The Ghost Writer

Submitted by Aaron Weiss on Thu, 08/05/2010 - 10:27
Polanski Returns with this Suspenseful Political Thriller

The Ghost WriterAin't 'fraid of no ghost.

It rare for a major motion picture to be released while the director remains in custody; this custody may have added to the political strife that is featured in The Ghost Writer. This Roman Polanski 2010 political thriller is a first for the troubled director, yet features many of the traditional Polanski signatures that have made him a major figure in cinema for six decades.

An unnamed protagonist (will be referred to as Ghost) (Ewan McGregor) is hired to pick up where the previous ghost writer left of on former British Prime Minister Adam Lang's (Pierce Brosnan) memoirs. The previous ghost writer was found dead and washed ashore. Ghost is invited to a secure home where he continues to work on the memoirs with the Minster's assistant, (Kim Cattrall) and his wife (Olivia Williams).

News of rumors about Langs's illegal activities regarding suspected terrorists creates a stir among peace protesters and prevents Lang from returning to the UK. Ghost begins to find clues left by the previous ghost writer that point towards many of the secret allegations that have surrounded Lang.

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Great Showdowns

Submitted by Aaron Weiss on Wed, 08/04/2010 - 14:39

Great ShowdownsRosebud

With a little help from Twitter, I found Great Showdowns. A Tumblr blog where the most famous scenes and characters are drawn to represent the showdown between the protagonist and either the antagonist or an important object/prop in a film.

Drawn by Scott C., Great Showdowns is a fun away to pass the lengthy workday along and is highly original and imaginative. I could not help but share.

Cyrus

Submitted by Aaron Weiss on Mon, 08/02/2010 - 10:56
Old Premise with Unworthy Praise

CyrusNot worthy of the hype

Currently billed as the indie hit of the summer, Cyrus features an accurately casted ensemble featuring some of the most loved indie-actors and comedic actors currently working. Yet, Cyrus does not live up to much of the hype and acclaim that has been whispered throughout the industry.

Cyrus begins as a charming film with John (John C. Reilly) still hung-up on his ex-wife, whom they still share a caring friendship. John meets Molly (Marisa Tomei) at an engagement party for his ex-wife and her future husband. The two instantly have a connection and for two days begin a charming affair, buy Molly never spends the night entirely.

One night, John decides to follow Molly back to her place, where he meets Cyrus (Jonah Hill). Cyrus and Molly have a relatively peculiar mother-son relationship. Cyrus at 22 still has night terrors and is very much coddled by Molly. This coddling provokes Cyrus to battle John for alpha-male supremacy alongside Molly.

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Why You Should Ignore Armond White

Submitted by Aaron Weiss on Sat, 07/31/2010 - 18:47

Armond WhiteArmond White believes he's the only capable film critic.
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Prior to Toy Story 3, I had no idea who Armond White was, I doubt you did too. Thanks to hardcore Pixar fans, his name is now a staple in film criticism two months later. For those unaware, White is one of the few film critics whose ratings are syndicated on Rotten Tomatoes that had a negative opinion of the animated film, knocking the film down from the coveted 100% rating that the previous Toy Story films have.

Within a day, White would be targeted by film goers and fans of the film from around the world on various websites. Typically, a negative review is not the end of the world. The argument is that White often provides negative reviews of films that are often enjoyed by the masses. While having a contrarian point of view can be beneficial, many of White's negative reviews often seem to be contrarian, just to be contrarian.

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