Posted by moviegeek916 on December 31, 2012 · Leave a Comment
Midnight in Paris (2011) – Do you ever see stuff about like the free love revolution in the 1960s and think “damn, it would be great to be around then?” You’re not thinking about the details, like how everyone probably smelled and the “free love” in question was generally unprotected so herpes was probably everywhere. … Continue reading →
Filed under Film, Old Facebook Minireviews, Reviews, The Best · Tagged with 2011, Academy Award Winner: Best Screenplay, Adrien Brody, Adrien de Van, Alice B. Toklas, Alison Pill, Annie Hall, Best of 2011, Carla Bruni, Celebrity, Corey Stoll, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Kathy Bates, Kenneth Branagh, Kurt Fuller, Léa Seydoux, Luis Buñuel, Man Ray, Manhattan, Marcial Di Fonzo Bo, Marion Cotillard, Michael Sheen, Midnight in Paris, Mimi Kennedy, Owen Wilson, Pablo Picasso, Rachel McAdams, Salvador Dalí, Thérèse Bourou-Rubinsztein, Tom Cordier, Tom Hiddleston, Woody Allen, Zelda Fitzgerald
Posted by moviegeek916 on July 16, 2012 · Leave a Comment
This article (a rare non-review) was originally published on 12ftdwende.com on 23 April 2010. I saw a movie this past week (actually three but only one is relevant to this particular op-ed). It was a madcap comedy about the many things that go wrong at a funeral. It is called Death at a Funeral and … Continue reading →
Filed under Film, Old 12 Ft Dwende Articles · Tagged with "Who Goes There?", 3:10 to Yuma, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Éric Rohmer, Charlie's Angels, Chloë Grace Moretz, Chris Rock, Christian Nyby, Columbus Short, Danny Glover, Death at a Funeral, Down to Earth, Ethan Hawke, Franco Zeffirelli, Frankenstein, Hairspray, Hamlet, Heaven Can Wait, Here Comes Mr Jordan, Howard Hawks, I Think I Love My Wife, James Arness, James Marsden, Jody Hill, John Carpenter, John W. Campbell, John Waters, Kenneth Branagh, Laurence Olivier, Let Me In, Let the Right One In, Loretta Devine, Love in the Afternoon, Luke Wilson, Mel Gibson, Michael Almereyda, Neil LaBute, Observe and Report, Quarentine, Rec., Regina Hall, Rob Bottin, Sam Packinpah, Star Trek, Straw Dogs, The Bishop's Wife, The Honeymooners, The Longest Yard, The Preacher's Wife, The Shaggy Dog, The Thing, The Thing from Another World, The Wicker Man, Tracy Morgan, War of the Worlds, Zoë Saldaña
Posted by moviegeek916 on June 11, 2012 · Leave a Comment
Hamlet (2009) – So I’ve probably read Hamlet maybe a half-dozen times. I’ve never seen a stage production but this is probably the fourth or fifth film version I have seen of it (favorite is still Franco Zeffirelli’s 1990 version). It’s from the Royal Shakespeare Company and features the same cast as the acclaimed stage … Continue reading →
Filed under Film, Reviews, TV · Tagged with 2009, BBC, David Tennant, Franco Zeffirelli, Gregory Doran, Hamlet, Kenneth Branagh, Patrick Stewart, Royal Shakespeare Comany, William Shakespeare
Posted by moviegeek916 on June 5, 2012 · Leave a Comment
The following article originally appeared on 12ftdwende.com on 1 April 2011… Regular readers (do I even have those?) have surely noticed by now that at the end of each article I have been merrily endorsing the Sacramento Shakespeare Festival, reminding people that they can follow it on Twitter (@sacshakes), “like” it on Facebook, or particularly … Continue reading →
Filed under Film, Old 12 Ft Dwende Articles · Tagged with 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, Annette Benning, Anthony Hopkins, As You Like It, based on play, Bauhaus, Baz Luhrmann, Bill Murray, Claire Danes, Dante Ferretti, Diane Venora, Ethan Hawke, Gangs of New York, Hair, Hamlet, Harold Perrineau, Harry Lennix, Ian McKellen, Jim Broadbent, John Wood, Julia Stiles, Julie Taymor, Kenneth Branagh, Kyle macLachlan, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lost, Maggie Smith, Michael Almereyda, Moulin Rouge!, Nigel Hawthorne, Richard III, Richard Loncraine, Romeo + Juliet, Romeo and Juliet, Rushmore, Sweeney Todd, The Lion King, Titus, Titus Andronicus, William Shakespeare
Posted by moviegeek916 on April 1, 2012 · Leave a Comment
Frankenstein (1931) – So I have saved the best for not-quite-last (since some of the other movies I intend to watch are sequels to this one). Frankenstein is my favorite of the old Universal Monster movies. It’s also the most popular with five sequels and a crossover with Abbott and Costello. Boris Karloff and Jack … Continue reading →
Filed under Film, Old Facebook Minireviews, Reviews, The Best · Tagged with 1931, ?, Abbott and Costello, Boris Karloff, Bud Abbott, Christopher Lee, Colin Clive, Dwight Frye, Edward Van Sloan, Frankenstein, Jack Pierce, James Whale, John Boles, Kenneth Branagh, Lou Costello, Mae Clarke, Marilyn Harris, Mary Shelley, Robert DeNiro, Universal Monsters
Posted by moviegeek916 on February 26, 2012 · 1 Comment
If you want to know what I felt were the best movies of the year etc. then that’s a different article altogether (one that can be read here). This is about the Oscars. For most categories, I just offer a quick pick for what WILL win and a brief explanation for why I think that. … Continue reading →
Filed under Film · Tagged with "Man or Muppet", "Real in Rio", A Better Life, A Cat in Paris, A Separation, Albert Brooks, Albert Nobbs, Alexander Payne, Alfred Hitchcock, Andy Serkis, Anne-Sophie Bion, Anonymous, Bérénice Bejo, Beginners, Brad Pitt, Bret McKenzie, Bridesmaids, Brokeback Mountain, Chico & Rita, Christopher Plummer, Community, Coriolanus, Crash, Damián Bichir, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett, Dante Ferretti, Do the Right Thing, Drive, Driving Miss Daisy, Emmanuel Lubezki, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Francesca Lo Schiavo, Gary Oldman, George Clooney, Glenn Close, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Hugo, Ingmar Bergman, J. Roy Helland, Janet McTeer, Jean Dujardin, Jessica Chastain, Jim Rash, Joe Letteri, John Midgely, Jonah Hill, Kenneth Branagh, Lisi Chrisl, Lon Bender, Margaret Thatcher, Marilyn Monroe, Mark Coulier, Martin Scorsese, Match Point, Max Von Sydow, Melissa McCarthy, Meryl Streep, Michel Hazanavicius, Michelle Williams, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, My Week with Marilyn, Nat Faxon, Nick Nolte, Octavia Spencer, Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, R. Christopher White, Rango, Rio, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Rooney Mara, Sophie's Choice, Syriana, Take Shelter, Terrence Malick, The Artist, The Debt, The Departed, The Descendants, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Help, The Iron Lady, The Muppets, The Shore, The Tree of Life, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Tom Fleishman, Up in the Air, Vicky Christina Barcelona, Victor Ray Ennis, Viola Davis, WALL-E, War Horse, Warrior, Woody Allen
Posted by moviegeek916 on December 24, 2011 · Leave a Comment
Pirate Radio (2009) aka The Boat that Rocked — I am a fan of British Invasion rock music from the 1960s as well as “sticking it to the man” stories so I suppose I was somewhat predisposed to enjoy this one. It’s lightweight fun, but I have to emphasize the fun part. Plus an excellent … Continue reading →
Filed under Film, Reviews · Tagged with 2009, Bill Nighy, Emma Thompson, Jack Davenport, Kenneth Branagh, Nick Frost, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Pirate Radio, Rhys Darby, Rhys Ifans, Richard Curtis, The Boat that Rocked, Tom Sturridge
Posted by moviegeek916 on November 28, 2011 · Leave a Comment
My Week with Marilyn (2011) – Oscar-bait season is here at last, and with it we get our first front-runner for Best Actress: two-time nominee Michelle Williams (though Meryl Streep has a movie about Margaret Thatcher coming up later this year so it’s too early to declare Williams the victor). Back in the days of … Continue reading →
Filed under Film, Reviews · Tagged with 2011, Arthur Miller, Blue Valentine, Brokeback Mountain, Colin Clark, Dame Sybil Thorndike, Dawson's Creek, Dominic Cooper, Dougray Scott, Eddie Redmayne, Emma Watson, Judi Dench, Julia Ormand, Katie Holmes, Kenneth Branagh, Margaret Thatcher, Marilyn Monroe, Meryl Streep, Michelle Williams, Milton H. Greene, My Week with Marilyn, Paula Strasberg, Simon Curtis, Sir Laurence Olivier, The Prince and the Showgirl, true story, Vivien Leigh, Zoë Wanamaker
Posted by moviegeek916 on September 24, 2011 · Leave a Comment
As You Like It (2006) — I have seen two of Kenneth Branagh’s previous Shakespeare films. One, Much Ado About Nothing, I quite liked. The other, Hamlet, I have several issues with. As You Like It I like, mostly due to the cast and performances. The film is transplanted to Japan, after it was opened … Continue reading →
Filed under Film, Old Facebook Minireviews · Tagged with 2006, As You Like It, based on play, Brian Blessed, Bryce Dallas Howard, David Oyelowo, Hamlet, Kenneth Branagh, Much Ado About Nothing, William Shakespeare