FILM REVIEW Oldboy

Taras D. Butrej

I love 2003’s Oldboy, the original Korean film directed by Chan-Wook Park.  The entire ‘vengeance trilogy’ is a favorite of mine.  I own the original film and have seen it multiple times.  It always struck me as a very well done mystery with a very, very thick sense of realism.  It never seemed Hollywood to me.  The action scenes were gritty and realistic (as realistic as a hammer fight in a hallway can be).  The characters acted and reacted naturally.  It was at times confusing, mysterious, and strange yet it was always compelling.  It’s the sort of film that can be viewed multiple times and still be amazing.

Retrospective: David Lynch Part Five: Mulholland Drive by Donald McCarthy

Drunk Monkeys

Everything Lynch wrote and directed before making Mulholland Drive was bringing him to this masterpiece. The film combines all of Lynch’s positive attributes and none of his negative ones. Gone are nonsensical, abstract sequences, gone are inappropriate shifts of tone such as in Wild at Heart, gone is the occasional silliness from Twin Peaks, and gone is the frustration found at times in Eraserhead and Lost Highway.

FILM REVIEW The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Taras D. Butrej

A month ago I went to see a film and there was a gentleman who sat a few seats away from me in the same row.  To this day I’m not sure if he was slightly disturbed or just had poor social skills, but he laughed at all the wrong moments, made strange sounds, and tried to talk to the people around him.  I wasn’t quite annoyed, since if the young man did have mental issues then it’s not right to judge him for it.   But I can honestly admit that I wasn’t exactly overjoyed at the situation.

FILM REVIEW 12 Years a Slave

Taras D. Butrej

Nearly two hours into 12 Years a Slave we finally got to the most horrific, gut-wrenching scene.  After two hours of being emotionally exhausted, three adults gave up and left the theater, no longer able to handle what they were seeing.  Moments later a woman got up with her two children, the oldest of whom couldn’t have been over 10.  The first thought I had was “what sort of fucking idiot brings their kids to a movie this brutal?”  My second thought was “how the fuck did they make it this far?”

FILM REVIEW Thor: The Dark World

Taras D. Butrej

Did you know that there are still people who leave Marvel movies just as the credits start to roll?  Do these individuals not have social media?  Have they never read a single review of Avengers, Iron Man, Captain America et al.?  How can people still be unaware of the fact that there is a post-credits teaser in every single Marvel movie?

Retrospective: Richard Linklater Part Five: People Will Talk

Gabriel Ricard

By the time I first heard about Richard Linklater’s 2011 filmBernie, I had seen most of his work. I had been entertained and moved in an incredible range of ways by Slacker, Dazed and Confused, Waking Life, and certainly by the trilogy he has created with Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, and others. I enjoyed movies likeSubUrbia, School of Rock, The Newtown Boys, and Me and Orson Wellesfor various reasons, all the while marveling at Linklater’s ability to be versatile within his own distinct filmmaking style. 

Captain Canada's Movie Rodeo

Gabriel Ricard

Although I just couldn’t get into the idea of doing another horror movie marathon for last month’s column, I did at least try to come up with something different I could do. After all, it’s the only holiday I’ve managed to continue loving and looking forward to over the years. Another marathon didn’t really interest me, nor could I get into the idea of a top-five countdown of some kind, or running through the all-time favorites list as it currently stands.

FILM REVIEW Ender's Game

Taras D. Butrej

I first read Orson Scott Card’s novel ‘Ender’s Game’ when I was a teenager.  It quickly became one of my favorite books of all time and Card quickly became one of my favorite authors.  I attended a panel at NYC Comic Con several years ago where Card spoke about an ‘Ender’s Game’ film and his attempts to get it onto the big screen.