Netflix Quickies #1 (Sleepwalk With Me, Red Hook Summer, Cavegirl, Zeta One, Good Deeds)

Alright so whenever I go on Netflix Instant I just sorta pick random movies from my queue, try them for a few minutes, and then if I’m not feeling them moving on to another until I finally find one I don’t hate, and then I watch that one. This ‘Netflix Quickies’ thing is basically gonna be a series where I just talk about movies I decided not to watch after the first couple minutes and explain exactly what turned me off about them. Here goes:

SleepwalkSmall

Sleepwalk With Me (2012)
Directed by Mike Birbiglia and Seth Barrish
Written by Mike Birbiglia, Joe Birbiglia, Ira Glass, and Seth Barrish
90 min. (gave up after 2 min.)
Continue reading Netflix Quickies #1 (Sleepwalk With Me, Red Hook Summer, Cavegirl, Zeta One, Good Deeds)

Treasures from the Warner Archive

treasures

Katherine Hepburn in Christopher Strong (1933)

A few weeks back, Cody interviewed me about the state of film, and we got to talking about the availability of formerly-rare films on the internet. We both slipped up a bit, though, and forgot to discuss one of the great innovations of the past few years: the Warner Archive.
Continue reading Treasures from the Warner Archive

Actually Good Romance Movies to Watch With Your Girl on Valentine’s Day

cabin boy
Just kidding. Don’t watch Cabin Boy with your girl on Valentine’s Day, dude. What the hell is wrong with you? Although, if she’s down, marry her.

Disclaimer: Ladies, this list is written for the fellas, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still read it. Totally still read it, and basically just choose whatever movie on here seems most up your alley, and make your guy procure it.
Continue reading Actually Good Romance Movies to Watch With Your Girl on Valentine’s Day

When Effects Lose Their Effect

effects


Unless I’m in the mood for a truly down-to-earth story, I watch movies in order to be transported to places I’ll never go and live moments I never could in real life. In a word, I want escapism. And I get annoyed when I try to escape into an ostensibly escapist movie, only to be jolted out of it because the creators fucked up when it came to immersion. Although aspects such as the story and the characters are undeniably the most important, immersion is also very crucial. Many elements combine to form a truly immersive experience: score, sound design, acting, lighting, camerawork, and, of course, effects.
Continue reading When Effects Lose Their Effect

A Delicious Batman Smoothie

batmanforever


I have never read a comic book in my life.  To the many of you who are now automatically writing off my opinions on the Batman movies, let me please remind you that I’m writing about movies.  I respect comics as an art form, and they have been fodder for some great movies (namely Superman, the Spider-Man trilogy, Ghost World, and that’s literally it) but the truth is, I don’t really know a thing about comics.  I do love the idea of them, though.  What’s not to love?  I like heroes and villains and crazy costumes.

When I was a little kid I loved Batman.  I got into the campy Batman TV show when I was about four and started collecting Batman action figures.  I remember when the cartoon came out, it was the coolest thing I’d ever seen.  At the time, I was too young to see Tim Burton’s Batmans.  They came out when I was three and five, respectively.  And by the time they were age-appropriate for me, I had already moved on to dinosaurs and Spielberg.

Like everybody though, I have seen all of the Batman movies.  Unlike everybody, I know that the only one that is good is Batman Forever.  I’ll explain, but first, I have a lot to say about the other Batman movies, and I’d rather just say all them all here in one long, meandering essay than have to write separate ones.
Continue reading A Delicious Batman Smoothie