Ryan and I are coming up on the back half of the Disney Renaissance, which reminds me a lot of the risks the animation studio took during the "Dark Ages" of the 70s and early 80s. The storytellers in place at the time were concerned with telling different kinds of stories that were a little … Continue reading (Movie Reviews) A Hunchback, a Demigod and an Only Child Walk Into a Bar…
Category: Movies
(Reviews) The Circle of Life, The Colors of the Wind, The Virtue of Playing Nice
Ryan and I are holding a weekly film festival where we watch the entire Disney animated canon in chronological order, from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs all the way to Zootopia. Currently, we're up to the latter half of the studio's first Renaissance. Here are my reviews of the latest batch of movies! The … Continue reading (Reviews) The Circle of Life, The Colors of the Wind, The Virtue of Playing Nice
(Movie Review) Mice in Australia, A Bookworm and Her Monster, and a Djinn with ADD
The Rescuers Down Under (1990) Remember that hot second in the 90s when Australia was the coolest thing ever? It was a strange moment in pop culture -- all of a sudden, Paul Hogan was awesome again, and boomerangs were a fad, and Yahoo Serious was unleashed on the world. I'm still not sure why … Continue reading (Movie Review) Mice in Australia, A Bookworm and Her Monster, and a Djinn with ADD
(Review) A Leprechaun, a Mermaid, and a Greaser
Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959) Darby O'Gill is a walking cliche, that "drunken" old Irishman you find in every pub telling tall tales about his escapades with leprechauns and other Fair Folk. What's different is Darby doesn't drink and his stories are all true; so when he is finally sacked by Lord Fitzpatrick, … Continue reading (Review) A Leprechaun, a Mermaid, and a Greaser
(Movie Review) Judgement at Nuremberg
Judgement at Nuremberg (1961) Starring Spencer Tracy, Maximillian Schell, Burt Lancaster and Marlene Dietrich Directed by Stanley Kramer Written by Abby Mann A few years after the end of World War II, a battered Europe is beyond ready to move on. Germany, now that the atrocities of the concentration camps are out in the open, … Continue reading (Movie Review) Judgement at Nuremberg
(Movies) My Last 3: Get Hard, The Martian, Quick Change
Get Hard (2015) Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart had to manage a storm of controversy around the release of this film; a lot of people thought it was pretty blatantly racist at worst, and tone-deaf at best. Their response wasn't the best -- basically, they were telling racist jokes to make fun of the people … Continue reading (Movies) My Last 3: Get Hard, The Martian, Quick Change
(Movies) My Last 3: The Pyramid, The Book Thief, The Sacrament
The Pyramid (2014) This is a minor found-footage horror movie that I had been interested in mainly because I thought (mistakenly) that it was directed by Alexandre Aja. He's a horror director I've really come to like after watching High Tension, the remake of The Hills Have Eyes, and Horns. It turns out he only … Continue reading (Movies) My Last 3: The Pyramid, The Book Thief, The Sacrament
My Last Three Movies: Oliver and Company, Man of the Year, The Giver
Oliver and Company (1988) Ryan and I are making our way through the library of Disney animated film, and we've made our way up to this re-imagining of Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. The action is transplanted from Victorian London to modern-day New York, and Oliver is an orphaned orange cat that no one wanted. … Continue reading My Last Three Movies: Oliver and Company, Man of the Year, The Giver
My Last Three Movies: Before Sunrise, Ragtime, Snowpiercer
Before Sunrise (1995) This is one of the earliest works for Richard Linklater, the writer-director responsible for my favorite film last year, Boyhood. It was a little cult film, though critics love it and it's still really fondly remembered by film-loves everywhere. I can see why -- this is a quintessential Linklater film: the narrative … Continue reading My Last Three Movies: Before Sunrise, Ragtime, Snowpiercer
My Last Three Movies: Final Destination 3, Tammy, Jersey Boys
Final Destination 3 (2006) If you've never seen a Final Destination movie, it pretty much goes like this: one person in a group of high-school/college students sees a horrifying calamity unfolding in their imagination right before it happens and freaks the hell out. They (and a number of friends and acquaintances) avoid the disaster, but … Continue reading My Last Three Movies: Final Destination 3, Tammy, Jersey Boys
From the Desk of Jakebe T. Rabbit 