Miles Teller and Kenny Wormald from "Footloose." Photo Credit: K.C. Bailey.
The slick sugarcoated remake of Footloose (2011) has trouble standing on its own without a love of the original, and can barely be compared to a classic like West Side Story (1961).
For one thing, it’s hard to say that Footloose is even a musical. Much of the music in this remake is used as a soundtrack, especially in one very melodramatic scene in which the protagonist, Ren MacCormack, dances out his anger as he talks to himself. This scene is an example of the many holes in the script—it is bland and negates its own best qualities with overly emotional scenes like this one. [click to continue…]
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Film,
Footloose (2011)
Leonardo DiCaprio in Clint Eastwood's J Edgar. Photo Credit: Keith Bernstein.
Clint Eastwood directs J. Edgar, a biopic revolving around the character J. Edgar Hoover, a very controversial historical figure. Renowned Leonardo DiCaprio stars in the titular role, playing young and old Hoover. Dustin Lance Black, another big name in the Hollywood world, was the screenwriter of this film.
The film starts out with the rise of Hoover’s career as he campaigns against the “communist revolutionaries” and is named head of the Bureau of Investigation. As the movie moves from Hoover becoming the head of the Bureau to fully establishing the bureau’s power, DiCaprio accurately portrays the ambition and single-mindedness of Hoover. The mysterious relationship between Hoover and several other characters were also interestingly illustrated throughout this film. In my opinion, the most interesting of these relationships depicted in the film was between Hoover and his “wingman”, Clyde Tolson. [click to continue…]
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Clint Eastwood,
Film,
j. edgar,
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio, left, and Armie Hammer in "J. Edgar". Photo Credit: Keith Bernstein/Warner Brothers Pictures.
In J. Edgar, a few guns are pointed at people, some interesting American history is told, and a couple of gay-jokes are made. Never does this movie have much more depth than those examples, and no one is really saying that it needs to, as a Citizen Kane-esque biography of the enigmatic J. Edgar Hoover is something that has not yet been made into a major motion picture. All I was looking for was some interesting facts, and a balanced perspective on who J. Edgar was, and that’s pretty much what I got. [click to continue…]
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Clint Eastwood,
j. edgar,
Leonardo DiCaprio
If you’re the kind of movie-goer who prefers a simple, linear plot, The Tree of Life probably isn’t for you. But if you’re open to a dynamic film, filled with breathtaking imagery, meticulously planned shots – one that’s laced with below-the-surface meaning and symbolism – then The Tree of Life has plenty to offer.
At its core, the film, written and directed by Terrence Malick, is a coming-of-age story about the loss of innocence. The movie follows Jack O’Brien (played by Hunter McCracken and Sean Penn) from the time he’s just beginning to grow, to when he raids a neighbor’s panty-drawer, to when he sees someone die for the first time and when he wants to kill his father. Malick successfully shows the world from the eyes of a curious child during each distinct point of Jack’s childhood. [click to continue…]
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Brad Pitt,
Emmanuel Lubezki,
Jessica Chastain,
Sean Penn,
Terrence Malick,
The Tree of Life
"Moving Image: An Art Fair of Contemporary Video Art" was on view in March of 2011.
I never knew there was such a thing as video art, so the art exhibit “Moving Image: An Art Fair of Contemporary Video Art” was like walking through a doorway and suddenly finding oneself in a foreign country. Located inconspicuously at the Waterfront Tunnel event space on 269 11th Avenue, between 27th and 28th Street, the interior was of crimson brick walls and a high arched ceiling. Upon entering the doors, attendees were greeted by an information table and a heap of blue bags—the first piece of video art in the exhibit.
The piece that captured my eye, though, was a brilliant work of art called “War Mop” (1983) made by American artist Carolee Schneemann. At first glance, it looked like a haphazard mess of two staple household items: a mop and a television set. [click to continue…]
Tagged as:
Moving Image: An Art Fair of Contemporary Video Art,
Teen Reviewers and Critics Spring 2011,
War Mop,
Waterfront Tunnel
$5 Tickets
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