Before Blue Mountain State: The Rise of Thadland, Blue Mountain State was a thing – a considerably big thing. I admit, I had no idea. To my understanding: Blue Mountain State was a television show that aired on the Spike Network for three seasons. When the prospects of a film spin-off were mentioned via Kickstarter, 23,999 fans swarmed the campaign and raised $1,911,827. Blue Mountain State: The Rise of Thadland deals gratitude towards its fan base…
The girlfriend dramedy Miss You Already is a fitting follow-up for Thirteen filmmaker Catherine Hardwicke. It just so happens to arrive late in her career after Lords of Dogtown, The Nativity Story, Twilight, and Red Riding Hood.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny is okay, which would be tolerable if it wasn’t associated with such an imaginative predecessor.
Mountains May Depart is the type of work that sets a high watermark for cinema. It’s a film that portrays the cause and effect of our decisions, and how those results can carry through years – even decades – with growth and regret. Jia Zhang-Ke’s film is reminiscent of the equally exceptional The Place Beyond the Pines, only Zhang-Ke is less interested in suspense and more focused on psychology.
Robert Carlyle has proven to be an astonishing actor from his memorable work in The Full Monty, Trainspotting, and California Solo. Though The Legend of Barney Thomson allows the actor to return to his Trainspotting-esque wildness, it’s unfortunate that his first attempt at directing a feature film isn’t quite so flawless.
In 2013, audiences were treated to two movies involving hostage situations in the White House: Antoine Fuqua’s Olympus Has Fallen and Roland Emmerich’s White House Down. The former performed well enough at the box office to merit a sequel, while the other languished in obscurity, likely due to its director’s notorious incompetence. And yet, much like its predecessor, London Has Fallen shows that in terms of quality, White House Down triumphed where Olympus had fallen.
After watching younger filmmakers at work, viewers hope to walk away with a bit of pep in their step feeling hopeful about the future of movies. I knew going into Hostile that the horror film was written/directed by teenager Nathan Ambrosioni, and I did leave feeling elated. Not only that, but Hostile was also really good.
Sexploitation cinema’s latest entry Gone by Dawn boasts bare bodies as if its already waving down Mr. Skin for a year-end top prize in nudity. However, don’t be fooled by this skin flick. Even though the film prides itself on sex appeal, there’s something more meaningful underneath it all.
A film titled A Perfect Day opens itself to a lot of critical wordplay. Unfortunately, it’s not perfect and it’s not imperfect – it’s definitely somewhere in the middle. An Okay Day just doesn’t have the same ring.
