Archive | Movie Reviews RSS feed for this section

Buñuel in the Labrynth of the Turtles

20 Nov

Released:
Nov 12, 2019

GKIDS & Shout! Factory

Mild Spoiler Alert

Ask any modern art critic what this medium is about, and you’ll get a variety of answers. It’s either a social call to arms, a reflection of life or nothing at all. Sometimes it’s easier to understand a talent’s work by examining the life and times. Anyone studying early film is likely to come across the works of Luis Buñuel. The animated look of this auteur by Salvador Simó is a captivating analysis and one I had to view a few times.

Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles concerns his attempt into the making Las Hurdes (Land Without Bread). The filmmaker was near broke because his last movie (L’Age d’Or) branded him a heretic and he needed a new investor if he’s examining an impoverished region with a higher than usual adoption rate. Also, the medieval conditions he saw was something he had to express (through surreal imagery) to the world through his own profound use of visual shock therapy.

Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Playing with Fire, or Hero for Hire?

16 Nov

Playing with Fire Movie PosterBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Most of John Cena‘s action films under the WWE Studios banner have been a hit-or-miss affair. When he’s playing a caring individual, the charisma shines. When playing military type characters, it’s easy to see why he was in Transformers: Bumblebee; he was straight and narrow. Fortunately, this character chose to side with him despite an auspicious initial meeting.

He’s hilarious to watch when pitted against youths. You see him tough as nails–not wanting to deal with them–and by the end of the film, he’s softened up. Like similar movies concerning children landing into difficult situations because the adult doesn’t understand them (Despicable Me being the best example), the heart of this movie shows how unlikely individuals find each other and become a family.

Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , ,

The Prognosis on Mike Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep

14 Nov

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

* Spoiler Alert

Could Dan Torrance (Ewan McGregor) be the Obi-Wan in Doctor Sleep to mentor Abra Stone (Kyliegh Curran)? She’s a gifted psychic who can sense when trouble is afoot! Casting choices and Star Wars references notwithstanding, the sequel looks at what has become of the Torrance family surviving the events of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. After a very lengthy introduction, I was caught up since it’s been years when I last saw the film.

Danny also has this gift and it’s simply called The Shining. It can be used for good or evil and the movie’s title is explained in what the boy, now a man, has become. He helps the elderly to comfortably pass on with his soothing voice and message of hope.

Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , ,

The Days of Future Past with Terminator: Dark Fate

8 Nov

Image result for terminator dark fate posterBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

The meaning behind Terminator: Dark Fate may well on how destiny can’t be changed. Sarah Connor tried to keep her young son John safe and in the future, the elder version reprogrammed a T-800 to prevent his death. When Skynet can mess with the past by sending a bunch of robot assassins to various moments in time, the inevitable has to happen and the question has to be asked, do they go Back to the Future?

A lot of questions are raised in light of the grander picture. Time travel stories are always going to be a head scratcher because of the effects of Schrödinger’s cat in the timeline. Robert Zemeckis’ film (and Legends of Tomorrow) explains that alternate time-lines can be shut down so long the heroes act fast enough before the effects become permanent. That way, only one continuity exists. James Cameron (who’s taking far too long to make sequels to Avatar) returned to his seminal creation to say everything we saw that he wasn’t involved in is all alternate universe material.

Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

← Older Entries