5, and I liked Jordin Sparks's role better than my other half did. I think she's capable of more and better, and just needs more practise with acting. This is a credible early role for her, and her musical talent is phenominal. I'm looking forward to that.

Dan

Monday, August 13, 2012

Hope Springs

Rediscovering love after half a lifetime of perfunctory functionality can leave you happy, but you have to lose your cool first. Sweet, funny in places, but very predictable and just not a "guy" flick. Even the poet in me was feeling like I was sucking down a pint of saccharine by the end. 5/5.

Dan

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Ruby Sparks

Love, obsession, massive control issues, sweet romance, magic, wonder, crazy cleverness, sexy-sweet, this movie is a sweet blender and a writer's wet dream without being crude...well, almost. If you love writing and romantic movies, you'll love Ruby too. 8/10.

The cool part is, the leading lady wrote it.

Dan

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Beasts Of The Southern Wild

The poet in me sees the magic, and the spirit. This isn't the kind of film for thinking, it belongs in the heart, where wonder lies. On the surface, this cast has nothing. Underneath it, they have everything they need to cross the universe. This isn't a film for the literal mind. 10/10

Dan