Friday , March 29 2024

To Live and Write in LA

SXSW Film Review: ‘Preacher’ – Comic Book Hero Heads for AMC with Dominic Cooper and Surprises

The bad boy son of a West Texas preacher, returns to his hometown to become its preacher and to keep a promise to his father. His past and a variety of bad things, including a mysterious cosmic force, an ex-girlfriend, and a psychopathic vampire complicate this for him.

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SXSW Movie Review: ‘Everybody Wants Some’ and a Tribute to Richard Linklater

Sometimes, when a movie plays at SXSW, it’s not just a screening, it’s a celebration. Last year, that was true about 'The Breakfast Club.' This year, the celebration was for the opening night premiere of Richard Linklater’s 'Everybody Wants Some.'

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Adobe Does ‘Deadpool’ : And Remember Kids, Try This at Home

'Deadpool' is not your father's superhero movie, or, because of its R-rating, your kid's either. Director Tim Miller was true to the comic book character, who has been rude man out in the Marvel Universe for 25 years. Miller was obviously going for shock and edginess and he succeeded. But one thing not obvious is how this tale was put together. Traditionally, major movies have been assembled on big, dedicated editing hardware and software costing as much as a Prius. Although Deadpool couldn't have been put together on your father's PC, it probably could on your kid's. Adobe tools are bringing the power of Hollywood filmmaking to your home office.

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Movie Review: ‘Forsaken’ – Kiefer and Donald Sutherland Co-star in Weighty Western

Forsaken stars Kiefer and Donald Sutherland as father and son in a new Western drama. That’s the hook, but there is way more to this western than anyone would expect, although the director, writer and impressive supporting cast should give you a hint that this is an exceptional film. The story, on the surface, seems deceptively simple and one any fan of westerns has seen a dozen times. The railroad is coming and a corrupt business man is using a bunch of thugs to force farmers to sell their land to him. But to leave the description there would be like saying High Noon was about a town’s law enforcement human resources problems.

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Movie Review: ‘Chimes at Midnight,’ Orson Welles’ Best Work, Available for First Time in Decades

I inherited a respect for Orson Welles and a love for his work from an uncle who came of age in the 1940s when Orson Welles was one of radio and cinema’s best known actor/directors. When 'Chimes at Midnight' came out, I was busy coming of age and rioting at UCLA. I heard about the film and that Welles considered it his best work, but I missed it. Then, like the mysterious Mr. Welles himself, it disappeared for decades. Now, it’s back.

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Movie Review: ‘Room’ – Mothers, Children, and Abduction with Brie Larson, Joan Allen, and William H. Macy

'Room' will both scare you and make you cry. It is the best movie I’ve seen this year. It is two movies in one. The first movie is a tense thriller about an abducted teenager, locked in a 10 by 10 sound-proof garden shed as a sex slave for seven years. She finally has an idea of how to escape with her five year old child. The second movie is a psychological study of the effects of abduction, rape, and social and sensory deprivation on its direct and indirect victims. Both stories will grab you.

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Movie Review: ‘Six Gun Savior’ – Eric Roberts Brings the Sexy Back to Cowboy Boots

Westerns haven’t been sexy to Hollywood producers for a long time, but a plucky group of filmmakers is trying to change that. And they got Eric Roberts to play the devil with "Six Gun Savior."

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Anthem FilmFest: Top 10 Libertarian Films Rock with Jennifer Lawrence, Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman

“When I grow up, I want to be Dr. Manhattan," was one of the responses Anthem Film Festival organizer Jo Ann Skousen received during the “Top 10 Films Every Libertarian Should Know” panel. Sometimes you get more than you ask for. After the audience joined the panel in suggesting films, well, there were a lot more than 10.

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