So I’m at work and kind of bored and wondering what it would be like if I lived a different life, in a different place. It’s not that I’m unhappy in my current situation – but when my mind is bored it tends to wander into that creative no-man’s land straight into my imagination. Next stop ladies and gentleman, the Twilight Zone!
Below are just a random sampling of some movie and TV worlds I would occasionally like to inhabit. [Read more…]
An unheralded classic of urban gritology, ‘The Incident‘ is a b/w film from 1967. The story is primarily, and claustrophobically, confined to a New York City subway car. As it hurtles and rattles through dark underground tunnels, it becomes a terror ride for a cluster of local types. Two young thugs, including a teen-aged Martin Sheen, taunt, threaten and intimidate the other passengers. They take over the car and hold the other riders hostage to their whims, their sadism, and their unabated cruelty.
The passengers on this night ride include Beau Bridges as a soldier with a broken arm from the mid-west and his Manhattan GI buddy, Ed McMahan as a harried young father (nope, no “Herrrre’s Johnny!” in this flick), a whiny old husband and wife, a gay guy, a black couple, and a few other typical subway strap hangers. [Read more…]
I recently re-watched the movie D.O.A. – the 1950 version starring the underrated Edmond O’Brien (I don’t acknowledge the 1988 remake even though I’m a Dennis Quaid fan). About halfway through it occurred to me just how sad the story was and probably for the first time, I felt real sympathy. I not only felt bad for Frank Bigelow, our very reluctant hero, but also for his lady friend Paula who would never even get the chance to be called his widow. I’m sure I’m not giving anything away here by telling you that it doesn’t end well for these two (see movie title) but I never really got the tragedy of the story until I viewed it again as an adult. [Read more…]
I don’t know about you but I love the beginning of movies. In fact, sometimes I’ll watch just the beginning and then turn the movie off at a certain point (only movies I’ve seen before of course) and imagine that the characters never experience the conflict or turmoil that only real life dishes out.
I like to call the beginning of the movie (or Act 1) the calm before the storm. This act usually serves as an opportunity for the filmmaker to get in the most exposition. This part of the movie establishes characters, relationships, plots, conflicts, and most of all it introduces us to the world in which we’ll reside for the remaining 2+ hours. I love this part because it’s usually before anything goes wrong. Of course there are exceptions where we’re plunged right into the action (Total Recall and The Shawshank Redemption come to mind) but for the most part, our main characters are happy in the beginning. They’re still blissfully ignorant to the s$%! storm coming their way, and that’s just the way I like them.
Let me explain what I mean with a few examples of some of my favorites. [Read more…]
How important is a movie’s rating to you? Personally, I’ve never factored that into the equation when searching for a box office to visit. I like sex, blood, and F-bombs (not combined!) as much as the next guy, but it’s never the make-or-break factor in heading to the theater.
The A-Team’s $26M haul, despite playing on 5,200 screens, have some people wondering if the film’s PG-13 rating was a money-making kiss of death. [Read more…]