I’m always iffy about saying something’s an exclusive. Usually everyone on God’s Green gets the word out on this here interwebs. But this is Man On A Ledge. Sam Worthington, niiiiice. Elizabeth Banks, the closest we’ll come to The Hunger Games ’til, well, that movie opens in a few months. And the buzz I’ve been getting on this film just keeps getting better and better.
Plus, who doesn’t love a sneak peak at something? So feast your eyes people!
Unless you’ve been living under a rock lately, you know that George Lucas is bringing back The Phantom Menace to a theater near you, this time in 3D. I know, I know; the idea of seeing Jar-Jar Binks thisclose isn’t particularly appealing. But even though I struggle to get through the original trilogy (GEORGE LUCAS RAPED OUR CHILDHOOD…*sobs*) , even I have to say that the pod racing scenes are pretty awesome. I’d like to see that zooma-zoom-zoom in 3D. And now I have an even better reason. That’s right, Free Swag. There will be free Hasbro giveaways during opening weekend, February 10-12. But for a lucky few, there will be more….
Shrinks. Can’t live with ‘em, can’t truly reshape their consciousness for a more pleasing outcome without taking into consideration the many ways that could cause irreparable harm to the psyche. Best to just watch A Dangerous Method, the fascinating story of Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and their patient/fellow psychoanalyst-to-be Sabina Spielrein. After watching, you can tell me how that made you feel. It made me feel fantastic.
Everybody knows who Sigmund Freud is. The father of psychoanalysis, he’s the one who seems to be able to break everything down into something sexual and is now more of a sly joke than scientist to most folks. “Sometimes a banana is just a banana, Anna.” Carl Jung is well known, but not to the point of being a touchstone like Freud. Jung just isn’t in everyone’s collective unconscious yet…but since he’s the one that coined that term (and he’s more respected nowadays), he should be. Freud and Jung had a longstanding professional camaraderie that blossomed into friendship, only to crash and burn when their ideologies clashed. A Dangerous Method adds Spielrein, a gorgeous but dangerously neurotic woman who becomes a patient of Jung’s. In this movie, her arrival is the catalyst that shifts Jung’s ideas, ultimately causing the rift between Jung and Freud. In director David Cronenberg’s hands it’s a mesmerizing look at the humanity behind these great minds. Performances by Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender and Keira Knightley make this film one to watch when they announce the Oscar noms.
Tuskegee Airmen. World War II. Awe-inspiring airfights. You know what that means; time to ogle men in uniform, amIright?
George Lucas revisits his well-known love of classic war-genre feats of awesome in Red Tails, a story about the amazing pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group (aka The Tuskegee Airmen). It’s a real-life story about how honor, duty and fearlessness knows no color. Unfortunately, Lucas doesn’t seem to have any interest in creating fully fleshed characters or believable dialogue, and instead relies on cheap sentiment, cliches and rushed direction so he can scoot over to Skywalker Ranch and play with his CGI. That it’s a beautiful film can’t be denied, but the Tuskegee Airmen, and this movie, deserve better.
Coffee and cobbler will lead to the breakdown of our society. Now you know. In Roman Polanski’s Carnage, two couples — seemingly intelligent, affable adults — become unglued, morphing into self-serving jerks while trying to deal with the aftermath of a schoolyard fight between their two sons.
I couldn’t help but liken this movie to Mike Nichols’ Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. As with Nichols’ film, Carnage is based on a stage play. It also deals with highly educated upper-middle class white couples breaking down over a prolonged visit (doubting if the liberal Longstreets are upper-middle? I’d like to know how else they could afford the lavish apartment/condo they’ve got. Seriously, it’s awe-inspiring.) But unlike Woolf, Carnage is a comedy. And it’s hilarious. No, fans of Louis C.K., I’m not abusing the term. Okay, maybe I’m not dirty and haven’t been in a gutter (lately). But I was close.
Can you believe it’s been over 20 years since Disney’s Beauty and the Beast was first released? On the one hand, over these years it’s become a timeless classic. But to me it also feels like it was just last week I first saw Belle and her Beast on the big screen.
Oh wait. It WAS last week. But this time I saw them in 3D, with the Beauty and the Beast 3D release. And lemme tell you, fans of this movie that wonder if they should shell the hard-earned for this version…yes, you should. It’s a totally new way to see the film, and it’s a wonderful use of 3D. Plus hey, tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme. You know the drill.
January. The notorious dumping ground of films that weren’t good enough to warrant any kind of award recognition the year before, and aren’t groovy enough to be a fun ride for Summer blockbuster season. I’m not talking about movies that had an “awards release” late in the prior year. They’re just cheating the system, but I’m all for it if that means the good stuff continues to trickle into the multiplexes for a few extra weeks.
But then there are the wild cards; the movies released for a hiccup in the prior year but have no real business appearing in Best Movie lists. These are the films that you’re supposed to like if you know what’s good for you. If you don’t? Well, guess you’re not in the club. And guess I’m not in the club when it comes to Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; as a book it was a striking look at Cold War espionage. As a movie it just left me cold.
Where did 2011 go? Guess that Rabbit Year hopped away quickly…but 2012 is the Year of the Dragon. (The Chinese New Year is January 23rd, so get over to your favorite Chinese place and celebrate!) Such a mythological figure obviously bodes well for a year of geekery, but how about 2011? Well, let’s see what folks here at Geek for e had to say about it!
Is it just me, or did 2011 zip by? Ah well. The faster winter goes along, the sooner we get…to CONVENTION SEASON Y’ALL!
Yes. The time when we all get to head indoors and share love, fannishness and for some, their personal odor (psst: deodorant. Pass it on.) Baltimore Comic-Con has just released it’s initial guest list, and gotta say I’m pretty stoked. More will come as the date draws closer, but it’s already looking like a very fannish 2012….
Hey fellow geeks! Hope you had a great Christmakwanzakah of Festivus! Hope grievances were aired, poles were danced around, eggnog drunk and dreidel’s spun under the lovely glow of beeswax candles.
Did you get everything that you wanted? No? Me neither. But I can help you out if you let me. Come on out to White Marsh on January 5th and find me, and you can score some cool DVD’s!
Here’s the deal; I tell you where I’ll be and when, you be the first person to find me, and you win! Yeah it’s easy, but I have to keep it that way. I’m not good with complicated.
