Tag: Film-Addict

Jon Bernthal: Netflix finally lands the real Punisher

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Ladies and gentlemen, Netflix’s Daredevil just graduated towards into Truly Badass Territory. TBT my friends! Versatile actor and owner of one of the best noses in show business, Jon Bernthal, will portray Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, in season 2, set to begin filming later this summer.

Look, season 1 was solid. Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio set up an intriguing chess match in Hells Kitchen and the fights were brutally great and the supporting cast was fine(except for Foggy, he sucked). Bernthal’s entry as Castle just fits and is one of those casting moves that resembles a home run being hit and the batter executing the most lethal bat flip of all time.

Since Frank Grillo is Crossbones in Marvel’s universe already and all the the choices are lame(Thomas Jane apparently retired to DoNothingVille), Bernthal is a great choice for several reasons but I will lay out a few here while the crumbs are still dropping.  (more…)

Jude Law Powers DOM HEMINGWAY

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imageedit_5_4785493768Dom Hemingway is an exercise in extremes. Taking dark comedy as far as it will go until it becomes raw energy naked on screen and straight up to the edge of being hard to handle. Taken as a whole, the movie is uneven, slow in areas where it has to be quick and can make you shake your head a few times.

The story is simple enough that a five year old could understand, not that you would want them to watch this insane cinematic slice of crazy talk. Dom is a safe cracker who took the fall for a rich gangster and we pick up his story right as he is being released from jail and well….being relieved of some stress via the below the waist variety. From there, Law wants his money owed to him, and wants to sleep with as many women as possible and drink enough beer to fail three livers before tracking down his long lost daughter. How about that opening scene though…..

Richard Shephard’s tale begins with Jude Law ranting about his penis and you should thank the director for this. If a person is going to walk out of the theater, that time will come at this very early moment. If seeing an overweight belligerent filthy Law spitting fire about how great his mighty member is, then it is best you buy a ticket to Amazing Spider Man 2 so you can be dulled out of your mind for a 2 ½ hours. Dom Hemingway is fierce, blunt and works on a certain brand of motor oil. Fast and furious profanity mixed with contempt and guilt.

The film is 90 minutes and it crams in as many f-bombs it would make Quentin Tarantino take out a calculator to see how it stood up against his joints. The supporting cast is good enough, with Richard Grant stealing a few scenes as Hemingway’s handler and Demian Bichir producing a hilarious performance as an odd gangster who likes to fire his guns in the woods and makes the most quiet threats. Let me remind you. This film belongs and is OWNED by Jude Law. He’s a live grenade in this film, a wrecking ball equal parts rugged wit and endless contempt.

I love when actors challenge themselves and step outside their comfort zone. Here, Law takes seven steps outside his usual area. He is an accomplished actor and has the respect and command of his fellow actors, directors, studios and his fans. Here, he is a wrecking ball on screen with nothing held back or saved for later. It would be hard for the film’s stiffest critics to point out his performance as a source of concern. Law goes all the way to the brink and back. If I had to recommend the film on one thing alone(a rarity), it’s the performance of Jude Law as the title character. He isn’t the greatest human being and doesn’t come off as appealing yet we would follow this guy through a battlefield because he is so wild and unpredictable.  Law did this redemptive walk quite well in a remake of Alfie, but here he takes up about 20 notches as the embodiment of naughty. This is a performance to remember inside an okay movie.

Everything else about the film is just okay. Emilia Clarke(the Queen of Dragons from Game of Thrones) doesn’t get much to do here except look sad and lost. For a 90 minute film, the second half moves as slow as a snail and some scenes just don’t work. Shephard felt like inserting this screen shots with plot points announced as some kind of comedic gimmick, but it still doesn’t work.

Dom Hemingway doesn’t amount to much but the comedy is sharp more times than not and Law’s performance is fantastic. If you want something original and blunt, check this film out.

 

Support Film-Addict: A Homegrown Website

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Whenever I hand out a business card to someone or tell them I have a movie website, I get a number of looks. One response is complete bewilderment followed by a seriesGetAttachment of facial expressions that make it look like I am trying to show off. Another common response is, “That’s cool. What’s on the site?” Everybody else just hands over the fake care expression, where they take it, look interested and then start scanning the block for trash cans to chuck it into. I am sure my website has a huge following in the trash can colonies. The reason people want that blunt reaction to this card you have just handed them is simple. Where is the need? They want to know what you have, what it can do for them and how it is different from the other websites.

People, this is a world that is run on red bull, smart phones, and likes on Facebook. There is no time for old fashioned movie reviews, showtimes and commentary on film. I literally have to sell the site every time I hand someone a stylish piece of printed paper. This isn’t 1989 where a three button suit became awesome and having your name on a business card was as wild as carrying around a cellphone the size of a brick. This is 2014, and the world is constantly on the move.

I am here to tell you why you should not only help support Film-Addict but why you should care about it as well. The best way I can do that is by telling you a story.

In the early days of 2012, Eric Moore came to Chris McHugh and myself about starting a website. Eric and I had thought about it several times since we had become friends 8 years earlier. It was a dream. A grand idea. The three of us loved the movies and allowed our bodies and minds to be wrapped up inside their world. We didn’t just see a movie, leave, and burp out the expression, “that was alright”. We wanted to know the budget of the film, the director’s last 5 films and why the hell the movie stars did the damn thing. We wanted everything and needed to download it. We were true film-addicts. The most lovely question I can get these days is, “Why do you want so many movies?” I am a film-addict and here is why. Boom!! The conversation has begun. We wanted to put our love for film out there to the masses. Connecting with fellow addicts along the way.

We picked up a few addicts the past 2 years. Leigh Ann Jones, Landon Burris and Alana Hammonds all write reviews and individual articles for our site. Like us, they get paid nothing. Like us, they work full time and do this for the love of the game. Jones watched a 100 films in 100 days. Alana watched Blackfish on Netflix and decided to write a review because that’s what serious movie lovers do. We see something that moves us and the only way to move on is to write about it. Landon has reviewed all kinds of films for the site. A dialogue less visual pleasure to a Japanese animation film to a film about sex maniacs. We bleed for the site because we believe people need this information.

Next weekend, Wizard World comes to St. Louis. It’s the Comic Con of the Midwest. While it’s not as crazy popular as the one held in San Diego every year, they do our city proud and host a great show. The horror buffs dress up like Chucky, Jason, Michael and Freddy. The comic book faithful come out in full gear. Over 100,000 people show up downtown looking for a taste of the action. Last year, The true HULK Lou Ferrigno showed up. This year, Nathan Fillion, Firefly alum and Castle star, will be in attendance along with other stars. The reason I am telling you this is Film-Addict has a booth/table at the event. We will be handing out posters, shirts and other cool memorabilia to the people who stop by and fire up conversation. On one of the days, we will direct our attention to The Amazing Spider Man 2 that comes out this summer.

Since we are a proud mom and pop shop variety website, we need help raising money to put on the best possible show at this event. We are looking for donations from anyone looking to put their money into something meaningful. Something with a pulse. We throw away money every day. Coffee in a cup, gas in our cars, a bag of chips or a bad Subway sandwich. I don’t ask you to donate any more than you think our website deserves. If it’s a couple dollars, it helps.

While we do offer actor and cinema spotlights, I’d like to think Film-Addict offers you honesty. A blunt take on film delivered by a group of people who provide you with something authentic and fun. We didn’t have to start a website. We are probably 10-12 years late and while we are joined at the hip by a hundred thousand other sites dedicated to film, we like to think we do something special with ours.

If you wish to know more about this particular mission and enterprise, head over to our page at Go Fund Me. Eric has all you need to know about why you are donating and how you can do it. You can see others who have donated and get an idea of what we are going after. See for yourself before you hand over your own dollars.

http://www.gofundme.com/7b2o7c

Thanks for giving us the time of day. In this modern world of 24/7 rush hour, that is something no one should take for granted.

 

“Her” Is A Romantic Mind Trip

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Ladies and gents, here is my Dose of Buffa movie review special.  Since Landon Burris reviewed this film for my site, film-addict.com, I come here with my take on the film.  I watched it at The Moolah last night and came away impressed, dazed, confused and looking at my IPhone a bit differently.   As always this will be quick and blunt.  First, let’s provide you with a setup.

PLOT-Theodore is a love letter writer in the near future and while his warm words liven up plenty of lives around the world, he is full of grief, regret and sadness.   When he acquires a new operating system with a female voice, everything in his life starts to change.   What kind of effect can a piece of software have on our lives if it were developed specifically for human interaction?   Spike Jonze’s tale dives straight into that.

MY TAKE-This film presents you with quite the experience.   Think of a world where the Siri on your IPhone suddenly developed into something much more.   Think imageedit_1_6896800883about a world where Siri became your secretary, best friend and lover all at the same time.  That is what writer/director Spike Jonze is pointing at with his latest film, Her.

Without the effortless grace of Joaquin Phoenix, who play broken hearted better than any actor alive, this film would fall apart.   He is our moral compass and the character who serves as our point of view for the entire film.  His Theodore is a great writer of love letters(personalized Hallmark cards) but a man who is still suffering from the bluntness of a divorce and working his way into a world where connection is starting to be done via computer and person instead of face to face.  Thank goodness Phoenix’s rapper detour was a hoax because the man is a gifted actor.   The most subtle line readings and quirks in Theodore are flushed alive by the same man who once played Johnny Cash so well.

Jonze’s future is an interesting one.   You no longer type on computers.  Everything is voice activated.   You command a standard operating system to read your emails, texts and news instead of scanning for them.  Phones have gotten smaller and look like a small pocket book.   Video games are played like an advanced version of Wii.  People rarely stop to talk in public.  Everyone seems to be talking to themselves.  At first, it’s weird and doesn’t sit straight.  Eventually, the familiarity of LA’s skyline(given a futuristic wipe here) and the new fashion styles and way of life encompass your world as if it was there all along.

Scarlett Johansson is the voice operating system called Samantha, and she becomes not only a part of Theodore’s life but connects to him in a way that we have always wanted our computers to do yet couldn’t find the way to execute it.   She arranges his documents, emails and schedule.  She gets him up in the morning and also wants to hear about his life.   At first, the coupling is pleasant and serves as the perfect ally or wingman in the world.  Your personal adviser inside your earlobe.

Then, Samantha wants to know more, want more, and is curious about the physical parts of Theodore’s world.   I will be honest and admit.  The sex scenes and erotic nature of this film produce laughs and intimacy within the audience and frames the idea of Jonze’s direct/indirect design of the world.

Johansson is amazing using only her voice and making you crave the rest.   Voice  work is no easy task when you have to go through the gauntlet of emotions inside a serious film.  Scarlett does great work here creating this OS that seems to be so real yet is something we can’t touch yet…want to.   Amy Adams gives a more introspective, soulful and more impressive performance(gasp!) here than she does in her Oscar nominated work in American Hustle.  Her scenes with Phoenix are the lone bit of real human connection here that seems familiar and seemed at the same time.   Rooney Mara and Chris Pratt give fine supporting performances in key roles.

All in all, this film works as a romantic drama that doesn’t forget to make you laugh.  There is one episode of early phone sex that will have you laughing loudly(let’s just say pregnant nude photos mixed with sexy kittens).   I like the fact that Jonze keeps you off balance with the injections of different genres and plot developments.  We are never too comfortable with Samantha or her relationship with Theodore and that is the point.   Separating artificial intelligence from real human interaction while appreciating the value of both and using it to wake yourself up.  When we first me our Theo, he is smiling yet lost and hollow.  By the end, he has traveled a bit and we have seen that transformation.   Jonze doesn’t forget to enrich the journey while tripping your mind with different ideas.

Her is unpredictable, earnest, impressively acted and presents a brave new world to us while filling our eyes with candy.  I highly recommend it.