Director Rian Johnson spent his childhood making movies, using his neighborhood buddies as his cast and crew.
He’d bounce from comedy to western to action picture. The young film fanatic couldn’t settle on just one film genre.
His mashup sensibilities eventually earned him raves for his feature debut, 2005’s “Brick.” Johnson set his film noir homage in the not-so-adult world of high school.
Now, he’s at it again, cross-pollinating the con man flick with a romantic comedy in “The Brothers Bloom,” which opened the 31st annual Starz Denver Film Festival Nov. 13.
“Maybe I’m just continuing to do this,” he said of his genre-hopping film which opens in limited release next month.
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The Christmas shopping season has begun, and even Santa could use some help when it comes to buying electronic goodies.
Stay tuned to WWTW in the coming week for articles on how to buy the best audio system - and projector set-up - for your movie room.
I’d also love to hear some home theater tips from my readers. Did you get burned on a new HDTV recently? Any bits of advice you’d like to share?
Every film festival should set some time aside for a pretension-free action movie.
At the 31st Starz Denver Film Festival, the honors go to “Chocolate,” the latest from Prachya Pinkaew, the director responsible for “Ong Bak.”
And no, I haven’t a clue why they named the movie “Chocolate.”
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Ron Howard’s “Frost/Nixon” doesn’t come out until Dec. 12, but its not too early to make some predictions about the film — and its fallout.
- Frank Langella will get an Oscar nomination for playing embattled ex-president Richard Nixon. A near lock.
- Film reviewers will be quick to link the movie to current President George W. Bush - and his alleged high crimes and misdemeanors. No critic (outside of Dirty Harry) will connect the film’s content to a president who actually got impeached.
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The new James Bond movie hauled in $70 mil this weekend.
Hardly unexpected. Who wouldn’t wanna see another Bond adventure starring Daniel Craig after “Casino Royale?
But are audiences cheering the latest Bond adventure? Let me know your thoughts on the new film … and whether you’re eager to see a new Bond installment in two-plus years …
What’s a blogger meme? Oh, now I know.
WWTW wants to embrace web friends, old and new. So here goes — my A-Z alphabet meme. Here’s where it all began as well as the rules of the game. I added a twist to the meme. Each letter sparks my word association skills — with every letter corresponding to something movie related, natch.
Please to enjoy:
“Attica! Attica!” - What Sonny cries out during the great bank heist flick “Dog Day Afternoon”
“Broadway Danny Rose” - Balloon folding acts and aging crooners … one of Woody’s best films.
“The Chocolate War” - Former “Back to School” star Keith Gordon brought us this utterly unconventional school flick.
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The Starz Denver Film Festival chose wisely in selecting “Slumdog Millionaire” to be its “Big Night” feature.
The film could be the one which catapults director Danny Boyle into the Oscar circle … at last.
He should have been here before, what with modern classics like “Trainspotting,” “Millions” and “28 Days Later” on his resume.
Still, the Oscar Gods are fickle, and sometimes it takes a while before they anoint a great director as worthy of those gleaming statuettes.
“Millionaire” may not be Boyle’s best film, but it captures the cultural zeitgeist in ways Academy voters will be hard pressed to ignore.
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Can’t help it … I’m a sucker for those Monster Truck Show pitches where the guy screams the same day of the week over and again.
For this site’s sake, it’s my way of promoting my new A-Z movie listing to be posted tomorrow — Nov. 16 — courtesy of a “tag, you’re it” game with Dirty Harry … and my review of “Slumdog Millionaire” from the Starz Denver Film Festival’s Big Night showing.
Tis the season for Christmas movies - but beware the lumps of coal.
For every classic like “A Christmas Story” there’s a half-dozen features desperate to become the next holiday staple. But it ain’t that easy.
Just look at “Story.” OK, we’ll get the director of “Porky’s” and give him a slew of non-stars and see what happens.
Yuletide gold happened. But these five were more like the gifts you receive from your aunt who hasn’t figured out your age — or sweater size — in a decade:
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