In Case You Missed It: “Shame” (2011)

……If there’s one thing I love about the movies, it’s probably the fact that a movie never dies – once it’s put out, it’s out for all to see whenever they choose. After recently watching Steve McQueen’s 2011 drama Shame, I realized that since my blog has only been up and running since January of this year, I missed writing about plenty of good films that were released throughout the fall and winter. As I’ve said, however, movies never die, and after watching Shame and thoroughly enjoying it, I’ve decided to begin a new type of trending post entitled “In Case You Missed It” where I’ll provide some quick review-style feedback on recent films that have died down in conversation but are certainly not dead. Appropriately, I wanted to begin with Shame.

Critiquing Movies: My 4 Star Rating System

If there’s one complaint about film critics that I can’t disagree with, it’s the fact that their rating systems seem to differ from critic to critic and from publication to publication. From Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert’s trademark thumbs to Entertainment Weekly’s letter scale (they rank films from A-D), it’s hard to keep track of which films are worth seeing when you don’t understand what each rating means in the first place. Traditionally, films have always been ranked on the 4 star system, a rating scale that I use to review films because I find it to be the easiest system for a reader to figure out – 4 stars is perfection while 1 star is a complete dud. However, between the confusing 2½ star rating and the minor differences between 3½ stars and 4 stars, even the traditional 4 star system has its share of confusions and ambiguities. To settle the confusion, I’ve decided to spell out the 4 star system as I see it so that we’re all on the same page by my next film review.

Meta Movies: Are We Entering An Age Of Self-Referential Films?

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It’s long been discussed that originality in Hollywood has been dead for quite some time. While the logistics of that statement aren’t entirely true, it’s hard to say that the current film era we’re in is anything but the age of sequels, prequels, reboots, adaptations and spinoffs. In fact, just one look at this year’s summer movie season will only prove this fact as The Avengers, The Amazing Spiderman, The Dark Knight Rises, and Prometheus quickly approach. However, originality isn’t completely dead yet, and two of the best films of the spring season, The Cabin in the Woods and 21 Jump Street, have thrived both critically and popularly thanks to a similar secret weapon: their hyper-meta and self referential screenplays. While Woods is a horror movie and Street a comedy, the two films have been some of the most entertaining movies of the year thus far by embracing their stereotypical plots and characters and using them as items ripe for satirizing, a move that often breathes new life into aging, one-note norms.

Machete (2010): 20 Reasons Why It’s The Perfect 4/20 Movie

 Let’s waste no time beating around the bush – today is April 20^th, so chances are that if you’re anywhere in your teenage to young adult years, you’ll be celebrating this high holy day in one way or another. With that said, I’m sure none of you will be interested in reading a lengthy review or film opinion piece, so instead, I’ve chosen a film I think many of you would enjoy in your mental state today and I’ve provided 20 reasons why I think you should see it. While you can certainly take the obvious route with films like Dazed and Confused, Pineapple Express, and Harold and Kumar, why not try something new this year? Just because a film doesn’t have a plot that coincides with your holiday festivities doesn’t mean it won’t be a good choice to screen tonight before you burn out and pass out for god only knows how long. So, in light of today’s holiday, I think it would be a perfect time to give Machete, Robert Rodriguez’s 2010 exploitation film, a fighting chance to win you over; here are 20 reasons why:

“The Last Waltz” Of Levon Helm (1940-2012)

When I heard the news earlier today that Levon Helm, drummer and lead vocalist of The Band, had passed away from cancer, my mind instantly went back to the Augusts of my childhood – in a jam packed Suburban headed for a weeks stay on Martha’s Vineyard, my parents would always put on some classic rock and blast it for my brothers and I to hear. While they certainly loved The Beatles, more times than none one preferred one group over another – for instance, my dad always went with The Grateful Dead, a group my mom never grew to love as much as he did. If there was one group they both loved, however, it was The Band, and with Levon Helm drumming and singing away, it was easy to see why. From “Up On Cripple Creek” to “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”, my parents love for The Band and Helm slowly got passed on down to myself and my brothers, and anytime “Creek” would come on, my twin Jake and I would do our best to croon like Helm did on the bluesy, country style chorus.

The Cabin in the Woods (2012): The Horror Film To End All Horror Films ★★★½

Five college kids head out to a remote cabin in the woods for a weekend vacation full of booze, sex, and partying – one is a horny Jock (Chris Hemsworth pre-Thor) who can’t wait to score with his beautiful, blonde, bimbo, bombshell of a girlfriend (Anna Hutchison), one is a mature, well-natured egghead (Jesse Williams), another is a clumsy stoner who provides the comic relief (Frank Kranz), and the last is a sweetly innocent virgin (Kristen Connolly). And even before the entire gang makes it to the remote cabin in their shoddy SUV, they make a pit stop for directions at a sketchy gas station with an even sketchier owner who shadily warns them that those who go to the cabin rarely come back. Sound familiar? Yes, The Cabin in the Woods is chock full of stereotypes in both its characters and its plot, but the singlehandedly best thing about this is that director Drew Goddard and producer Joss Whedon know it, embrace it, and use it as a starting point to create one of the most original, entertaining, and bat-shit crazy horror films in years.

Redefining Cinema: My Favorite Game Changers

After spending nearly three years on the shelf (it was shot in 2009), Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard’s horror film The Cabin in the Woods is finally being released nationwide today and those who have seen the film have had nothing but extreme praise for it. The general consensus seems to be that the film is a total game changer, redefining the limits and redrawing the lines of the horror genre and invigorating it with groundbreaking originality. While I can’t wait to see what all the fuss is about, all the recent “game changing” talk concerned with Woods got me thinking about other films that have redefined cinema and have paved the way for new styles of filmmaking and new movie trends. Without further ado, then, here are my 6 favorite cinematic game changers:

The Hunger Games (2012): The Odds Are Ever In The First Half’s Favor ★★★

…..While there certainly was fervent anticipation leading up to the March 23^rd release of The Hunger Games, the first of Suzanne Collins’ epic dystopian trilogy, no one could’ve predicted the legendary status the film has achieved in just three weeks. Not only did it gross a staggering $152 million in its opening weekend – the third biggest opening of all time – but in the subsequent weeks it has also held up incredibly well; currently, the film sits at $310 million, a number that means the film has already out-grossed every Twilight movie and all but two Harry Potter films (it will certainly pass Sorcerer’s Stone and may potentially pass Deathly Hallows – Part 2 if it continues to hold). If the fact that a first film in a franchise has made more money in three weeks than some of most successful book adaptations have made in their entire runs isn’t remarkable, I’m not sure what is! For a first film in a franchise like The Hunger Games, its box office run thus far has been more than spectacular – can you even imagine what the sequels will do? The great thing about all of this is that the film certainly deserves it: it’s a wildly entertaining and occasionally thrilling adventure drama that only fails in one aspect – the Games themselves.

Easter Sunday: My Top 5 Cinematic Rabbits

One is a cuddly best friend while another is an anxiety-ridden murder suspect and guess what? Both are rabbits and no, I’m not kidding around! As a token Jew, I can’t say I’ve ever participated in any Easter activities, but as families and friends gather this weekend to celebrate both Easter and Passover, I naturally began to think if there were any solid connections between these religious holidays and the film world. While Charlton Heston will always be the definitive Moses in Cecile B. Demille’s eternal epic The Ten Commandments, it’s not surprising that when it comes to movies there have been a lot more bunnies than there have been Moses’. So, in honor of Easter Sunday, here are my 5 favorite cinematic bunnies and be warned, not all are cute and fluffy:

American Reunion (2012): A Typical Slice Of “Pie” ★★½

Nearly nine years after Jim and Michele got married in the mediocre American Wedding, the entire gang returns for a fourth outing and a 13^th high school reunion in the aptly titled American Reunion. Over the past years, the American Pie franchise has been plagued with one atrocious direct-to-DVD sequel after another, and whether or not anyone was actually craving a fourth installment on the big screen is highly debatable. However, it’s hard to say that watching the original gang – Jim, Oz, Kev, Finch, Stifler, and the ladies (Michele, Heather, Vicky) that drove them mad – is anything but a good time (even Jim’s dad and Stifler’s mom are back!), and in some ways, the film becomes a reunion that you’re included in too; but, is American Reunion a fourth helping of pie that should be eaten up?