Sean Penn
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The Definitive War Movies: 50-41
With Memorial Day a week ago and Independence Day fast approaching, it seemed fitting to look at the history of war films from the world (I’m American, after all – though this site originates in Canada). So, as we move through the list, the important aspects to remember: first, these have to take place during […] More
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‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ a stylish, but hollow take on the modern middle-class American man
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Written by Steve Conrad Directed by Ben Stiller USA, 2013 Any adaptation of the iconic James Thurber short story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” would have to deviate vastly from the source, as it’s barely more than 2,000 words long. After a seemingly endless period in development hell, […] More
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NYFF 2013 Dispatch: ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’; ‘The Immigrant’; ‘Bastards’; ‘Gloria’
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Dir. Ben Stiller) The trailer for Ben Stiller’s newest directorial effort is life-affirming, anthemic, and seems like a heartstring-puller in the best possible way. Trailers are often misleading. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is occasionally satisfying white-guy wish fulfillment, as if Network’s Howard Beale were in a 2-hour, beautifully […] More
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Cinema’s Greatest Villains: The 1980’s
As all lovers of crime, suspense thriller, war, western, horror and science fiction films know, creating a truly great cinematic villain is no easy task. When it happens, it’s virtually impossible to forget that character. We’ll now take a look at the greatest film villains of the 1980’s. The criteria for this article is the same […] More
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‘Gangster Squad’ an empty and ultraviolent stab at making ‘L.A. Confidential’ for a new generation
Gangster Squad Directed by Ruben Fleischer Written by Will Beall USA, 2013 At some point, an excess of style only serves to emphasize the hollowness of a story. A director like Martin Scorsese knows how to weave a sprawling tale of vice and amorality while juicing up the proceedings with verve and panache. On the […] More
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Is ‘Liberal’ Hollywood to Blame for America’s Gun Culture?
On December 14, 2012, a young man named Adam Lanza broke into a primary school and fatally shot 26 people in the small village of Sandy Hook, Connecticut. Twenty of them were children, aged 6 or 7. On that day, no matter where I went or what I did, I couldn’t stop thinking about the […] More
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‘Gangster Squad’ Image Gallery
A chronicle of the LAPD’s fight to keep East Coast Mafia types out of Los Angeles in the 1940s and 50s. Directed by Zombieland‘s Ruben Fleischer, and written by Castle staff writer Will Beall, based on the book by Paul Lieberman More
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‘This Must Be the Place’ is a strangely compelling oddity
This Must Be the Place Written by Umberto Contarello and Paolo Sorrentino Directed by Paolo Sorrentino Italy/France/Ireland, 2011 “Something’s wrong here. I don’t know exactly what it is, but something’s wrong here.” Repeated by its protagonist throughout This Must Be the Place, the line captures the baffling quality of Paolo Sorrentino’s English language debut. An […] More
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Ruben Fleischer’s ‘Gangster Squad’ gets a new trailer with no sign of the theatre shooting scene
2009’s Zombieland, director Ruben Fleischer’s feature film debut, turned a lot of heads both critically and commercially by managing to be a fresh and engaging take on the well-worn horror comedy and zombie movie genres. Despite his follow-up feature, 30 Minutes or Less, also being classified as a comedy, Fleischer made the interesting choice to […] More
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Unsung Gems – ‘Carlito’s Way’
Carlito’s Way Directed by Brian De Palma Screenplay by David Koepp (Original Novels ‘Carlito’s Way’ and ‘After Hours’ by Edwin Torres) US, 1993 Unfortunate though the fact may be, even the most positive minded and patient of film addicts cannot always be satisfied by the product, a disquiet often in defiance of popular opinion. We […] More
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Supporting Actors: The Overlooked and Underrated (part 5 of 5)
Gary Oldman as Jackie Flannery in State Of Grace (Phil Joanou, 1990, USA): Long considered one of the most talented actors in cinema, it’s very strange that his outstanding acting as the younger brother of Ed Harris’ local crime boss in this underrated film doesn’t get talked about nearly enough when discussing Oldman’s body of […] More
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Supporting Actors: The Overlooked and Underrated (part 4 of 5)
Tom Noonan as Francis Dollarhyde in Manhunter (Michael Mann, 1986, USA): Noonan is absolutely incredible as a serial murderer in this underrated adaptation of Thomas Harris’ novel Red Dragon. With all respect to the talented but miscast actors involved in Brett Ratner’s 2002 adaptation Red Dragon (USA), with the exception of Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal […] More
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