Because Everybody Else Has One

The week of major literary adaptations by actors-turned-directors starts with Daniel from Freaks and Geeks doing Steinbeck. What could go wrong? This review is also up at Channel 24 . What it's about During the Great Depression, a pair of activists involve themselves in the struggles of desperate workers by getting them to strike for fair wages. What we thought In Dubious Battle is hardly the Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden or Of Mice and Men in the canon of great novels by premier American writer, John Steinbeck, as it is known for concentrating far more on its message than on its story or characters. At least, that seems to be the general consensus. I admit, I haven't read it or any of Steinbeck's novels (he's always been near the top of my must read list but I still haven't gotten round to him) so I certainly can't compare the novel to the film but, based purely on the evidence on display here, it's hard to argue with that consensus. ...

Or will it? This review is also up at Channel 24 . What it's about After being involved in a tragic car accident that resulted in the death of a young child, author Tomas Eldan is forced to come to grips with what happened, even as his writing career starts to take off. What we thought It's been a long time since a Wim Wenders (Paris, Texas; Wings of Desire) film has seen a cinematic release in this country but the extremely clumsily titled Every Thing Will Be Fine is far from his best work - even if it is, in some respects, quite representative of his enormous talents as a filmmaker. Wenders has always made glacially-paced, elegiac films that are as much about simmering emotions and overall mood as they are about traditional plot mechanics so it's hardly the case that Every Thing Will Be Fine is a major departure for him. It's also every bit as gorgeously shot and evocatively scored as his very best work and even if his experiment with 3D effect...

The movie that almost started World War III. Well, not really but it's still funny to think that a silly Seth Rogen flick caused this much of a ruckus. Especially after seeing the thing. This should also be up at Channel 24 at some point and I'l post a link if and when that happens. What it's about Dave Skylark, the charismatic but not too bright anchor of an entertainment news show, is invited for a once-in-a-lifetime interview with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. Before he and his best friend/ producer, Aaron Rapaport, head off for their rendezvous with the infamous “Supreme Leader” in his home country, however, they are enlisted by the CIA to use their almost unheard of close proximity to Jong-un to discreetly assassinate him. What we thought At this point, the Interview is far more famous for the bizarre circumstances in which it was released than anything within the film itself – and, honestly, that's probably for the best. It's no...

Starting off the weekend with a review of what was a very pleasant surprise... From Channel24 What it's about: Taking the old franchise back to its origins, Rise of the Planet of the Apes tells the story of how a potential miracle cure for Alzheimers disease ends up giving the apes on whom it is tested, human-levels of intelligence - setting up a chain of events that would forever alter mankind's supremacy as earth's dominant species. What we thought: It was hard not to walk into Rise of the Planet of the Apes without at least some trepidation. The previous attempt to revive the franchise was 2001's dire Tim Burton "re-imagining", which still rates as the worst thing he has ever done and ensured that no further attempts would be made throughout the rest of the decade. Here we are, though, ten years later and rather than remaking the series, they're doing something even more dubious: they're giving us the backstory that led to th...