I love Twister. Unabashedly. Bill Paxton, Helen Hunt, Cary Elwes, Philip Seymour Hoffman, some fun tunes, some solid (mostly) effects (cow!) and some great pacing and set pieces. So I was both excited and nervous when Twisters was announced. There’s some nice nods to the original film, and there’s some pretty easy character set-up. You…
Tag: philip seymour hoffman
Pirate Radio (2009) – Richard Curtis
Based loosely on a true story, Richard Curtis brings his talent for blending comedy and drama to a classic tale of rock and roll! In the early 60s when British Rock was at its height, England only played rock’n’roll for perhaps an hour all day on air. But just off the coast in the North…
Punch-Drunk Love (2002) – 4K Review
I’ll be honest. I wasn’t a fan of Adam Sandler. I never really found him that funny. His style just didn’t appeal to me. When I saw him in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love, however, I saw a completely different side of him as he took on the lead role of Barry Egan in a…
Almost Famous (2000) – 4K Review
I don’t know why I am constantly stunned by how sharp and beautiful a 4K picture is, but everytime I throw on a 4K disc I am completely gobsmacked, and Paramount Picture’s new release of Cameron Crowe’s brilliant, and partly autobiographical film, Almost Famous, left me absolutely gobsmacked. When I put it on, with the…
Scent of a Woman (1992) – Martin Brest
Ten Bad Dates With De Niro lets me dive into some Al Pacino films, movies where he gets shouty, and the first one I get to rewatch that I haven’t previously covered for the blog is this film from 1992, and just seeing the poster art sends me back. I was just getting into the…
Cold Mountain (2003) – Anthony Minghella
This beautiful, cinematic adaptation of Charles Frazier’s novel is masterfully brought to life by Minghella, who also wrote the screenplay. My last Civil War stop for the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film following my screening of The Red Badge of Courage is by turns brutal, moving, and gorgeously photographed. Nicole Kidman is…
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014) – Francis Lawrence
The Sci-Fi Chronicles expedition into the world created by Suzanne Collins with her bestselling Hunger Games trilogy, continue with the first part of the last book, divided into two films, with the second one forthcoming this holiday season. But knowing that it’s only the first part of a two-part story, I knew, going in,…
The Big Lebowski (1998) – The Coen Brothers
The next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book for my screening of Raging Bull (as a sports movie) is one of my all time favorite comedies, and one I quote almost as often as Ghostbusters and Back to the Future. Sports, in the form of bowling, is involved peripherally…
Moneyball (2011) – Bennett Miller
I finally got around to seeing this one. Based on the true story, and book by Michael Lewis with a script by Steve Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, Brad Pitt plays Billy Beane the General Manager of the Oakland A’s, who with the help of statistical whiz kid, Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), uses statistics and…
Happiness (1998) – Todd Solondz
Another odd recommendation from Great Movies – 100 Years of Film, for my screening of Pulp Fiction. A trio of sisters lives interweave with a number of other characters, all of whom are seeking happiness, but are all looking for it in really dark and troubling places. Joy (Jane Adams) is a struggling songwriter,…
The Mind Reels 