Movie A Day Review: The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
Release Date: October 24th, 1962
United Artists
Directed by John Frankenheimer
Starring: Frank Sinatra, Angela Lansbury, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh
Where: DVR (HBO)

Note: Not one of my better reviews but to be honest I am going to be out for a while and I wanted to make sure I got this up at least before tomorrow evening, I might polish it up a bit.

In 2004 a remake of a 1962 political thriller came out called The Manchurian Candidate starring Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep.  I liked the movie, probably more than I really should have at the time.  I’ll be the first to admit it’s sort of a guilty pleasure movie and I always make a point to catch it when it happens to be on TV or if I’m bored I’ll pop in the DVD.  For the longest time I had no idea that it was a remake, or I guess new adaptation of a famous book but whatever, silly me? (For the record this is definitely not something I am proud of.)  A few years ago I found out that the original version starred an all star cast and was directed by none other than one of my all time favorite action directors, John Frakenheimer.  Being a huge fan of movies like Grand Prix and Ronin I had to check it out and see if it’s really as good as everyone says it is.  Unfortunately the timing was never right and it took me until yesterday to see this supposed political thriller masterpiece.  How right you all were.

Movie A Day Review: P2

I love movies. Any of you who know me personally know that I love movies with every fiber of my being. Chances are if you have ever met me I talked to you about movies. I own a mini blockbuster in my room and have seen so many movies in 2010 that some of my favorites aren't even going to make my top 25. I am an insane individual with a sickness, an addiction to movies.

For a while now I have been regularly watching at least one movie per day. This can come from Netflix, Netflix Instant Watch, Hulu, my own collection, going to the theater, catching something on TV, or watching the backlog of things I have recorded on my DVR. Regardless of the medium, I make a concerted effort to watch at least one movie per day. I've done it so long that in fact I no longer need to think about it.

I figured it's time to share with the world my views. If you don't like the idea don't read the blog. I have no illusions of grandeur, no real goals to extend any farther than what than the core concept and realize I am mostly writing for myself. The goal is simply to give a brief review on at least one movie per day. Since I watch at least one, this should not be a problem. You may even get lucky and I might write two reviews.

By day I am a technical support consultant at a travel software company. By night I am an aspiring film writer/director. I am working on some projects which I may or may not discuss here. At first the thoughts will be random and the writing may not be what you would call "good" and I can only hope as time goes by I get better and stick with it. In the meantime I present my first Movie A Day Review.

Seriously could I have picked a dumber movie to start with?



P2
Release Date: November 9th, 2007
Summit Entertainment
Directed by Franck Khalfoun
Starring: Rachel Nichols, Wes Bentley
Where: Netflix Instant Watch

You might be asking yourself "why the fuck would he pick this movie to start with?".  That's a great question and one I'm not sure exactly how to answer except that it's Halloween and I happened to be looking for a slightly creepy or scary movie to watch that I hadn't seen yet.  I've had P2 on my Netflix Instant Watch queue for some time now so I decided this would at least be serviceable and possibly even entertaining considering the talent involved here. What possibly intrigued me the most about the movie was the re-teaming of the crew that brought us The Hills Have Eyes and High Tension.  I have huge soft spot for both movies and honestly can’t wait to see the new Piranha movie with or without 3D.  P2 was written by Alexandre Aja , Greg Levasseur, and Franck Khalfoun with Khalfoun making his debut in the director’s chair.

My decision was further helped because it was due to be removed from the Instant Watch Queue on November 1st.  At the very least I wanted some cool, ultra-violent kills in a setting which is largely unknown to the horror/thriller spectrum, the parking garage.

REVIEW: Alice In (Not So) Wonderland

Alice In Wonderland
Release Date: March 5th, 2010
Walt Disney Pictures
Directed by Tim Burton
Starring: Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter with the voices of Stephen Fry, Michael Sheen and Alan Rickman

Alice is back but this time with a darker makeover thanks to the unique and sometimes divisive vision of Tim Burton.  For the most part I have enjoyed at least some aspect of each Tim Burton movie.  There are of course duds like Planet of the Apes and Mars Attacks but I also believe the man has made some truly great films like Big Fish, Sleepy Hollow, and Beetlejuice just to name a few.  You can argue that his style may not be for you but you can’t argue that the man definitely has a unique visual command of film that is often mimicked but never replicated.  Lately he seems to be shying away from original stories and instead taking well known stories/properties and infusing his own weirdness to create a madcap version of the original piece.  Alice in Wonderland is no different, the core idea is there but the final product is about as Burton-esque as you can get.  What works and what doesn’t?  Is it a total failure or the visual treat everyone has come to expect?

REVIEW: The Clash Ends With A Whimper

Clash Of The Titans
Release Date: April 2nd, 2010
Warner Brothers/Legendary Pictures
Directed by Louis Leterrier
Starring: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Mads Mikkelsen

Going into the 2010 version of Clash Of The Titans, I really only expected to have a good time.  Nothing more and nothing less.  It was doubtful from the way the trailers were constructed that the finished product would be anything but a stylish, rock 'n roll, action romp that just so happened to feature gods, pretty looking beasts and also inspired by a 1981 stop motion effects laden classic. Louis Leterrier's take on man's war with the gods sadly fails in almost every conceivable way.

Tyler's Top Movies Of 2009

Below you will find my top 25 movies of 2009 with a few honorable mentions as well. I spent the better part of November, December and most of the current month re-listening, researching and generally loving all of these movies.  This was kind of a tough list to compile mostly because I actually did have a hard time finding 25 movies I really enjoyed this year.  What was even harder was 20 of them were damn near possible to place in a list.   I constantly found myself fiddling and playing with the list hoping to get the perfect ranking.  Needless to say I failed miserably.  Anything between 5 and 20 are somewhat interchangeable while anything in the top 5 can be swapped around depending on how I feel on a certain day.  Take this list as more of a collection of favorites as I am sure the list would change if I messed with it any further.  Also I did not get to see a handful of amazing films that other people are likely to have on their list. I hope you enjoy and please feel free to tell me how much my list sucks in the comments!

New "Knowing" Poster Released

AICN has gotten their hands on the new poster for the upcoming Nicholas Cage movie Knowing. The movie directed by Alex Proyas, who has also directed I,Robot, The Crow and Dark City is a thriller based on a story by Proyas and Stuart Hazeldine. The basic plot premise from the Wikipedia entry on the movie is the following:

"A professor (Cage) finds that the contents of a time capsule at his son's elementary school makes predictions of the future that have come true. The predictions lead the teacher to believe the world is ending, and that he and his son are involved in the apocalypse."

I like most of what Alex Proyas has done so far in his career; The Crow and Dark City are both worthy member of my top 30 movies of all time list. I, Robot was stupid but well made and alot more fun then I though it would be. This could be good, however the plot premise makes me cringe and I am not a huge fan of what I have seen in the trailers thus far. This poster does look pretty cool though. Knowing opens March 20th, 2009.

New Terminator: Salvation Footage

Found this video on Ain't It Cool News. Good footage which apparently is a sneak peak at the new trailer releasing next week! Looks awesome.