CinemaFunk

Heist movies can be made in several ways. You can have a cool heist movie, filled with fun characters played by popular actors (think Ocean's 11). You can have a puzzle of a heist movie, in which the heist itself is a Rube Goldberg device that only becomes clear in the end (think David Mamet's Heist). You can have a strong character heist film in which a central character is well developed, or even tougher to do, in which a large group of characters all get various levels of development and depth (look to Michael Mann in general). Takers has none of these characteristics. It tries...

Parodies of Hitler are usually pretty funny — and this one is no exception. Here, the Fuhrer’s men have the misfortune of having to inform him of the tragic news that Marvel has just been acquired by Disney (“Marvel now belongs to Mickey Mouse”). Hitler’s reaction to this is hysterical as his rant gets more [...]

TFT 141 running time: 48 minutes 55 seconds – 22.5mb mp3

Original Episode

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Yesterday, I did a write-up on Steven Spielberg’s 2005 film, Munich, which I consider to be his most daring, most mature work to date. But that’s just me. Part of the reason I started this website is to have a dialogue with other movie lovers, getting your thoughts and opinions on the world of movies. So [...]

The Square may not quite live up to the modern noir classics that inspired it, but with twists and tension to spare, it comes admirably close.

I remember seeing the movie back in 2005, thinking it was perhaps his strongest work to date as a filmmaker. Screening it again this week only helped to cement my initial reaction of it as being a truly remarkable film. And although it may not be his “greatest” achievement (there is a little film called Schindler’s List [...]

Jerry O'Connell thesps it up in this Pirahna 3D scene

A friend of mine accused my last article (Kick Ass & Why I Don’t Like Super Hero Movies) of elitism. As if. Snobbery maybe, but elitism? If I were truly a film elitist, I wouldn’t have enjoyed the skin & blood fest that is Piranha 3D.

But for all its faults, I did.

"Centurion" (97 minutes; Rated R). A 97-minute chase through the spectacular scenery of the Scottish Highlands -- the far reaches of the Roman Empire in 117 A.D. -- as a platoon of bedraggled Roman soldiers find themselves hunted behind enemy lines by savage Picts. It gets monotonous, but there's lots of pretty red gore to brighten things up. With Michael Fassbender and Dominic West. Directed by Neil Marshall ("Dog Soldiers," "The Descent"). Two and a half stars.

"Chicago Heights" (Unrated, 90 minutes). A cinematic adaptation of Sherwood Anderson's "Winesburg, Ohio," moved to the present and recent decades and set in the far south Chicago suburb of Chicago Heights. Director Daniel Nearing uses a central character muck like Anderson's, who meditates on the lives he has observed in this African-American community, and as he approaches he recalls them in love and sadness. A remarkable job of evoking the essence of a book that is often considered not filmable. Three stars

"Flipped" (PG-13,90 minutes) Juli (Madeleine Carroll) has adored Bryce (Callan McAuliffe) ever since he moved into the neighborhood in the second grade. Bryce has been running away from her ever since. Now they're 14 and they seem to be flipping: he more interested, she less. Rod Reiner's warm human comedy tells their stories by showing the same crucial events from both their points of view. He returns to the time of his "Stand By Me" with the same endearing insights. Rating: Four stars

This was the kind of night a movie star's life is made of, a lonely, chill and windy night in a vacant lot somewhere in the middle of a strange city. Sean Connery said he rather enjoyed such nights. We were down near the corner of 46th and Calumet, on Chicago's South Side, where a film crew had rented a building to shoot some scenes for a movie.

I thought I was so over Michael Cera. My video game skills are only up to the early levels of Super Mario Bros, NES. And I have as much desire to watch hipsters fall in and out of “relationships” for a couple hours as I do to sit through Inception again and see if I’m missing anything. But Edgar Wright’s followup to his keenly observed genre riffs Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz is as dazzling as it is heartfelt. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is one of the sharpest portraits of millennial culture yet put to film.

"Lebanon" (92 minutes; Rated R). This claustrophobic war picture, set during Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon, is like "The Hurt Locker" turned outside-in. It takes place entirely inside an Israeli tank with the four crew members: a commander, a gunner, a loader and a driver. Written and directed by Israeli filmmaker Samuel Maoz, whose experience as a veteran of that war lends authenticity to what is also a bold cinematic experiment. Winner of the Golden Lion a the 2009 Venice Film Festival. Three and a half stars.

"Mesrine: Killer Instinct" (R, 113 minutes) He was a ruthless killer, bank robber, kidnapper and prison break artist--and a self-promoting egomaniac who wrote books some compared to Camus. Vincent Cassel stars in a hard-boiled performance as the French criminal who killed on three continents and was in love with his image. Three and a half stars

"Around a Small Mountain" (Unrated, 85 minutes) Jane Birkin is wonderful as a lonely woman returning to her father's little circus after 15 years. Sergio Castellitto is a man who helps her with car trouble and ends up running away with the circus along with her. But this isn't a romance; it's more two ships comforting each other in the night. Jacques Rivette, one of the founders of the French New Wave, has made a small film because for this gentle story that's exactly the right size. Three stars

The audience in Symphony Hall will get a treat Wednesday night. Performing: Wynton Marsalis, pianist Cecile Licad and a 10-piece jazz ensemble, including Sherman Irby, Victor Goines, Marcus Printup, Ted Nash, Kurt Bacher, Vincent Gardner, Wycliffe Gordon, Dan Nimmer, Carlos Henriquez and Ali Jackson. Conducting: Andy Farber.

There are very few things in life that I enjoy more than movies, but the theatre has always been my greatest passion — from O’Neill, Strindberg, and Pirandello, to Miller, Mamet and McDonogh. I studied theatre as an undergraduate (NYU and Hofstra) and have had an active interest in it since high school. I was lucky enough [...]

Piranha 3D delivers exactly what a film about prehistoric piranha set loose on Spring Breakers should deliver, and the biggest flaw of this film is how it seems to set out to appeal to a very small demographic of film-goers - specifically, people who watch movies purely for sex and violence. Oh sure, everyone watches film and television for the sex and violence; prime time crime dramas, "reality" TV, feature films, they all luxuriate in sex and violence on a regular basis, and the masses eat that crap up every day. But with Piranha 3D, the sex and violence is on the forefront and...

Emma Thompson's second labor of love with the Nanny McPhee character actually improves on the first, delivering charming family fare with an excellent cast.

Hey there TFT fans – some bad news:  my wife’s just called and our house in Nashville’s been broken into.  Luckily she wasn’t home at the time and is ok – but all of our computers, cameras and many valuables gone, (TFT Archives possibly??).  The result of this is that I’m taking the red-eye from Los Angeles back to Nashville tonight to be with her – so there may be some disruption to  service ’round here.

Luckily TFT has two great bloggers in Tony Youngblood and Brandon Nowalk so there should be some interesting posts coming up this week; plus you’ll know if you’already listened to our current ep that next week’s show will be a repeat.  We should have a new podcast up and running after episode 141.  Many thanks for your support during this crappy time.