Blog Archives
Weekly Movie Post–August 24, 2011
Weekly Movie Podcast – August 24th, 2011 <16 mins – 7.6MB>
^right click to download^
NOTE: I’m aware of the audio issues of the podcast. My audio software is giving me problems with the MP3 files (the WAV format sounds just fine). I’ve uploaded a version that runs at 96 kbps which makes it sound like there’s less static. The other issues like the volume leveling should be fixed before the next podcast.
Continue reading for the top five charts from last week’s box office (all data coming from www.the-numbers.com). There’s also a list of all the movies coming out this weekend in theatres and the movies that were released for the home video market this week (with trailers where available).
Weekly Movie Post – July 5, 2011
Weekly Movie Podcast – July 5, 2011 <19 mins – 8.9MB>
^right click to download^
Continue reading for the top five charts from last week’s box office (all data coming from www.the-numbers.com). There’s also a list of all the movies coming out this weekend in theatres and the movies that were released for the home video market this week (with trailers where available). Read the rest of this entry
Inception (Movie Review)
Movie Review
Inception
2010
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan’s Inception is a movie about paradoxes. The film itself is a paradox because for as much thought that was put into the narrative of the story, the film relies heavily on the audience to fill in major gaps of logic. Despite this, Inception is a great movie for fans of any genre. Calling it an action movie would be unfair to the film’s deeply thought out storylines and calling it a cerebral drama would be unjustly ignoring the film’s wonderfully shot and choreographed action scenes. Either way you look at it, it’s a mind-blowing film.
Madness Brewing Weekly Movie Newsletter #001
The very first issue of the Madness Brewing Weekly Movie Newsletter is up. It’s a double issue (16 pages) full of Oscar news and reviews. There’s a play-by-play of the ceremonies plus commentary. There’s also an article about the controversy surround a producer for The Hurt Locker, and his illegal campaign to solicit votes. Another article in the newsletter looks at the rivalry between Avatar and The Hurt Locker and how it ended up being the only battle people cared about going into the show. Also, reviews of all ten of the best picture nominees are included plus a review of last year’s winner, Slumdog Millionaire.
The newsletter is free of charge and is going to be published weekly. The next issue will be up on Saturday and, after that, will be a regular fixture on the site every Friday. It is in PDF format so you can take with you on an e-book or a Kindle, read it on your computer screen, or print it off and read anywhere you want.
If you haven’t had a chance yet, I also did a podcast about the event.
If you have any questions or comments, send them to madnessbrewing@gmail.com
It Must Suck To Be A Movie Critic
It’s funny that last year many critics and Internet wannabe-critics spent their time crying about the sorry state of the movie industry. It was certainly the year of the sequel…or more accurately the threequel since many movie franchises doled out their third instalment (Pirates of the Caribbean, Spider-Man, Shrek, etc.). For the most part, these movies felt like they were created with the sole purpose of printing money rather than adding another epic chapter in what people would call stellar franchises. Crying from critics aside, theatres still made tons of money on these cookie-cutter affairs and have opened the door to keep these franchises rolling.
While the money is good, the compelling argument is that these movies provide little artistic value and will eventually be destined to the bargain bins in the next couple of years. The real crime, some would say is that these films take up so many screens that smaller titles that have more artistic merit are brushed aside, unable to be screened in many cities. There is some truth to this as not every small budget movie is a Canadian art-house film intended to have twenty-three secret meanings and will only appeal to approximately six people. There are some incredible titles such as ‘Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead’ that seem to have flown under the radar and not made an impact on the national consciousness because of its small amount of visibility. The argument against this is that the movie ‘Juno’ was also a small independent movie that found an audience leading to a growing demand to see the film on more screens. The movie broke the $100 million barrier and was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
I would look at it this way: if a movie is good, it deserves to be praised and shoved in people’s faces. Spider-Man 2 is a movie that should be promoted to death because it was an excellent film. Spider-Man 3 was awful and should be buried underneath the Earth’s crust never to be seen by humanity again. What irks me is that while the movie made some money in theatres, it’s all the tie-in products that netted Sony and its partners a kazillion dollars. The movie had to give up most of its revenue from theatres due to all the promotion and marketing surrounding the film. The movie could not only make $100 million because according to some estimates that between production and promotion, it cost the filmmakers half a billion dollars to make. The money is in the novelty products; action figures, collectable cups, spidey-boxers. Director Kevin Smith sites this when asked about his work on the Superman Reborn project in which he was told by the producer to write into the story certain elements that would sell toys.
Film should be about the film. It shouldn’t be about what you can buy to go along with the film. It trivializes the medium and lessens it as an art form. Thankfully, when the award hardware is handed out, these cash in films are rarely represented. One exception to that rule could be the new Batman movie. It fits the cookie-cutter formula perfectly; it’s a sequel, has had a massive marketing blitz, and there are plenty of toys to be bought. However, the producers made sure a viable and compelling script were included to ensure that the movie wasn’t to be destined for an "only good if you’ve got nothing better to do at 3AM" rating.
Then again, Shrek 4 is in production.
Montreal News
- The big news story in the city is still the shooting death of Fredy Villanueva by Montreal police. There is still uncertainty as to what took place last Saturday but both sides are demanding answers as the police are trying to clear the name of the force which some would say has been taking a pounding in the press while the grieving family want to know why their son was killed. Mayor Gerald Tremblay has been conducting press conferences all week where he avoid laying blame on either side but recognizes the tensions in Montreal’s various racially diverse communities where street gangs seem like the only option for some.
Canadian News
- An arbitrator here in Quebec has ruled against a Wal-Mart in Gatineau that effectively forces a collective bargaining agreement into effect giving the workers at the auto-shop there major pay raises and other assorted benefits. While this may be good for the workers, some are concerned that Wal-Mart may close the store due to their anti-union history.
International News
- This could become a major focal point in the U.S. Election or it could be another Internet report that gets lost on its way to the American Heartland: Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell, who is a close friend of President George W. Bush and who was the pastor at the wedding of one of Bush’s daughters, has publicly denounced Sen. John McCain for his conduct at a bike rally in Sturgis, ND. He has also gone on record praising Sen. Barack Obama.
Entertainment News
- In an effort to make Clue more hip to the young kids, Hasbro has changed the game up a bit by modifying the names of the game’s characters, changing the room names, and substituting some of the weapons for something more 21st-century (bye bye revolver). If Hasbro wants to get more kids to play their game, turn it into a Facebook application. Kids don’t care much for bored games anymore as much as I don’t care for them on my lawn.
Sports News
- Apparently, the Toronto Argonauts are not the only football team that has trouble filling Skydome Rogers Centre.
