Actor Spotlight: Who Am I This Time?

0

Posted by Joe Wilhelm | Posted in , , , | Posted on 8:25 AM

Before watching 1982's Who Am I This Time?, the oldest Christopher Walken work I had watched was The Dead Zone. This film was made one year prior. I'll admit to forming certain opinions after viewing this to the point I had to look up information online to settle thoughts. Having searched, I found my hunches were correct: this was a made for television movie.

Continue Reading

Brooklyn's Finest

0

Posted by Rene Alvarado | Posted in | Posted on 4:45 PM

Brooklyn's Finest is the latest from director Antoine Fuqua. A gritty and violent crime drama set in one of the most notorious neighborhoods of New York City. The story follows three very different police officers as they deal with life as cops and life as people.

Continue Reading

Brooklyn's Finest (Devil's Advocates Review)

0

Posted by Ervin A. Villanueva | Posted in | Posted on 10:47 AM

Now in theory, the premise of the film is sound, almost intriguing if not original. The film takes a unique prospective on the in sight from 3 Police Officers of the NYPD, whom are a part of the 65th District, which is hailed as the toughest area of NYC. The events of the film are on how 3 different officers handle their lives within and outside of their job.

Continue Reading

Oscar Winner List

0

Posted by Mike Pampinella | Posted in , , , , | Posted on 7:36 PM

For the five people left that haven't heard, here is the list of winners from the 82nd Annual Academy Awards:

Motion Picture: The Hurt Locker



Actor: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart



Actress: Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side



Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds



Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique, Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire



Director: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

Continue Reading

Devil's DVD Advocacy: Up in the Air

2

Posted by Mike Pampinella | Posted in , , , , | Posted on 4:30 PM

Originally Posted By Spencer Diedrick

This is a tough time in America's history. Recession means bankruptcy, and unemployment runs rampant as factories close and their roles are filled overseas. Unlike anyone else in the country, for Ryan Bingham, these are the glory days. His job is traveling to and fro between just about every city or town on the map, and giving loyal workers the professional boot. Many stories concern those who walk "the road less traveled"; Bingham takes that road, along with several thousand more. He doesn't relish this task; he's like the garbageman, only the garbage asks him how he sleeps at night. What he does relish is the act of flying itself, as he feels more at home in the airport terminal than the address on his driver's license (which I suspect he doesn't have or need). This is a one-of-a-kind character, in a one-of-a-kind movie. The movie is Up in the Air, directed by Jason Reitman and starring George Clooney, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick, and it's one trip well worth undertaking.

Continue Reading

Devil's DVD Disappointment: Capitalism: A Love Story

0

Posted by Mike Pampinella | Posted in , , , , | Posted on 4:24 PM

Originally Posted By Dave Bartik

Time for another Michael Moore documentary. Time for more public domain filmstrips, more depressing stories of the working class, and more beating of the dead horse known as Flint, Michigan. In the past this formula has worked, and worked well enough to garner Moore fame at the forefront of documentarians (at least of the commercial documentarians). However, with Capitalism: A Love Story, even hitting all of his major arcs, the foolproof equation doesn’t add up.

Continue Reading

Episode 13: Oscar Picks and Predictions

0

Posted by Mike Pampinella | Posted in | Posted on 2:13 PM

This week Mike and Veer are joined by Devil's Advoate contributor Jonathan MacFarlane in order to discuss who should win, as well as who will win. Can anyone topple Avatar? Will Sandra Bullock win, causing the earth to open up and swallow all of the legitimate actors nearby? Only one way to find out.


Listen, especially if you have money riding on the Oscars. Just be sure to send us our 25 percent cut.


iTunes Feed:


http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=343227972



RSS Feed:

http://pamp47.libsyn.com/rss

Episode 14: Alice in Wonderland

0

Posted by Mike Pampinella | Posted in , , , , | Posted on 4:40 PM

This week we fall down the rabbit hole, for what feels like an eternity (it's a long one this week), and discuss overdone Depp, competent CGI craftsmanship, and the wonder that is Wasikowska.

Give us a listen and we'll bake you a cake that is guaranteed to make you taller.

iTunes Feed:


http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=343227972


RSS Feed:

http://pamp47.libsyn.com/rss

Independent Spirit Award Winners Announced

0

Posted by Spencer Diedrick | Posted in | Posted on 9:52 AM

The 25th annual Independent Spirit Awards weren't surprising in the least, but they give movies that don't have much of a chance in the Oscar race to get the accolades they deserve. Here are this year's winners:

Continue Reading

Actor Spotlight: The Deer Hunter

0

Posted by Jonathan MacFarlane | Posted in , , | Posted on 11:12 AM

The Deer Hunter was released in 1978 to much acclaim, winning 5 Oscars--Best Picture, Best Director (Michael Cimino), Best Supporting Actor (Christopher Walken), Best Film Editing, and Best Sound--and being nominated for 4 additional Academy Awards. It is consistently included on lists of the greatest movies ever. It is notable for being one of the first Vietnam War movies after the Vietnam War ended. It is also notable for being the last film in which John Cazale (aka, Fredo from The Godfather 1 and 2) acted; he was suffering from end-stage bone cancer during the filming, and died shortly after the movie wrapped.

Continue Reading

Actor Spotlight: Christopher Walken

0

Posted by Mike Pampinella | Posted in , , , , , | Posted on 11:08 AM

This month we will be featuring the films of Christopher Walken.  Now, you're asking yourself, how do you pick what movies to watch when the actor has over a hundred acting credits?  We tried to pick films that had Walken in the forefront, as the leading man, being Walken. 

Week 1: The Deer Hunter


Week 2: Who am I This Time


Week 3: The Dead Zone


Week 4: King of New York


Week 5: Hairspray

Follow along and leave us comments.

The S.S. Minnow Maybe Sailing Into Theaters Soon

0

Posted by Mike Pampinella | Posted in , , , , | Posted on 10:03 AM

Gilligan's Island creator Sherwood Schwartz is looking to bring his castaways to the big screen soon.  Details are sketchy, but the film has been greenlit by Warner Brothers and Schwartz has his lead actor in mind: Michael Cera.  Another name that has been bandied about is Beyonce, who would likely play the role of Ginger if she were on board.  Nothing is set in stone at the moment, but it seems the project now has some forward momentum.   

Cop Out

0

Posted by Patrick Newson | Posted in , , , | Posted on 9:45 AM

When I was a junior in high school I worked for a video store. Little did I know I was in training to do the glorious job of criticizing films for Devil’s Advocates. We were allowed free rentals and use of the preview copy rack. These were the screener studios sent us so that we would buy copies and rent out their movie. One day I find a weird titles movie called Clerks. It was vulgar, funny, and in black and white. Two slacker clerks and their adventures when one wasn’t even supposed to be there that day. That began my love of Kevin Smith films. Naturally I wanted to see Cop Out, or as it was originally titled Couple of Dicks. That being said onto the movie.

Continue Reading

Arthur Returns: All Hail The Drunken Hero

0

Posted by Patrick Newson | Posted in , , , , | Posted on 11:28 AM

One of my favorite movies when I was younger was Arthur starring Dudley Moore. Arthur was a boozing playboy, who takes absolutely nothing serious. He then meets a working class woman, (played by Liza Minelli) and falls in love. His family threatens to cut him off if he marries her, and in the end love conquers all.

Continue Reading

Hurt Locker Producer is Hurting

0

Posted by Mike Pampinella | Posted in , , | Posted on 11:12 AM

In an unprecedented move the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has banned Nicolas Chartier, the producer of The Hurt Locker, from attending the ceremony on Sunday.  This is a lucky turn for the film itself as there was talk of it being removed from consideration.

This reprieve was no doubt brought on by the pleas sent out by Chartier in the form of an apology letter.  In it he sites "naivete" and "ignorance of the rules" as playing a part in his actions.    

1st Annual Lucifer Awards

267

Posted by Spencer Diedrick | Posted in | Posted on 11:32 AM

The Devil's Advocates present the first annual Lucifer Awards, celebrating what we believe to be the best of film in 2009. Here are the results:

Continue Reading

The Crazies (Devil's Advocate Review)

0

Posted by Rene Alvarado | Posted in , , , , | Posted on 10:14 AM

Iowa is full of random craziness. Slipknot, meth heads, guys named Ezekiel all live in Iowa. In The Crazies, that insanity is taken to a new level.

Sort of. It all seems so familiar. Wait a minute. It's a slick looking horror movie in 2010. Yup. It's a remake. Of a George Romero movie that nobody saw.

The town of Ogden Marsh is a typical farming town. It's the kind of place where everyone knows each other and they actually listen to the local police.

Continue Reading

The Crazies

0

Posted by Joe Wilhelm | Posted in , , , , | Posted on 10:13 AM

To gear up to watch The Crazies, I watched George A. Romero's 1973 version a few days beforehand. While more modernized for our time, you can still see and feel homage to the 70's style that made Romero known for.

While Romero serves as executive producer, Breck Eisner (Michael Eisner's son) takes the helm as director on this one. Eisner does well setting up the premise in a fast pace, but tails off at times to give us more of a b-movie tone.

Continue Reading

Shrek Forever After Will Premiere At Tribeca

0

Posted by Mike Pampinella | Posted in , , , , | Posted on 4:50 PM

The latest installment of Shrek will be coming to the big screen on April 21, a month before it's wide release, at the Tribeca Film Festival.  The choice has been lauded as both innovative and odd, but is believed to attract the much needed attention that the film festival needs. 

The movie will run April 21 through to May 2, and opens in theaters all over on May 21.

Devil's DVD Disappointment: 2012

0

Posted by Mike Pampinella | Posted in , , , , , | Posted on 9:01 AM

I really only have one question (which isn't true, because I have many. Too many to list here). Why does Roland Emmerich want the world to end so badly? Independence Day, aliens blow us up good. The Day After Tomorrow, global warming sends us into another ice age. And now, in 2012, the earth as we know it starts disappearing out from underneath us. If destruction and body count are what Emmerich is going for, he is truly succeeding. Now, let's say, for arguments sake, that Emmerich actually wants to make good films. Well, that's another story.

Continue Reading

Devil's DVD Advocacy: Where The Wild Things Are

0

Posted by Mike Pampinella | Posted in , , , , , | Posted on 9:00 AM

Originally Posted By Spencer Diedrick

What a magical movie this is. Hardly a surprise, considering the pedigree of the people involved (the director of Being John Malkovich and Adaptation.), but it's a rare things when a literary masterpiece the likes of this is adapted in such a way that nothing is dumbed down or cut through corners. Going above and beyond its source material, Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are is as fantastically entertaining as it is moody and emotionally draining, the results of the director's unrelenting vision of a boy dealing with his inner demons in the company of some bigger ones.

Continue Reading

Comic Book Movie News

0

Posted by Mike Pampinella | Posted in , , , , , | Posted on 6:26 PM

In Green Lantern news, writer extraordinaire and new Chief Creative Officer for DC Comics Geoff Johns visited the set and confirmed in a Twitter post that Mark Strong will indeed be playing Sinestro.  Strong was last seen as the adversary of Sherlock Holmes in the recent incarnation.

Continue Reading

A Perfect Getaway DVD

0

Posted by Joe Wilhelm | Posted in , , , , , | Posted on 7:30 PM

With The Crazies starring Timothy Olyphant coming out, which Rene and I are reviewing, I wanted to take the opportunity to watch A Perfect Getaway beforehand. This movie was released on dvd a little more than a month ago after little publicity in the theaters considering it came out the same day as G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra.

Continue Reading

The Foot Fist Way (Just For The Hell of It)

0

Posted by Rene Alvarado | Posted in | Posted on 7:19 PM

If you've ever been inside of any kind of martial arts school or a lot of gyms, then this movie is for you. Something about that community of guys that tends to bring out the worst in some people. Maybe, it's the testosterone, male insecurities or lots of sweat. In real life that can be annoying to be around. It gets old fast. In The Foot Fist Way it's exactly that type of tough guy meat head mentality that makes this movie one of the best dark comedies I've ever seen.

Continue Reading

Director Spotlight: Amarcord

0

Posted by Rene Alvarado | Posted in | Posted on 5:50 PM

I must confess, up until I watched Amarcord, I had never seen a Federico Fellini movie.I had no expectations at all going into Amarcord. That actually helped my experience because I was very pleasantly surprised with this movie. I always thought of Fellini movies as being like a lot of older foreign films. Boring and in black and white. Thankfully, that is definitely not the case with this movie. It's a living photograph of a place and time that a lot of people in this part of the world know nothing about.

Continue Reading

Indian Goddess Freida Pinto To Battle Greek Gods

0

Posted by Mike Pampinella | Posted in , , , | Posted on 4:57 PM

Fighting the Greek gods is all the rage right now, so Universal is moving forward with it's War of The Gods.  The film, much like Clash of The Titans, focuses in on one of Zeus' children rebelling against daddy on a large scale.  Theseus, played by Henry Cavill, will enlist the help of Freida Pinto's Phaedra to battle the tyranny of the gods.  The film is slated to release in 2011. 

Editor's Note:  This story has a personal connection for me, as my daughter's name happens to be Phaedra.

The Clerks Guy and Tuesdays With Morrie Guy Team Up

0

Posted by Mike Pampinella | Posted in , , | Posted on 11:13 AM

Director Kevin Smith and writer Mitch Albom have teamed up on the screenplay for Hit Somebody, which is adapted from a song by Warren Zevon.  The story centers around a player whose talents lie mainly in his ability to enforce and take out opposing players.  Smith, a huge hockey fan, paired with Albom, a sports journalist as well as a bestselling author, are treating this film like a labor of love.

The film is slated for a 2011 release.     

Say It Ain't So...Blues Brother On The Small Screen?

0

Posted by Mike Pampinella | Posted in , , | Posted on 10:53 AM

John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd made the blues playing duo famous, but it's the widow of Belushi that will make them infamous. Judy Belushi-Pisano is working on a script to adapt The Blues Brothers into a television series along with Anne Beatts, a writer from Saturday Night Live. The series would focus on the titular brothers working their way down the Mississippi towards New Orleans. The actors: Kieron Lafferty and Wayne Catania, the actors that currently play them on stage in a travelling Blues Brothers show.

Did we learn nothing from Blues Brother 2000?

Shutter Island (Devil's Advocate Review)

0

Posted by Dave Bartik | Posted in , , , , , , , , , , | Posted on 4:51 PM

Riding the coattails (albeit a few years later) of The Departed, Martin Scorsese once again unleashes questionable Boston accents and Leonardo DiCaprio on the unsuspecting public in Shutter Island. Shutter is a noir-styled tour through a sheltered mental asylum which harbors more than just unbalanced criminals. The head doctor (Kingsley) speaks in tangled euphemisms and the inmates warn visitors of its inescapability as DiCaprio (Teddy Daniels) searches for a missing patient. As soon as Daniels steps off the ferry onto the haunting island, dreamy visions of his deceased wife cloud his thoughts and caution him to not go prying too far into the past.

Continue Reading

Shutter Island

0

Posted by Spencer Diedrick | Posted in , , , , , , , , , , | Posted on 4:45 PM

In Martin Scorsese's new flick, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels and his new partner Chuck Aule arrive at Shutter Island, Massachusetts to investigate the disappearance of a patient at Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Seems pretty straightforward, doesn't it? Then you don't know Scorsese. Adapted very faithfully from the novel by Boston crime aficionado Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone), Shutter Island, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley and Michelle Williams, is one part neo-noir, one part psychodrama, with an extra helping of suspense. It's also chock-full of fantastic actors working very hard to up the creepiness factor in any way they can. All in all, I was very happy with Shutter Island and while it contains a flaw or two, it sustains the tension throughout the picture and keeps you guessing until the very end.

Continue Reading

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)