(500) Days of Summer
Boy Meets Girl. Boy Falls in Love. Girl Doesn’t. 
It’s as simple as that and yet it’s so much more, so wonderful. Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as Tom, as a greetings card writer who meets Zooey Deschanel’s Summer, his bosses new assistant, and quickly falls in love.
This is a film about the relationship of the two, constructed in a fantastic way. The film constantly jumps timelines, from the beginning when they meet, to after they have broken up, and in between when they were together and happy. The timeline jumps are coherent and make sense in a way that comes as a bit of a surprise.
Deschanel and Gordon-Levitt are perfect for their roles in an indie film. Neither had become huge stars just yet, allowing for the audience to see them as their characters more than as actors. 
The costuming was done so well as both seem to stand out from the crowd and yet fit together. The use of blue for Summer, and nobody else, in the film is just a genius move.
The film boasts one of the best, or at least one of my favourite, soundtracks. It stays perfectly in line with the style of the film and the characters. They also do a great job of blending the music of the film world and that not of the film world.
To top it all off, the film is funny, emotional and relatable. Marc Webb does a fantastic job with his first feature length. A movie that will easily find itself in your top 10 list.
(500) Days of Summer - 10/10

(500) Days of Summer

Boy Meets Girl. Boy Falls in Love. Girl Doesn’t. 

It’s as simple as that and yet it’s so much more, so wonderful. Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as Tom, as a greetings card writer who meets Zooey Deschanel’s Summer, his bosses new assistant, and quickly falls in love.

This is a film about the relationship of the two, constructed in a fantastic way. The film constantly jumps timelines, from the beginning when they meet, to after they have broken up, and in between when they were together and happy. The timeline jumps are coherent and make sense in a way that comes as a bit of a surprise.

Deschanel and Gordon-Levitt are perfect for their roles in an indie film. Neither had become huge stars just yet, allowing for the audience to see them as their characters more than as actors. 

The costuming was done so well as both seem to stand out from the crowd and yet fit together. The use of blue for Summer, and nobody else, in the film is just a genius move.

The film boasts one of the best, or at least one of my favourite, soundtracks. It stays perfectly in line with the style of the film and the characters. They also do a great job of blending the music of the film world and that not of the film world.

To top it all off, the film is funny, emotional and relatable. Marc Webb does a fantastic job with his first feature length. A movie that will easily find itself in your top 10 list.

(500) Days of Summer - 10/10

The Shawshank Redemption
Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is sentenced to two life sentences for killing his wife and her lover. He is sent to Shawshank Prison, where the former banker becomes friends with Red (Morgan Freeman) and works his way into the good company of guards and Warden Norton (Bob Gunton).
The film is a master piece of story telling as it goes through the 20 plus years of Dufresne imprisonment. The film is well over two hours, but hardly feels it as the stories are so well told and flow so well from one to the other. 
Quite possibly the best prison movie ever made, if you haven’t seen this you need to.
The Shawshank Redemption - 10/10

The Shawshank Redemption

Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is sentenced to two life sentences for killing his wife and her lover. He is sent to Shawshank Prison, where the former banker becomes friends with Red (Morgan Freeman) and works his way into the good company of guards and Warden Norton (Bob Gunton).

The film is a master piece of story telling as it goes through the 20 plus years of Dufresne imprisonment. The film is well over two hours, but hardly feels it as the stories are so well told and flow so well from one to the other. 

Quite possibly the best prison movie ever made, if you haven’t seen this you need to.

The Shawshank Redemption - 10/10

Dogma
Written and directed by Kevin Smith, Dogma is a hilarious and entertaining poke at organized religion, specifically Christianity.
The film stars Ben Affleck and Matt Damon as two angels, banished from heaven by God, who try to return by visiting a church in New Jersey. Bethany (Linda Fiorentino) is visted by an angel and given the task of stopping Loki (Damon) and Bartleby (Affleck) from getting to the church. Along with the help of recurring Kevin Smith characters Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) the three embark on a religious mission that makes for a hilarious film.
Kevin Smith’s writing is always very witty and driven by the dialogue and banter between characters and Dogma is no different. As the movie progresses, Bethany learns more and more about Christianity, in a way that is very entertaining to the viewing audience.
This film is now amongst my favourites, and is certainly my favourite Kevin Smith feature that I have seen. Get your eyes feasting on this one.
Dogma - 9.5/10

Dogma

Written and directed by Kevin Smith, Dogma is a hilarious and entertaining poke at organized religion, specifically Christianity.

The film stars Ben Affleck and Matt Damon as two angels, banished from heaven by God, who try to return by visiting a church in New Jersey. Bethany (Linda Fiorentino) is visted by an angel and given the task of stopping Loki (Damon) and Bartleby (Affleck) from getting to the church. Along with the help of recurring Kevin Smith characters Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) the three embark on a religious mission that makes for a hilarious film.

Kevin Smith’s writing is always very witty and driven by the dialogue and banter between characters and Dogma is no different. As the movie progresses, Bethany learns more and more about Christianity, in a way that is very entertaining to the viewing audience.

This film is now amongst my favourites, and is certainly my favourite Kevin Smith feature that I have seen. Get your eyes feasting on this one.

Dogma - 9.5/10

This looks really interesting. I definitely want to see it.
totalfilm:

Maniac gets an intense new trailer: watch now
Maniac has released a second official trailer, and just like the first one, this latest glimpse of Elijah Wood’s lady-scalping nutjob is full of boobs, gore and creepiness…

This looks really interesting. I definitely want to see it.

totalfilm:

Maniac gets an intense new trailer: watch now

Maniac has released a second official trailer, and just like the first one, this latest glimpse of Elijah Wood’s lady-scalping nutjob is full of boobs, gore and creepiness…

One Man Club Presents: Bad People - A Short Story

They say your life flashes before your eyes if you happen to be near death. This was not the case for Jason. He was focused solely on the pistol a few inches from putting a bullet between his eyes, and the tall, handsome man in a suit at the other end of it.

This other man now held Jason’s life captive. He had all the control on whether Jason lived or died. They had never met before.

“Bad things happen to bad people.” The man in the suit said, in a low and assertive voice. “You do something bad, it’ll come back to bite you in the ass. It’s called karma”.

“You can call me karma. And the gun’s here to bite you in the ass. Metaphorically of course, as really it’s aimed at your head. But you can see that”. The tone in his voice, the calmness and the wittiness of how this man spoke said something more to Jason. This guy meant business, this was his business. He wasn’t going to hesitate.

The biggest problem for Jason, other than the man holding the gun, was understanding why he ended up in an abandon warehouse at a loading dock, a few miles north of the town. He knew the how. A black car followed him from his house on his way to work, and four men jumped out, grabbed him, blindfolded him and brought him to Karma.

This was a confusing time. Should he ask why he was here? Should he plead for his life? Why did they blindfold him if they were going to kill him? As all these thoughts went through his head, the man in the suit spoke again.

“See, I’m here to take care of some things. I have been hired by a very wealthy and powerful man. A man whom you have crossed”.

A confused look appeared on Jason’s face.

“See, the problem with people who are wealthy, and have power, is that they are also greedy. They don’t like to share their power or wealth. So when you take money from them, they get angry. When they get angry, they call me.”

Drops of fear and confusion induced sweat fell from Jason’s brow. From out of the shadows stepped an older gentleman in an expensive suit. His hair greyed and stomach bulging. He looked like he’d been a Wall Street stiff his whole life and now he just sat around collecting his money from where it may come.

“You probably don’t know who I am. My face is probably unrecognizable. But that tends to happen when you try to fuck someone in the ass!” He shouted angrily as his faced turned red. “You are going to repay me kid. All that coke you stole. You’re going to pay for it and then you’re going to return it, because you think you’re a nice guy.”

It started to come together, this was one of the biggest drug dealers in town. He was never a Wall Street stiff, he was just a seasoned veteran of the drug trafficing game, eluding cops for thirty plus years. And now Jason owed him $50,000 worth of cocain, and $50,000. There was no way he was going to be able to pay him back.

“I don’t have your drugs. And I certainly don’t have that kind of money”.

The man in the suit spoke again. “Like I said kid…” he cocked the gun, “bad people. Bad things. Nothing personal, it’s just karma”.

As Jason closed his eyes, preparing to die, the man in the suit swung around to his right and pointed the gun at the grey-haired man in an overpriced suit.

“Mr. Dickson, you’re under arrest!” The four men who had picked him up and were lurking in the shadows rushed towards Mr. Dickson and quickly put him in handcuffs. They were FBI agents, who had worked their way into his company and set up the entire thing. The tall man in the black suit, their team leader “Agent Fox, FBI” he said as he put his hand on Jason’s shoulder as if to calm him down.

“Sorry ‘bout all that. Anderson here will take you home”. Jason was even more confused than ever. But Agent Fox walked away, and Jason fallowed Agent Anderson into a car. They drove away from the scene with a million questions, and only one answer.

Bad people. Bad things. Karma. 

Mallrats
Kevin Smith’s sophmore film starring Jason Lee and Jeremy London as two best friends who are dumped by their girlfriends on the same day. They head to the local to hang out and deal with their situations.
This film is very well done for a movie about kids hanging out in a mall, trying to win back girlfriends while avoiding trouble. It is a witty comedy in which the dialogue takes control of the film. Jay and Silent Bob are their typical mischief funny, but it’s Jason Lee who steals the film with his quips about comics, girls, and life.
This film feels like a male-version of a chick-flick. So grab a few buddies, a couple beers and enjoy.
Mallrats - 8/10

Mallrats

Kevin Smith’s sophmore film starring Jason Lee and Jeremy London as two best friends who are dumped by their girlfriends on the same day. They head to the local to hang out and deal with their situations.

This film is very well done for a movie about kids hanging out in a mall, trying to win back girlfriends while avoiding trouble. It is a witty comedy in which the dialogue takes control of the film. Jay and Silent Bob are their typical mischief funny, but it’s Jason Lee who steals the film with his quips about comics, girls, and life.

This film feels like a male-version of a chick-flick. So grab a few buddies, a couple beers and enjoy.

Mallrats - 8/10

Killing Them Softly At Cannes

A little while ago I mentioned reading an article about a new Brad Pitt film entitled Killing Them Softly. It was recently screened at the Cannes Film Festival and has been likened to 2011 film Drive starring Ryan Gosling. In the article making this connection, it is also suggested that Pitt’s character could gain cult status similar to his portrayal of Tyler Durden in Fight Club.

This is all good news regarding this film, though we still await a trailer.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

Absolutely can’t wait for the follow-up to one of the funniest movies of all-time. I have blind faith this will be every bit as good as the first one and result in memorable quotes to be used regularly by all viewers for the next 5-plus years.

Skyfall

I’m very excited to see the first trailer for the new James Bond film Skyfall. Daniel Craig has been fantastic in the role of agent 007, and his third reprisal of the role looks to be every bit as good as the first two.

Skyfall is set to hit theatres in November.

Chronicle
When three Seatlle-based high school seniors stumble upon a cave outside of a party, they find themselves with telekinesis powers. As they learn to harness and strengthen their powers, their small time tricks turn into big-time problems.
This is another one in a growing list of films to use the “found-footage” style of filmmaking, attempting to create an even more realistic film universe. A number of them have become tiring, however this film is the perfect type for this style. As the three boys harness their powers, all the while being taped by socially-distant Andrew (Dane DeHaan) we see how they go from keeping it a secret and playing small time pranks, to bringing it to an audience and eventually misusing this newfound super-human power.
The found footage is done well, especially by having Andrew’s character use his powers to hold the camera and allow it to float around the room, freeing himself from being off-screen for most of the movie.
The film also manages to tackle some key social issues facing teenagers today, that have been around for years, allowing for Andrew to be a relateable character that can draw sympathy from the viewers.
Chronicle is quite well done as it is shot well, well acted and is able to blend a great story with a cool concept. This is one worth checking out.
Chronicle - 8.5/10

Chronicle

When three Seatlle-based high school seniors stumble upon a cave outside of a party, they find themselves with telekinesis powers. As they learn to harness and strengthen their powers, their small time tricks turn into big-time problems.

This is another one in a growing list of films to use the “found-footage” style of filmmaking, attempting to create an even more realistic film universe. A number of them have become tiring, however this film is the perfect type for this style. As the three boys harness their powers, all the while being taped by socially-distant Andrew (Dane DeHaan) we see how they go from keeping it a secret and playing small time pranks, to bringing it to an audience and eventually misusing this newfound super-human power.

The found footage is done well, especially by having Andrew’s character use his powers to hold the camera and allow it to float around the room, freeing himself from being off-screen for most of the movie.

The film also manages to tackle some key social issues facing teenagers today, that have been around for years, allowing for Andrew to be a relateable character that can draw sympathy from the viewers.

Chronicle is quite well done as it is shot well, well acted and is able to blend a great story with a cool concept. This is one worth checking out.

Chronicle - 8.5/10