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  • Movies I’ve Seen
    • All the Reviews ~ A-Z
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2012
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2013
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2014
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2015
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2016
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2017
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2018
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2019
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2020
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2021
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2022
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2023
  • Awards Season
    • 2012
      • The Golden Globes – 1/15/12
      • The Academy Awards – 2/26/12
    • 2013
      • The Golden Globes – 1/13/13
      • SAG Awards – 1/27/13
      • Spirit Awards – 2/23/13
      • Academy Awards – 2/24/13
    • 2014
      • Golden Globes ~ 1/12/14
      • SAG Awards ~ 1/18/14
      • Spirit Awards ~ 3/1/14
      • Academy Awards – 3/2/14
    • 2015
      • Golden Globes ~ 1/11/15
      • SAG Awards ~ 1/25/15
      • Film Independent Spirit Awards ~ 2/21/15
      • Academy Awards ~ 2/22/15
    • 2016
      • Golden Globes – 1/10/2016
      • SAG Awards – 1/30/2016
      • Spirit Awards – 2/27/2016
      • Academy Awards – 2/28/2016
    • 2017
      • Golden Globes – 1/8/2017
      • SAG Awards – 1/29/2017
      • Film Independent Spirit Awards – 2/25/2017
      • Academy Awards – 2/26/2017
    • 2018
      • Golden Globes – 1/7/2018
      • SAG Awards – 1/21/2018
      • Film Independent Spirit Awards – 3/3/2018
      • Academy Awards – 3/4/2018
    • 2019
      • Golden Globes – 1/6/2019
      • SAG Awards – 1/27/2019
      • Film Independent Spirit Awards – 2/23/2019
      • Academy Awards – 2/24/2019
    • 2020
      • Golden Globes – 1/5/2020
      • SAG Awards – 1/19/2020
      • Film Independent Spirit Awards – 2/8/2020
      • Academy Awards – 2/9/2020
    • 2021
      • Golden Globes – 2/28/21
      • SAG Awards – 4/4/2021
      • Film Independent Spirit Awards – 4/22/21
      • Academy Awards – 4/25/21
    • 2022
      • SAG Awards – 2/27/22
      • Film Independent Spirit Awards – 3/6/22
      • British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) – 3/13/22
      • Guild Awards – DGA / PGA / WGA
      • Academy Awards – 3/27/22
    • 2023
      • Golden Globe Awards – 1/10/23
      • Critics Choice Awards – 1/15/23
      • Guild Awards – DGA / PGA / WGA
      • British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) – 2/19/23
      • SAG Awards – 2/26/23
      • Film Independent Spirit Awards – 3/4/23
      • Academy Awards – 3/12/23
  • Special Series
    • 31 Days to Scare – October 2012
    • 31 Days to Scare – October 2016
    • Bond-ed For Life – November 2012
  • Film Festivals
    • 56th Chicago International Film Festival
    • 2021 Tribeca Festival
    • 2021 AFI DOCS Film Fest
    • 2021 Bentonville Film Festival
    • The 25th Fantasia International Film Festival
    • Fantastic Fest 2021
    • Nashville Film Fest 2021
    • 57th Chicago International Film Festival
    • 2022 – SXSW Film Festival
    • 2022 Tribeca Festival
    • Fantastic Fest 2022

September 27, 2012

Movie Review ~ Frankenweenie (2012)

by Joe Movie Review • Tags: 2012, Animation, Atticus Shaffer, Catherine O'Hara, Charlie Tahan, Conchata Ferrell, Danny Elfman, Frankenweenie, John August, Leonard Ripps, logo, Martin Landau, Martin Short, Robert Capron, Studio, Tim Burton, Walt Disney Studios, Winona Ryder

The Facts:

Synopsis: Young Victor conducts a science experiment to bring his beloved dog Sparky back to life, only to face unintended, sometimes monstrous, consequences.

Voice Stars: Winona Ryder, Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara, Martin Landau, Charlie Tahan, Atticus Shaffer, Robert Capron, Conchata Ferrell

Director: Tim Burton

Rated: PG

Running Length: 87 minutes

Trailer Review: Here and Here

TMMM Score: (8.5/10)

Review: When director Tim Burton was just a young upstart animator at Disney studios he had an idea for a film about a boy who loves his dog so much that when the dog dies he goes to great Frankenstein-like lengths to bring the pup back from the grave.  The result was a non-animated 29 minute black and white short that was too ahead of its time and macabre for its Target audience and Disney execs.  In fact, Burton was pretty much shown the door when Disney couldn’t find a way to market it. 

That all changed when Burton became a hot commodity in Hollywood and now 1984’s Frankenweenie is seen as a pivotal piece of Burton’s film history as it laid the groundwork in tone and style for many of his films of the 80’s and 90’s.  Who could have imagined that almost 30 years later Burton would be back in the good Disney graces and given the greenlight for a big budget, full-length, stop-motion animated version of his live action early work?

While the years have been kind to the original Frankenweenie, the time between the two versions has allowed Burton to collaborate again with screenwriter John August (Dark Shadows, Corpse Bride, Big Fish) to expand upon the original script by Leonard Ripps and, um, flesh out some of the characters to expand the story.  The film benefits greatly from these new additions so what was once a fairly contained story about boy and dog now is now on a totally different level incorporating classic monster moments with a richly beating heart at its center.

Those that know the original can spot how carefully close the first part of the movie sticks to the first version.  It’s when added characters (seen only before as walk on roles) start to take center stage that the film veers from its humble origins and takes on a life of its own.  Burton and August have given young Victor Frankenstein (voiced by Tahan with sincere compassion) an outrageously weird group of classmates that just wouldn’t have been possible in 1984.

There’s the wide eyed girl with a cat that tells the future from its litter box, an Igor-like hunchback, a just slightly un-PC Japanese boy, a rotund and roly-poly mouth breather, and a Boris Karloff inspired sorta villain – all providing hearty laughs thanks to the actors that give them voice-life and a bold character design that tells you everything you need to know about them before they even speak. Even Victor’s next door neighbor Elsa (Ryder, with an on-the-nose/asleep-at-the-wheel delivery) skews weird so much so that outcast Victor looks the most normal of the bunch.

Like ParaNorman, the movie is unafraid to create characters that aren’t as appealing visually as one would normally think they should be.  It’s a warts and all approach that works for both films, though ParaNorman took it one step further…probably because the filmmakers didn’t have to answer to Disney brass.  Still, these are quite dark characters that work in service to the mood that the film is trying to create.

Another similarity to ParaNorman is that the film tests the boundaries of the PG rating.  While there isn’t anything objectionable enough to warrant a bump to PG-13, it’s a pretty intense movie for youngsters so parents should be aware.  It’s fairly scary, particularly in the last 20 minutes when the premise of Victor’s experiment falls into several wrong hands and all hell breaks loose.  Parents…take into account where your kids are at, imagination wise, and see if this is the right time to introduce them to this material.  If not, there are more than enough options out now that you can choose instead.

The technical elements are, as usual, spot on for a Burton film.  Thankfully, there’s a sweet absence of heavily CGI-ed images because the stop-motion technique doesn’t call for it.  Instead there are some finely intricate details that are employed to create the 1950’s-ish town of New Holland that may remind you more than a little of the hamlet employed in Burton’s Edward Scissorhands.  Utilizing over 200 puppets (with human hair!), the townspeople come to life with ease…aided by strong voice work from O’Hara, Short, and Landau…most of them doing double or triple duty.

Danny Elfman’s score is pretty standard Elfman fare – more than a few times I heard themes from other collaborations with Burton.  Intentional or not, the rare bits that didn’t have a familiar theme were lush and appropriate for the proceedings.

Black and white was absolutely the way to go but it oddly didn’t work well with the 3D.  While B&W filming produces crisp images, the lack of color doesn’t lend itself to making the 3D effects pop like they should.  It gives the film the requisite added depth but moments that were clearly intended to produce images that stand out only half achieved their goal.  It’s still worth it to see the work in 3D because that’s how it was filmed but overall I felt it lacked the impact it was going for.

This was a nice return to form for Burton who, as of recently, has started to favor gaudy CGI effects over practical invention on film sets.  I know it’s more cost effective to go down the route he is now, but his movies have suffered because of it.  What was so great about Frankenweenie is how much it reminded me of his earlier work which in itself was a throwback to the classic films of his youth.  By reinventing his own work, he’s given his old dog a jolt of life.

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September 27, 2012

The Silver Bullet ~ Stoker

by Joe Silver Bullet - Trailer Park • Tags: 2013, Alden Ehrenreich, Dermot Mulroney, Fox Searchlight, Jacki Weaver, logo, Lucas Till, Matthew Goode, Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman, Oldboy, Park Chan-wook, Stoker, Studio, Wentworth Miller

Synopsis: After India’s father dies, her Uncle Charlie, who she never knew existed, comes to live with her and her unstable mother. She comes to suspect this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives and becomes increasingly infatuated with him.

Release Date:  March 1, 2013

Thoughts:  Though sadly not a biography of Bram Stoker, it’s notable because the director of the Korean hits Oldboy and Lady Vengenace has come to Hollywood with a sinister looking thriller written by actor Wentworth Miller.  I tend to be on the fence about Mia Wasikowska but she looks to make a strong impact here with Kidman looking pretty frightening as her mom.  Though I was a bit bummed that the film seems to give away a lot of pivotal moments, there’s enough impact visually and tonally to keep me interested.

 

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September 26, 2012

Down From the Shelf ~ Frankenweenie (1984)

by Joe Down from the Shelf, Movie Review • Tags: 1984, Barret Oliver, Daniel Stern, Frankenweenie, logo, Shelley Duvall, Sofia Coppola, Tim Burton, Walt Disney Studios

The Facts:

Synopsis: A young boy sets out to revive his dead pet using the monstrous power of science.

Stars: Shelley Duvall, Daniel Stern, Barret Oliver, Sofia Coppola

Director: Tim Burton

Rated: PG

Running Length: 29 minutes

TMMM Score: (7/10)

Review:  At this point, anyone that has seen even one Tim Burton film can spot the director’s style right away.  With an attention to the off-kilter and comedic darkness, Burton has always excelled at showing us a version of our world that’s a tad bit askew to reality.  In his early career, Burton was an animator at Disney and it was in his tenure there that he came up with this idea of retelling the Frankenstein story but in a supposedly kid-friendly version.  The resulting 29 minute short film wound up being the catalyst for Disney to show Burton the door after test audiences felt it too macabre for its young target audience.

Disney changed their tune once Burton became a hot commodity after achieving success with Pee Wee’s Big Adventure and Beetlejuice.  Though it never received a proper theatrical release, Frankenweenie was released on VHS to capitalize on Burton’s rising star, giving fans a chance to see the very early work from the visionary director.  Now, nearly three decades later Disney and Burton have collaborated on a feature-length version of Frankenweenie which goes to show you that if you wait long enough, audiences will come around.

It had been years since I’d seen the original short film and was surprised to see that I had had it in my possession for some time.  Those that own Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas on DVD or Blu-Ray will find the complete film in the special features and it’s worth a watch if you are planning on seeing the 2012 update that arrives on October 5th.

Though obviously filmed a tad on the cheap, the black and white film is distinctively Burton from the opening credits onward.  In fact, the excellent title sequence seems like it’s played out on a set that would later be used for The Nightmare Before Christmas.  Eschewing expensive special effects, the film used practical methods to achieve its magic and it’s a technique that Burton would use to his advantage for many of his films of the late 80’s/early 90’s until he unfortunately became a bit too infatuated with CGI effects.  It’s so clear here the ingenuity in filmmaking that was developing so in addition to being a strong short film it’s pretty much a crystal ball view into the work that was coming for Burton.

Duvall and Stern are wholesome fun as the caring (if oblivious) parents to young Victor Frankenstein (Oliver  who would be best remembered for The Neverending Story) as he revives his deceased dog using principles he learned in school.  As the dog comes to life he causes a bit of a stir amongst the neighbors…but it’s all in good fun.  Watch for Coppola (laughably credited under her then stage name Domino) turn up as a poorly acted neighborhood friend.

Though decidedly dark and probably not for children under 10, Frankenweenie is really for those that are interested in Burton’s early work or for parents that are ready to introduce their children to some more mature subject matter.  Be warned though, they may get ideas on reviving a pet so keep an eye on your backyard gravesites if you have them.

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September 26, 2012

The Silver Bullet ~ Promised Land

by Joe Silver Bullet - Trailer Park • Tags: 2012, 2013, Focus Features, Frances McDormand, Gus Van Sant, Hal Holbrook, John Krasinski, logo, Matt Damon, Promised Land, Rosemarie DeWitt, Scoot McNairy, Studio, Titus Welliver

Synopsis: A salesman for a natural gas company experiences life-changing events after arriving in a small town, where his corporation wants to tap into the available resources

Release Date:  January 11, 2013

Thoughts: Director Gus Van Sant has been all over the map in recent years.  Though he’s never been a mainstream director (save for his ill advised shot-for-shot remake of Psycho) he’s kept his profile low with indie projects that barely made a blip on the cinematic radar.  With Promised Land, he reteams with his Good Will Hunting star for a drama that seems a little bit Erin Brockovich and a little bit The Music Man.  With stars Matt Damon and John Krasinski also serving as screenwriters you can’t help but draw a teeny tiny comparison to the work that Damon did with Ben Affleck on Good Will Hunting.  Assembling a strong cast and filming a story that seems timely and important, Van Sant may have another sleeper crowd pleaser on his hands.

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September 25, 2012

The Silver Bullet ~ Seven Psychopaths

by Joe Silver Bullet - Trailer Park • Tags: 2012, Abbie Cornish, CBS Films, Christopher Walken, Colin Farrell, logo, Martin McDonagh, Olga Kurylenko, Sam Rockwell, Seven Psychopaths, Studio, Tom Waits, Woody Harrelson, Zeljko Ivanek

Synopsis:  A struggling screenwriter inadvertently becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends kidnap a gangster’s beloved Shih Tzu.

Release Date:  October 12, 2012

Thoughts: Irish director Martin McDonagh follows up his 2008 hit In Bruges with this caper film that is garnering good buzz on the festival circuit.  Coming from the theater, McDonagh has steered clear from the trappings of many playwrights turned directors by not limiting the playing space of the characters.  There is a way to keep something theatrical without being literal and McDonagh shows a knack for that understanding.  With an impressive and committed cast, Seven Psychopaths may be McDonagh’s next step up the A-List ladder.

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September 24, 2012

Movie Review ~ Hotel Transylvania

by Joe Movie Review • Tags: 2012, Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Cee-Lo Green, David Spade, Fran Drescher, Genndy Tartakovsky, Hotel Transylvania, Jon Lovitz, Kevin James, logo, Molly Shannon, Selena Gomez, sony, Sony Animation, Steve Buscemi, Studio

The Facts:

Synopsis: Dracula, who operates a high-end resort away from the human world, goes into overprotective mode when a boy discovers the resort and falls for the count’s teen-aged daughter.

Voice Stars: Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez, Andy Samberg, Kevin James, Fran Drescher, Cee-Lo Green, David Spade, Steve Buscemi, Molly Shannon, Jon Lovitz

Director: Genndy Tartakovsky

Rated: PG

Running Length: 91 minutes

Trailer Review: Here

TMMM Score: (6.5/10)

Review:  While most of the adults get a steady stream of horror films each October, it’s a rare occurrence to get something with a scary slant made for the younger set.  Obviously it can’t be too scary or the target audience will spend the rest of the year sleeping in bed with their parents, but it can’t be too goofy to keep parents away either.  Hotel Transylvania strikes a nice balance in this regard, utilizing its spooky skeleton to provide the setting for a tale filled with charm and laughs.

The best thing about the movie is usually the worst thing about certain films…Adam Sandler.  Sandler has the distinction of turning out some of the most odious films in the last few years and while they originally started out as box office hits, audiences are clearly tiring of his arrested development mouth breather characters and opting for different movie choices instead.  It’s a wise move, then, that Sandler is returning to the animated field (after 2002’s dreadful 8 Crazy Nights) and bringing along a few select members of his troupe of goofballs.

Growing up, I was a huge fan of Scooby-Doo and their animated features.  Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School was a nice mash-up of monster genres that were in line with the Universal Studios line of monster flicks and a few Abbot & Costello films.  Working in a similar fashion, Hotel Transylvania brings together many of the famous monsters from the past without the usual wink-wink nudge-nudge exhausting bits.  Creatures like the Frankenstein monster, the Werewolf, the Invisible Man, and the Mummy are just a few of the familiar frames you’ll come into contact with.

The film is equitable with time and provides enough interesting bits about these monsters so that the audiences can see they are just like the rest of us (kinda) with their own familiar familial troubles and self-doubting moments.  It’s nothing revolutionary but it was nice to see a little more shine put on these characters than other films have attempted to do over the years.  It’s certainly more character development than any Sandler film of the last 10 years.

Following a simple story of a parent reluctant to let their child grow up, Hotel Transylvania plays nice with its audience and overall theme of acceptance in the face of a challenge.  It’s not hard to figure out how this one will end up, so even if you are simply awaiting the final outcome the film is smart enough to know that it needs to fill in the rest of the movie with enough comedy to hold your attention.

Admission to the film should come with a seat belt in addition to your 3D glasses.  It hits the ground running at such a frantic, frenetic speed that your brain may be rolling before the first reel is over.  It’s just gag after gag after gag after gag after gag….breather…then it starts all over again.  That’s OK for select passages but couple that with some vivid computer animation and decent 3D work and it can become overwhelming very quick.

It’s a credit, then, that most of these yuk-filled super sequences land more jokes than they miss.  The overgrown kid in me responded to the pace and the monster references while the adult liked the message about looking beyond the physical and into the heart of the matter.  Parents can take their kids to this with confidence that while it may spook them a bit, it just as easily can spark good conversations on the drive home.

I’m not sure if saying this is the best Adam Sandler film in recent memory is saying anything but…well…I’ve said it.  I think putting the animated actor Sandler into an animated film has solved the  problem of his work as of late: he’s a cartoon anyway so actually making him one seems like a natural fit.  His work and the voices of his close friends help make Hotel Transylvania a pleasant stay.

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September 24, 2012

The Silver Bullet ~ Beautiful Creatures

by Joe Silver Bullet - Trailer Park • Tags: 2013, Alcon, Alden Ehrenreich, Alice Englert, Beautiful Creatures, Emma Thompson, Jeremy Irons, Kami Garcia, logo, Richard LaGravenese, Studio, Viola Davis, Warner Brothers

Synopsis: A supernatural drama centered on a local teenager and the mysterious new girl in town who uncover dark secrets about their respective families.

Release Date: February 13, 2013

Thoughts: To all of those Twilight fans that get a little a panicky when they think realize that November will mark the end of the film series, Warner Brothers would like to introduce you to their Beautiful Creatures based on the first book in a series of popular novels.  Set in the gothic south and focusing on another relationship with supernatural elements, Beautiful Creatures probably has the best shot of being the next big thing for those that like some sap with their romance and their dates that have perfected the slow eye roll.  I’m intrigued that A-listers like Jeremy Irons, Emma Thompson, and Viola Davis are attached to this…and quirky director Richard LaGravenese ain’t too bad either.

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September 21, 2012

Movie Review – The House at the End of the Street

by Joe Movie Review • Tags: 2012, Bigger Boat, Elisabeth Shue, Gil Bellows, Jennifer Lawrence, Jonathan Mostow, logo, Mark Tonderai, Max Thieriot, Relativity Media, Studio, The House at the End of the Street

The Facts:

Synopsis: A mother and daughter move to a new town and find themselves living next door to a house where a young girl murdered her parents. When the daughter befriends the surviving son, she learns the story is far from over.

Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Elisabeth Shue, Max Thieriot, Gil Bellows

Director: Mark Tonderai

Rated: PG-13

Running Length: 101 minutes

Trailer Review: Here

TMMM Score: (6/10)

Review:  When I first saw the ads for The House at the End of the Street I mistakenly thought it was yet another remake of a forgotten 70’s/80’s horror film that had been given the PG-13 treatment to please the young adult audiences.  Reading up on it I was interested to see that the script has been bouncing around Hollywood for nearly a decade before it was filmed and held for release until the time was right.  Well, as we near the end of 2012 and ready for a Halloween season of thrillers the time seems to be right.  Surprisingly, the film winds up having enough of the right elements going for it to be fairly entertaining in spite of being terribly contrived.

Let’s back up for a moment, shall we?  When the movie was filmed, its star was not yet an Oscar nominee (for Winter’s Bone) nor had she headlined the first part of a major motion picture franchise (The Hunger Games).  In a smart move, the distributor bumped the film from its original February release date to capitalize on Lawrence’s career as it continued its skyrocketing trajectory.  Receiving great notices for The Hunger Games and more Oscar buzz for the upcoming Silver Linings Playbook, it’s a rare case when a studio held onto a film for all the right reasons.

It’s the presence of Lawrence that elevates the film to a slightly higher class bracket though even she can’t save it from itself in the end.  As we exited the screening, my movie mate and I remarked at how it was Lawrence’s smartly knowing take on the woman-in-peril character that seemed fresh and believable even when she’s surrounded by plot holes and convenient happenings that are horror movie staples.

Pairing Lawrence with Shue is another smart approach as the two actresses play well off of each other.  Shue is maybe a bit too earnest as a protective mother who previously had been a hellcat that ignored her daughter.  We get brief snippets of their past, enough to know that Shue is now the parent in charge seeing that dad is deceased.  Though she’s now some sort of doctor that get’s saddled with quite a few last minute “late shifts’ to conveniently leave her daughter at home alone, we know she’s still holding on to her bad ass nature because she sports chipped black nail polish (though I do wonder what hospital would allow their doctors that casual of an adornment).

Mother and daughter have moved into a rental property that’s right next door to a House With a Past.  The scene of a double murder four years earlier, it’s not long before the surviving son and Lawrence buddy up, much to the mom’s cluck-clucking chagrin.  Revealing more than that would spoil most of the film for you so let’s just say that the movie has its fair share of twists and turns…some good…some obvious to anyone that’s really paying attention.  If I’m being honest, I had the whole thing figured out before the prologue was over…though the film did keep my attention as it began to unravel its secrets.

Unravel is a good word for the film and probably sounds better than saying the movie falls starts to fall apart near the halfway mark.  There were a few points that I felt the flick wouldn’t be able to recover from a reveal or hairpin plot turn and was surprised that it sidestepped further p(l)ot holes and righted itself.  It moves fast enough that if you aren’t catching on to what’s happening you’ll probably find yourself enjoying the developments. 

It’s only after the film is over that you realize how much of, well, everything was placed where it was to divert your attention or explain things further down the road.  We eventually learn that people we meet have been introduced only to get our leading lady into a certain mindset or location later on in the latter parts of the film.  In that respect the movie should be both applauded and chastised for its shameless contrivances. 

Still…it’s hard to argue that there aren’t some nice scares along the way.  Yes, they mostly result in the standard “gotcha” moments but I jumped in my seat more than once…okay more than twice…but if I’m being honest it was at least three times.  That can be attributed to some nice (if rote) direction from Tonderai and cinematographer Miroslaw Baszak (who also shot the claustrophobic thriller Pontypool) who work with an easy harmony to make the scary moments scary and lighter moments light.

Along with the strong work from Lawrence and Shue (who I continue to point out is the epitome of the ‘aging like a fine wine’ metaphor…even in brief turns like Hope Springs), there is interesting work from Thieriot as the atypical boy-next-door.  Thieriot looks younger than Lawrence, though he is supposed to be several years older but it winds up working in both of their favor.  Bellows stinks up the screen as one of the worst small town police officers this side of Barney Fife…or maybe it was his acting that brings a rancid odor to the film.  Either way, his performance is laughable for all the wrong reasons.

A reasonably effective thriller that doesn’t feel like a complete waste of time/celluloid, The House at the End of the Street crafts a lot of normally eye-roll inducing moments into something that works more often than it doesn’t.  If you can forgive the implausible coincidences and ignore the obvious solution to the mystery you’ll find yourself willing to spend some time in this House built on solid, if occasionally shaky, ground.

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September 21, 2012

The Silver Bullet ~ The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey ~ Trailer 2

by Joe Silver Bullet - Trailer Park • Tags: Adam Brown, Aidan Turner, Andy Serkis, Barry Humphries, Billy Connolly, Bret McKenzie, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Conan Stevens, Dean O'Gorman, Elijah Wood, Evangeline Lilly, Fran Walsh, Graham McTavish, Guillermo del Toro, Hugo Weaving, Ian Holm, Ian McKellen, James Nesbitt, Jed Brophy, Jeffrey Thomas, John Bell, John Callen, Ken Stott, Lee Pace, logo, Luke Evans, Mark Hadlow, Martin Freeman, MGM, Mikael Persbrandt, Mike Mizrahi, New Line Cinema, Orlando Bloom, Peter Hambleton, Peter Jackson, Philippa Boyens, Richard Armitage, Ryan Gage, Stephen Fry, Stephen Hunter, Studio, Sylvester McCoy, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Warner Brothers, William Kircher

Synopsis: A curious Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, journeys to the Lonely Mountain with a vigorous group of Dwarves to reclaim a treasure stolen from them by the dragon Smaug.

Release Date: December 14, 2012 

Thoughts: As December draws ever near we inch closer and closer to the release of the next trilogy from Peter Jackson featuring middle earth, hobbits, dragons, wizards, and one shiny ring.  Boasting some incredible visuals by mere trailer standards, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey promises so much more in sheer epic-ness with a new filming technique said to be almost uncomfortably life-like and non-cinematic.  I don’t really want to let on how much I’m looking forward to this because then it will all be too real and before I know it I’ll be waiting another year for Part 2.  Whereas the first trailer for this was metered and intense, the new preview injects some lighter levity into the mix while still showcasing the grandly excellent vistas Jackson has in store for us.

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September 20, 2012

Movie Review ~ Sleepwalk With Me

by Joe Movie Review • Tags: 2012, Aya Cash, Carol Kane, Cristin Milioti, IFC, Ira Glass, James Rebhorn, Lauren Ambrose, logo, Marc Maron, Mike Birbiglia, Sleepwalk With Me, Studio

The Facts:

Synopsis: A burgeoning stand-up comedian struggles with the stress of a stalled career, a stale relationship, and the wild spurts of severe sleepwalking he is desperate to ignore.

Stars: Mike Birbiglia, Lauren Ambrose, James Rebhorn, Carol Kane, Cristin Milioti, Aya Cash

Director: Mike Birbiglia

Rated: R

Running Length: 90 minutes

Trailer Review: Here

TMMM Score: (6.5/10)

Review:  Some reviews of Sleepwalk With Me have hailed writer/director/star Birbiglia as a modern day Woody Allen and it’s not hard to see why.  Well…Woody Allen circa Annie Hall not the Woody Allen of Soon-Yi infamy.  Anyway, Birbiglia adapted his book which later became a hit off-Broadway play for the big screen and while that may seem like a natural progression it was no easy feat.  The end result is a sweetly charming movie that is filled with Allen-like observations on love and romance from a distinct point of view.

Chronicling a year in the life of Birbiglia (actually playing a looser version of himself named Matt Pandamiglio), the film mozies along with ease thanks solely to the likability of our star.  Looking like Paul Rudd’s blood relative, Birbiglia has an easy-going delivery and connection to the material that gets you in his corner immediately.  Now Birbiglia may not keep you totally in his corner based on some of his actions later in the film but overall his is a character you won’t mind rooting for.

Told in flashbacks by a present day Birbiglia as he makes a road trip, the central relationship focused on is Matt and his girlfriend Abby (Ambrose who is more awake here than she was in the recent snoozer miniseries Coma).  Newly living together when we first meet them, they have an easy rapport suggesting a couple that’s been together a while.  Matt and Abby aren’t your typical duo that finish each other sentences or are wary enough to not let the little things bother them.

This sense of comfort is actually what the film challenges most.  It’s fairly evident that both parties are sticking around for the security of the other with neither being willing to admit that maybe their ships are sailing in different directions.  She’s an earthy teacher and he’s a struggling comic logging miles in his hand me down jalopy playing one nighters’ for fifty bucks.  He loves being on the road because it helps him stretch his relationship into a long engagement and avoid the problems that begin to creep up.

While the names have been changed, Birbiglia assures us that everything that happens is true in one way or another.  An oft returned to subplot is Birbiglia’s sleepwalking disorder that provides some comic relief and obvious symbolism.  Having seeing Birbiglia in interviews before his movie was even a glimmer in his lens, I had thought the film was more about the sleepwalking than about his relationship.  No matter, both are interesting as they develop and eventually collide.

Produced by popular talk radio personality Ira Glass, Sleepwalk With Me ultimately is a fleeting effort that you can hunker down and get into but just as easily leave behind.  It’s an entertaining stroll with a charismatic star, reminding us that the more we are awake in our live (literally and figuratively) the more we can be honest with ourselves and work through our quirks.

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