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

Category Archives: Movies

revisionaries

January 17, 2013
by Luke Goldstein
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The Revisionaries: If You Can’t Win, Change the Rules

I remember seeing the trailer for “The Revisionaries” in the theater and feeling my anger rise in the brief two minutes of screen time. I also paid close attention to the story upon which this documentary is based as it was happening halfway across the country from where I sat. People had gathered in a small room, cameras flanking them on all sides, as they decided what would be included in the new Texas state public school textbooks. Continue reading →

les-miserables-movie-poster

December 28, 2012
by Luke Goldstein
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Les Miserables – A Most Challenging Song to Sing

There should be a certain amount of anxiety and trepidation going into any movie project. They cost ridiculous amounts of money, time and manpower to make and in the end you can never guarantee anyone will go see it. You might think some of that anxiety would disappear if you’re making a movie where the story is already wildly popular, giving you a built in audience, like in the case of Les Miserable and the sixty-five million people who have already witnessed the magic of the stage version. You might think the nerves would lessen, but while some might dissipate approaching a project like this brings a whole new level of stress and hair-pulling mania. Continue reading →

Taken-2

November 27, 2012
by Luke Goldstein
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Taken 2 – When a Good Concept Goes Bad

The original Taken was a monster thrill ride that firmly established Liam Neeson as one of the scariest, most intense action leads working today. The monologue featured in the first trailer was instantly copied and put to memory by father’s all over the world and now first-date suitors will never sleep again. Yet, when the credits rolled on Taken, I didn’t walk out thinking, “Man, I can’t until the next one.” It didn’t need to keep going, but then again, when has that stopped Hollywood. If there are dollar signs at the end of the tunnel, you can be sure they will run, crawl and stumble through it to get there. So, with cautious optimism, I went and jumped back on the roller coaster of Neeson’s parenting life in the creatively titled, Taken 2. Continue reading →

man_with_the_iron_fists

November 6, 2012
by Luke Goldstein
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The Man with the Iron Fists – Kung-Fu Scramble

Can it really be fair to critique a passion project? No matter what you say about it, the person who got it made only wanted one thing and that was to bring this particular story to the screen. Whether good or bad, they did it and their mission is complete, so good for them and congrats to them for overcoming numerous odds to get it done. Yet, for the rest of us, whose passion is only to see a good movie, now there’s where the story changes and the responsibility of the people behind the camera suddenly comes into focus. Sadly, this passion play does not satisfy both sides of the screen. Continue reading →

8: The Mormon Proposition Movie poster

October 25, 2012
by Luke Goldstein
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8: The Mormon Proposition – Follows the Money Trail to God

Back in 2008, during the wave of hope ushered in with the election of the country’s first black President, another huge decision was made that night which was equally historic. The now infamous Proposition 8 was passed in California that by the power of popular vote removed the rights of gay couples to get married in the state. Four years ago the opposition to same-sex marriage was much stronger than it is today, but still no one saw the so-called liberal bastion state of California as a place where this could happen, which is partially why it did. Yet the major reason was not positive apathy on the part of the voters, but an unprecedented financial and social push by the Mormon Church to push their religious beliefs on the rest of the country. Continue reading →

Argo movie poster

October 19, 2012
by Luke Goldstein
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Argo – Life is Stranger than Fiction

After the pairing of Gone Baby Gone and The Town, young Hollywood power player Ben Affleck brings out yet another impressive and stylish piece of cinema in Argo. The story follows the rescue of six American embassy workers trapped in Iran after a violent overthrow. The brilliant mission, conceived by an ingenious CIA agent who specialized in these types of extraditions, was to fake an entire Hollywood movie and pull the hostages out in broad daylight posing as a Canadian film crew. For years afterwards the real details of this were hidden away under the ominous term “classified”, but after years upon years had passed, the story came out. What could be better source material for a modern day film? It’s a movie about a fake movie. Continue reading →

Looper movie poster

October 3, 2012
by Luke Goldstein
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Looper (2012) – Let’s Agree to Disagree (with myself)

First thing, if you haven’t seen Brick, stop reading this and go watch it. If you have seen Brick, stop reading this and go watch it again. Great, now that you’re back, you’re welcome and let’s continue. Continue reading →

The Master (2012)

September 26, 2012
by Luke Goldstein
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The Master: A Master Class in Performance Only

It has been five years since we witnessed Daniel Day-Lewis put on a clinic about on-screen intensity (while also creating a short-lived internet meme about drinking everyone’s milkshake). That was in the last film from critically acclaimed director Paul Thomas Anderson, who burst into the Hollywood spotlight with Boogie Nights, (which he followed up by the epic oddity of Magnolia and dark humor of Punch-Drunk Love). While Anderson’s movies have a tendency to elicit extreme reactions from viewers – both positive and negative in equal amounts – it is never in question whether you will get something worth talking about. If there is a genre for coffee-table, quiet café discussion directors, Anderson would reign over it as its modern-day king. Continue reading →