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Opinions and Commentary on the World, On Screen and Off.

Monthly Archives: December 2011

Tom Cruise

December 27, 2011
by Luke Goldstein
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Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol: Cruise Is Back!

There are moments when a new franchise trailer premieres in the theater and you can feel the audience sink in their seats, silently ashamed they are even being exposed to it. That is when you know the franchise has pitched into a nosedive, frantically attempting to make major and mostly useless changes to the equation in hopes of restarting it (and its profits). I remember feeling that way when Mission Impossible III rolled out. I went in predicting it would be bad, hoping only for some popcorn entertainment, but was denied even that small request. When Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol peeked around the bend,I had my doubts, but (as always) I gave it a shot. Dear readers, this is why I always take the chance, because it just might be everything it is cracked up to be. Continue reading →

Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes

December 20, 2011
by Luke Goldstein
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Sherlock Holmes – Game of Shadows: Downey Charms Inside Surprisingly Simple Plot

I couldn’t wait for the weekend to begin because I knew I was going to hit up a popcorn, blockbuster double-header in the theater, Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, a back-to-back pairing almost unmatched this year. Two incredibly big budget franchises with two incredibly charismatic leading men. These are the box office battles I just live for. Since the weekend numbers have already come in, we’ve seen Sherlock Holmes dominate the weekend ($40 million vs. $13 million for Mission Impossible), so the honor of first review goes to them. Continue reading →

icanhascheezburger.com

December 6, 2011
by Luke Goldstein
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36 for 36: A New List For A New Year

Years ago a friend of mine told me about a productivity experiment. It is kind of like a “bucket list” except you don’t wait until you find out you’re going to die to write it up and you make one every year for the coming year starting on your birthday. The number of items on the list are equal to your new age. Yes, this means the list will get longer and longer each year, but the complexity and cost of each item on the list is totally up to you. You could decide to add one saying: “#5 – Walk more” or “#15 – Watch less TV” or “#34 – Dream about ponies” (how you control that last one is a mystery). Continue reading →

Hugo Martin Scorcese

December 5, 2011
by Luke Goldstein
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Hugo: Finding the Magic in Dreams

Yes, this 3D trend has gotten a little more than annoying recently, but mainly my rage about it is focused at studios that purposefully add this gimmick only to jack up the ticket price and bring nothing additional to the movie experience when the film wasn’t shot in 3D. I avoid tempting my anger over this issue by mostly seeing everything in 2D when offered (unless I know for a fact it was shot in 3D) and this tip keeps me calm and content during my numerous cinema trips. Yet, when a legend in the industry, like Martin Scorsese, decides to shoot his new film in 3D, that can be enough to tempt me into dropping the few extra dollars. So I went, I watched, and I fell into his fantastical world. Continue reading →