So many movies released in the past twelve months felt like advertisements that it was nice when the year periodically decided to come back from commercial break. That doesn’t mean that every non-blockbuster was a masterpiece. For every gem like The Grand Budapest Hotel there were duds like Palo Alto or Transcendence. And don’t get me started on The Giver again. I […]
Thibault’s Top Movies of 2014
2014 was a great year for the cinema industry from a critical standpoint, even if it was a terrible year business-wise. Failing box office returns were almost a good thing; I enjoyed the quieter transitional period for U.S. film before we head into a year laden with mega-franchises (Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Avengers, etc.). I discovered comparatively smaller movies in that time, […]
Following from a Nascent Nolan
While innovative, hugely popular big budget blockbusters are Christopher Nolan’s staple these days, life wasn’t always so glamorous for the English director. Sixteen years ago, Nolan made his foray into feature-length filmmaking with the ultra-low budget (£3,000) Following. This often forgotten gem of an independent film is unquestionably nascent Nolan. Watching Following in the context of his subsequent productions offers a fascinating insight […]
Interstellar with Nate and Søren
Nate’s Review Interstellar surprised me. I walked into the theater expecting to see a bombastic space exploration flick. I did not expect the film to bring me to tears, but it did. The plot is centered on the final frontier, but Christopher Nolan’s latest is more than that. There’s a soul beneath the science-fiction spectacle. […]
Looking Back: The Dark Knight
Six years ago today, one of the most critically acclaimed movies of all time hit theaters. The Dark Knight won over 100 awards when it was released, including academy awards for both sound editing and the late Heath Ledger’s performance. It has remained in the public consciousness since 2008 and is regularly hailed as one of the best […]
Superhero Madness, Part 3: DC
DC has been making waves in the industry these past few weeks. With the revelation that Ben Affleck is playing a Frank Miller-inspired Batman, speculation on the upcoming Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice has run rampant. Will Jason Momoa be playing Aquaman? Is David S. Goyer the absolute worst person to be handling this superhero […]
On Hooper, Refn, and Cinematography
This conversation got started when I, a long-time critic of director Tom Hooper, posted a link that lambasted the cinematography of Hooper’s films. Søren didn’t see the issue, and defended Hooper. The debate touched on director Nicolas Winding Refn, whom Søren found much more visually irritating than Hooper, as well as whether or not interesting […]
Is Academy History Weighing Gravity Down?
3D. Motion capture. High frame rate. We live in an age where technological perfection is not only possible, but expected. Computer generated sound and visual effects are better than ever before. As a result, modern cinema is bound only by the imaginations of filmmakers. This year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences saw […]
Sherlock Holmes, Batman, and the Adaptation Question
Josh Rosenfield and Søren Hough often find themselves at odds with one another over topics in film and television. Below is a transcript of one such conversation wherein Josh and Søren debate the merits of the Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes movies versus Stephan Moffat’s BBC Sherlock television series. The scope of the back-and-forth then broadens […]
Dare to Dream of a Better Christopher Nolan
This is a multilayered dreamscape, and you are at its core. You are finished dreaming and would like to regain your consciousness. And in order to ascend, you must get a “kick” to wake up in the next level of the dream world. Under normal circumstances, one can achieve this kick by “dying” – by […]
The Dark Knight Rises with Søren and Stuart
Here’s how our Dueling Reviews format works: each contributor writes an independent, abbreviated, spoiler-free review of the film. Then, the contributors come together in a podcast and discuss the movie in depth. Søren’s Review At this point, I think that most people are aware that I just plain old didn’t like The Dark Knight. The film won endless […]
Superheroes Don’t Need to be Antiheroes
I once again find myself at odds with one of Roger Ebert’s Far-Flung Correspondents. Omer Mozaffar recently wrote an article entitled “The Dark Knight Rises, an American genre falls,” which you can read here. I wrote this piece in direct response to Mr. Mozaffar. This was a very astute assessment of the Dark Knight trilogy – Mr. Mozaffar succinctly summarized the […]
Batmobile Documentary Incoming
UPDATE: The Huffington Post has officially revealed The Batmobile, a documentary set to air on the CW on July 16 at 8pm EST. The special will premiere at Comic-Con on July 12. You may remember the above image from a post I wrote on Twitter and Facebook. At the time, it was unclear under what circumstances the photo […]
The Dark Knight
I cannot tell you how sorrowfully my hopes were dashed when I first saw The Dark Knight in theaters. Unfortunately, Nolan refuses to realize both the limitations of an audience’s attention span, and how much plot one can squeeze into one film. Christopher Nolan created what, as disparate elements, are absolutely amazing components of a […]
