Simply click on the picture for the return of the classic newsletter.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Return of Desert Cinema, Issue 1
Simply click on the picture for the return of the classic newsletter.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
Trailer Park for the Desert CInema Podcast
Hope you enjoy the trailers like we did. Don't forget to become a friend-0 of ours on Facebook. And download the podcast on iTunes, keyword Desert Cinema. Thanks!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Couples Retreat Review
It's hard for me to watch the movie Margot at the Wedding. In my two viewings, I hated Margot more and more each time. Couples Retreat falls in the same vein. I hate all the couples, so the real question is why do I want to spend nearly 2 hours with them? And even so, why do I want to spend 2 hours with them analysing WHY it is I hate them.
This...well we'll call it a comedy but to be honest I don't know WHAT it is, is what major Hollywood funnymen Vince Vaughn, John Favreau, and Jason Bateman have decided to make when they don't want to be funny. It's a story of 4 couples at different points in their relationships coming together on an island named Eden, where they are expecting to have a grand old time swimming, drinking, jet skiing, fishing, and being tourists. What they get is a couples skill building course where the fun and games come second to strengthening ones relationship.
What ensues is annoying and loud, immature and unfunny, and overall sad. While Vince Vaughns character and his wife seem to have a steady hand on what it's like to be married, the other 3 couples ruin whatever wit and insight is given in their portion of the story. Jason Bateman and his characters wife played by Kristen Bell, are the worst, with Bateman being loud and controlling, and his wife butting heads with him at every turn. Favreau and his wife cheat on each other and seem to not love each other any more and Fazion Love's character and his girlfriend simply don't add anything but wasted time and space.
If this is a comedy, why is it not funny? Vaughn gets some good zingers across, but there are very little laughs in a movie that seems to dwell in it's own pity and sadness til the last 20 minutes. And when the ending finally does come, we know it's Hollywood style ending is unrealistic and unsatisfying. Why do I want characters fight for an hour and a half and see 10 minutes of happiness? I don't. Which is why Couples Retreat ends up being one of the worst movies of the year. Grade - D
This...well we'll call it a comedy but to be honest I don't know WHAT it is, is what major Hollywood funnymen Vince Vaughn, John Favreau, and Jason Bateman have decided to make when they don't want to be funny. It's a story of 4 couples at different points in their relationships coming together on an island named Eden, where they are expecting to have a grand old time swimming, drinking, jet skiing, fishing, and being tourists. What they get is a couples skill building course where the fun and games come second to strengthening ones relationship.
What ensues is annoying and loud, immature and unfunny, and overall sad. While Vince Vaughns character and his wife seem to have a steady hand on what it's like to be married, the other 3 couples ruin whatever wit and insight is given in their portion of the story. Jason Bateman and his characters wife played by Kristen Bell, are the worst, with Bateman being loud and controlling, and his wife butting heads with him at every turn. Favreau and his wife cheat on each other and seem to not love each other any more and Fazion Love's character and his girlfriend simply don't add anything but wasted time and space.
If this is a comedy, why is it not funny? Vaughn gets some good zingers across, but there are very little laughs in a movie that seems to dwell in it's own pity and sadness til the last 20 minutes. And when the ending finally does come, we know it's Hollywood style ending is unrealistic and unsatisfying. Why do I want characters fight for an hour and a half and see 10 minutes of happiness? I don't. Which is why Couples Retreat ends up being one of the worst movies of the year. Grade - D
Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3D reactions
I'm not going to review the Toy Story films. They don't need my praise to convince you to see them, they're two of the finest films ever made. But IF you do see this and can catch a showing of these movies in 3D I highly reccomend it. And not just these movies but Pixar 3D in general.
About an hour into the first film my friend leaned over and says something about feeling shammed because the movie's didn't feel 3D. YES. That's what I love about my experience with both Up and the Toy Story films in 3D. No flying objects at the screen, no fire comming out at you, these movies were made without the three dimensions and then had enhanced visuals added later. And it works better than specifically catered 3D films.
Both movies 3D help enhance the visuals and emerce you MORE into the movie. I became unaware of how far away the screen was, unaware of the rows and rows of seats in front of me, and was in my own world for 3 hours with the movies. It was worth it entirely.
The intermission also deserves a mention, because it was fairly entertaining with clips, fun facts, and trivia. If it doesn't take 10 minutes for you to get food and go to the bathroom I'd reccomend heading back for the fun in the theater. Both films are A's. They're great. It's Pixar.
About an hour into the first film my friend leaned over and says something about feeling shammed because the movie's didn't feel 3D. YES. That's what I love about my experience with both Up and the Toy Story films in 3D. No flying objects at the screen, no fire comming out at you, these movies were made without the three dimensions and then had enhanced visuals added later. And it works better than specifically catered 3D films.
Both movies 3D help enhance the visuals and emerce you MORE into the movie. I became unaware of how far away the screen was, unaware of the rows and rows of seats in front of me, and was in my own world for 3 hours with the movies. It was worth it entirely.
The intermission also deserves a mention, because it was fairly entertaining with clips, fun facts, and trivia. If it doesn't take 10 minutes for you to get food and go to the bathroom I'd reccomend heading back for the fun in the theater. Both films are A's. They're great. It's Pixar.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Toy Story 3 Trailer
...It's Pixar. It's Toy Story. It's Witty. It's Original. It's Funny. It's got amazing voice talent. It's....
It's...
It's...
Well it's an A people. I don't know what you want. Just watch it. It's AMAZING. Thats the word. Amazing!
Whip It Review
Whip it can draw a lot of comparisons to this years film Adventureland. Both take place in Small-Town society life, both have a similar 80's style feel (though Adventureland IS set in 1987), both are coming of age stories, and both have the witty indie teenage feel needed in a comedy today (Juno, Superbad). And while I don't place Whip It above Adventureland (look for my podcast on the comparisons later this week), but I do think that it's entertaining and polished enough to garner a viewing.
Whip It stars Ellen Page, an actress who seemingly disappeared after Juno. She's back, still a feisty teenager with angst. I can respect Page and first time director Drew Barrymore, for not making character Bliss Cavendar a replica of Juno MacGuff. Bliss is more reserved, quieter, and less about pithy dialogue and more about pithy outbursts. While I'd have been more comfortable watching another Juno-like character for an hour and a half, the time we spend with Bliss proves to be entertaining.
Whip It stars Ellen Page, an actress who seemingly disappeared after Juno. She's back, still a feisty teenager with angst. I can respect Page and first time director Drew Barrymore, for not making character Bliss Cavendar a replica of Juno MacGuff. Bliss is more reserved, quieter, and less about pithy dialogue and more about pithy outbursts. While I'd have been more comfortable watching another Juno-like character for an hour and a half, the time we spend with Bliss proves to be entertaining.The supporting cast backing page is well put together. Page's "teammates" are full of talent including Barrymore herself, SNL star Kristen Wiig, Zoe Bell, Eve, and the third Wilson brother (to that of Owen and Luke) Andrew Wilson, who gets MVP of the film and steals all of his scenes. It's not the team that is an issue in the cast, although they begin to get dull as the movie progresses, it's Bliss's boyfriend Oliver, played by musician Landon Pigg. Pigg is one dimensional, and while we root for their relationship, he doesn't ever give us a reason to root for him. A great bit role by Jimmy Fallon and a strong performance by Marcia Gay Harden finish it off.
The soundtrack is amazing, including everything from Radiohead, to Kaiser Chiefs, to Kings of Leon. The comedy works but isn't overbearing, and the coming-of-age portion of it still pulls at my heartstrings. There are two major flaws the movie tries and fails to overcome. It's not original. Not in the story, but in the basic design. We've seen this a hundred times before, and it's not that it doesn't work, but it's that it is predictable. The second is the camera work. Nothing bold or ambitious, but the scenes involving the rollerskating never pan out (pardon any pun). They are shaky and hard to follow about 70 percent of the time and it becomes frustrating to watch.
The soundtrack is amazing, including everything from Radiohead, to Kaiser Chiefs, to Kings of Leon. The comedy works but isn't overbearing, and the coming-of-age portion of it still pulls at my heartstrings. There are two major flaws the movie tries and fails to overcome. It's not original. Not in the story, but in the basic design. We've seen this a hundred times before, and it's not that it doesn't work, but it's that it is predictable. The second is the camera work. Nothing bold or ambitious, but the scenes involving the rollerskating never pan out (pardon any pun). They are shaky and hard to follow about 70 percent of the time and it becomes frustrating to watch.
But other than those two points, the movie is a success. It's entertaining, well written, fairly well acted, and is able to makes us believe 2009 Texas is living in the 80's. Amazing. Grade - B+
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Top 5 Movies You Can Find Free Online (Legally)
http://speedcine.com/?l=a&t=free
First a description of the link above. Speedcine is something I saw on slashfilm the other day and so I figured I'd do something on it. The site gives you a list of every movie you can currently find on the Internet for FREE. Pay nothing. Zero. I'd try it.
With the Internet being what it is today, I thought it’d be fitting to discuss what movies you CAN see online with a top 5 list. There is some excellent stuff online for free, and I intend on exposing it. (Posted with the lists is the link in case you'd just like to start watching now. I'm podcasting the top 5 on Friday, so look for my thoughts then here at http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=331533589)
5. (THREE WAY TIE)
Ghostbusters http://crackle.com/c/Ghostbusters
Groundhogs Day http://crackle.com/c/Groundhog_Day
Stripes http://crackle.com/c/Stripes
Yeah so I cheated. I couldn’t find just one Bill Murray film to put on the list so I put all 3 on. Not necessarily on this list because you haven’t seen them, but because they’re timeless. If you’re girlfriend breaks up with you? Ghostbusters are right there to hold your hand. Loose your house? Go ahead and wake up day after day with one of the funniest actors we have. All classic comedy.
4. Stagecoach http://www.jaman.com/now-playing/?videoID=0tfaJEV2X518
John Fords epic western set the standard for all others to come after it. If for nothing else, you should watch it to see a young John Wayne influence an entire genre of film.
3. Confessions of a Superhero http://www.hulu.com/confessions-of-a-superhero
This 2007 documentary follows the lives of street actors who dress up as superheroes to cover their failed acting careers and make some money. In honesty you’ve never seen such a depressing film involving Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and the Hulk. At times the film is uplifting (the man playing Superman is both interesting and somewhat scary at times) and at others devastating. A truly interesting doc.
2. Big Fish http://crackle.com/c/Big_Fish/Big_Fish/2462307
If you haven’t seen Tim Burton’s finest film to day you’re doing yourself a disservice. In Burton style we witness a grand epic paralleled with a tragic reality. Truly some of the best cinema in the past decade.
1. Adaptation http://crackle.com/c/Adaptation
I adore Charlie Kaufman, and his movies aren’t as widely recognized as they should be. Adaptation fits snuggly in-between the very good yet overly bizarre Being John Malkovitch, and the perfected weirdness of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Adaptation is the story of the writer, Charlie, and his brother Donald, as they both try and write movies. Both characters are played by Nicholas Cage. The fun in it all is that Charlie’s character is trying to write the very film that we’re watching on the screen. Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper also co-star.
Honorable Mentions: Supersize Me, Fear and Loathing in Las Veags, Taxi Driver
First a description of the link above. Speedcine is something I saw on slashfilm the other day and so I figured I'd do something on it. The site gives you a list of every movie you can currently find on the Internet for FREE. Pay nothing. Zero. I'd try it.
With the Internet being what it is today, I thought it’d be fitting to discuss what movies you CAN see online with a top 5 list. There is some excellent stuff online for free, and I intend on exposing it. (Posted with the lists is the link in case you'd just like to start watching now. I'm podcasting the top 5 on Friday, so look for my thoughts then here at http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=331533589)
5. (THREE WAY TIE)
Ghostbusters http://crackle.com/c/Ghostbusters
Groundhogs Day http://crackle.com/c/Groundhog_Day
Stripes http://crackle.com/c/Stripes
Yeah so I cheated. I couldn’t find just one Bill Murray film to put on the list so I put all 3 on. Not necessarily on this list because you haven’t seen them, but because they’re timeless. If you’re girlfriend breaks up with you? Ghostbusters are right there to hold your hand. Loose your house? Go ahead and wake up day after day with one of the funniest actors we have. All classic comedy.
4. Stagecoach http://www.jaman.com/now-playing/?videoID=0tfaJEV2X518
John Fords epic western set the standard for all others to come after it. If for nothing else, you should watch it to see a young John Wayne influence an entire genre of film.
3. Confessions of a Superhero http://www.hulu.com/confessions-of-a-superhero
This 2007 documentary follows the lives of street actors who dress up as superheroes to cover their failed acting careers and make some money. In honesty you’ve never seen such a depressing film involving Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and the Hulk. At times the film is uplifting (the man playing Superman is both interesting and somewhat scary at times) and at others devastating. A truly interesting doc.
2. Big Fish http://crackle.com/c/Big_Fish/Big_Fish/2462307
If you haven’t seen Tim Burton’s finest film to day you’re doing yourself a disservice. In Burton style we witness a grand epic paralleled with a tragic reality. Truly some of the best cinema in the past decade.
1. Adaptation http://crackle.com/c/Adaptation
I adore Charlie Kaufman, and his movies aren’t as widely recognized as they should be. Adaptation fits snuggly in-between the very good yet overly bizarre Being John Malkovitch, and the perfected weirdness of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Adaptation is the story of the writer, Charlie, and his brother Donald, as they both try and write movies. Both characters are played by Nicholas Cage. The fun in it all is that Charlie’s character is trying to write the very film that we’re watching on the screen. Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper also co-star.
Honorable Mentions: Supersize Me, Fear and Loathing in Las Veags, Taxi Driver
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Cloudy WIth A Chance of Meatballs Review
Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs is just one of the many animated films coming out in a busy year for the genre (others including another Ice Age movie, Up, Monsters Vs. Aliens, Ponyo, and G-Force), and as a result the once new and unique type of movie is wearing thin with ideas. It's hard to not just throw a tired idea against the wall and see if you make money. And in many ways this is where Cloudy ends up rising above other movies like G-Force or any Ice Age movie. Cloudy ends up combining the cute factor of a childrens movie with the unique visuals strived for in any animated movie all while telling a great story with some great comedic moments along the way.
The film, based on a popular childrens book (of which I haven't read), tells the story of a young inventor named Flint Lockwood who lives in a small island who's only claim to fame was sardines. When everyone in the world realized sardines were gross, the island's only food source becomes sardines which is where Flint hopes to change the island. He creates a device that takes water and creates food. When the device is launched into the sky it ends up creating food like rain. Obviously issues ensue and villians emerge and unlikely people become heros.
Movie 101 will now tell you that you don't have a blockbuster animated movie unless you have a great voice cast and Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs remains no exception. Saturday Night Live actor Bill Hader plays the lead with other voice talents including Andy Sandberg, Anna Faris, and Bruce Campbell. Overall though there is nothing here that is spectacular as far as the characters go. Minus Mr. T as an over the top cop, the characters are fairly pedestrian, giving enough distinction between good and bad, but not enough for me to be talking about Flint Lockwood or any of the others in years to come as you would with movies like Shrek or Up.
The visuals are superb, with lots of color here but not on the characters, something that works well. While the people in the story are fairly normal, the movies settings are great. Bright and vibrant, the small island of Swallow Falls comes alive when food comes down from the sky.
If the movie has any downfall it's the finale. Giving some sort of throwback to the end of Independence Day, the final part of the movie just never lives up to the high president set by the rest of the movie. Not to say it's bad, simply uneventful in many ways.
But the movie is incredibly funny, leaving many punny lines along the way (I think we've bit off more than we can chew) as well as the funniest monkey in a movie to date. I can't sit here and tell you Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs will be remembered in 5 years the way any pixar movie will be because it won't be. But Cloudy is one of the higher end animated movies to come out in recent memory and is worth your 90 minutes. Grade - B+
The film, based on a popular childrens book (of which I haven't read), tells the story of a young inventor named Flint Lockwood who lives in a small island who's only claim to fame was sardines. When everyone in the world realized sardines were gross, the island's only food source becomes sardines which is where Flint hopes to change the island. He creates a device that takes water and creates food. When the device is launched into the sky it ends up creating food like rain. Obviously issues ensue and villians emerge and unlikely people become heros.
Movie 101 will now tell you that you don't have a blockbuster animated movie unless you have a great voice cast and Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs remains no exception. Saturday Night Live actor Bill Hader plays the lead with other voice talents including Andy Sandberg, Anna Faris, and Bruce Campbell. Overall though there is nothing here that is spectacular as far as the characters go. Minus Mr. T as an over the top cop, the characters are fairly pedestrian, giving enough distinction between good and bad, but not enough for me to be talking about Flint Lockwood or any of the others in years to come as you would with movies like Shrek or Up.
The visuals are superb, with lots of color here but not on the characters, something that works well. While the people in the story are fairly normal, the movies settings are great. Bright and vibrant, the small island of Swallow Falls comes alive when food comes down from the sky.
If the movie has any downfall it's the finale. Giving some sort of throwback to the end of Independence Day, the final part of the movie just never lives up to the high president set by the rest of the movie. Not to say it's bad, simply uneventful in many ways.
But the movie is incredibly funny, leaving many punny lines along the way (I think we've bit off more than we can chew) as well as the funniest monkey in a movie to date. I can't sit here and tell you Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs will be remembered in 5 years the way any pixar movie will be because it won't be. But Cloudy is one of the higher end animated movies to come out in recent memory and is worth your 90 minutes. Grade - B+
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
AnyClip Video
Referenced it in Sandstrom Cinema earlier today and thought it was an interesting video to ponder. That podcast is currently on iTunes, check it out.
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