Star Wars Cast (Commentary)

Lucasfilm just announced the cast of the new Star Wars films and all I have to say is this: excellent job. We have the originals which we knew were coming back. That’s a no-brainer. Then we have Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Daisy Ridley and the legendary Max von Sydow. What do I love about this cast? With the exception of Sydow, all of these people are relatively unknown. Yes, Andy Serkis is pretty famous but all of his work is in Motion Capture so no one will really recognize him. These kind of choices prove that J.J. Abrams and company have a clear vision to take this film back to a philopohsy that built the first trilogy. I do hope they add some more women to this cast, since I know there’s probably still some casting to be made, but this is a great start.

Before Midnight (2013)

Richard Linklater teams up again with Ethan Hawk and Julie Delpy to give us the third chapter in the love story between Jesse and Céline, introduced in the 1995 film Before Sunrise. I love these kinds of experiments, where a film maker revisits the same characters over the course of years. It’s a rare and beautiful achievement that can demonstrate the complexity of life in all its beauty. Here Jess and Celine are in the middle of an Italian vacation with their twin daughters. Yet marriage never is happily ever after and these two passionate people are a fire storm of emotions, regrets, angst and hope. Here are two seasoned actors doing what they love, exploring their craft in a most wonderful and memorable way. You can feel their honesty as they dig deep into their own lives to craft characters that transcend the form. If you hate movies with lots of talking, you might want to stay away from this one. But if you’re like me and find conversation a beautiful music worthy of film then do not miss this brilliant collaboration. Grade: A

Spoiler Alert: Call me a hopeless romantic but I think Jesse and Celine are going to make things work. Sure they might separate for a time but something tells me the next time we see them in seven years they’ll fall back in love. That’s if they separate and I don’t know if they will, I hope they don’t. (It says something about the film when you write about the two characters as if they’re real people.)

Hannibal (Season 1)

When I read that the creator of Pushing Daisies was creating a series out of the characters from Thomas Harris’ books Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs, I had mixed feeling. First of all, I didn’t want a serial killer television show. Dexter already did it and I wasn’t sure how I felt about Hannibal Lector coming to the small screen after already being portrayed by an master actor.  Step in Mads Mikkelse to erase my doubts.  This is a very dark and beautifully stylized horror show.  I can't believe it's on NBC.  I'm not complaining but there are some really disturbing and gross images that usually never made it past the sensors.  Perhaps the censors were afraid they'd be invited to dinner as Mr. Lector's main course next season.  What I really love about this show is that it transends the genre of the police procedural drama and is really just a psychological character study about a monster and the man insane enough to hunt him but maybe not smart enough to realize he's right in front of his face.   I can't wait for season two.  Grade: A- 

Captain America: Winter Soldier

I love it when a franchise makes a sequel better than the film that started it. It means the producers actually care about storytelling and expanding on that hero’s world to make the overall quality grow. I liked the first Captain American film, The First Avenger, and must admit I wish we could have had more films where Captain America fights during WWII. But because of The Avengers films we need Captain America in the present time. Here a man from the WWII era is confronted by today’s more pessimistic war on terror, and the terror here might be aliens but we all know what real-life enemies they're hinting at.   Directed by the Russo Brothers who directed that other action packed, superhero film . . . wait a minute, these dudes directed episodes of Arrested Development and You, Me and Dupree.  How did Marvel know they'd be able to put together some of the best fight scenes in superhero fim history.  I mean, really, the fight scenes are so intense and raw that my jaw was sore afterward from clenching my mouth shut.  Wow, I'm impressed.   This is just a very satisfying continuation of what is becoming the heart of the Avengers.  I can't wait to see what else Marvel has in store for these characters.  Let's hope they all survive the next Avenger's outing.  Grade: A-

Spoilers:  My only complaint and I can't decide how big of one it is, is seeing Nick Fury die only to show up again later as a live.  It cheatened the emotinal impact of seeing his death.  It also reminded me of another part two superhero movie, notiable The Dark Knight.  Gordon seemed to have died in that one too and yet in that film it was new and awesome, here it felt ho-hum.  I can imagine it's difficult to kill off a promising character, especially one staring the great Samuel Jackson but Marvel, you're going to need to do.   If only to create that sense of danger that superhero films today are seeming to lack. 

Roger Ebert (Commentary)

I’m saddened by the news of Roger Ebert’s passing. Mr. Ebert was the greatest film critic of all-time. Period. He spoke to the average man in a clear voice, celebrating movies and educating the world about all things film.  The days of going online to see “what Ebert thinks” is over and I will greatly miss that. The good news is he has a plethora of reviews to look back on and read. Then there are his books which I highly recommend, my favorite being his The Great Movies series. I say to celebrate this man everyone should watch a movie from one of these books. Watch a classic film you haven’t seen that Ebert praised with love. There is no other way to honor this man who so honored film. The film world will never be the same.