Jason Bateman’s BAD WORDS Tries Too Hard To Be Bad
Redhead Review: Bad Words I really wanted to like Bad Words a lot more than I did. It had plenty of moments that were undoubtedly funny and well-executed, but at times, Jason Bateman’s feature directorial debut also felt forced. All the most vulgar moments are shown in the red band trailer, and the rest veers dangerously close to predictably heartfelt. In other words, it is a film that tries so hard to be “bad,” but is actually quite safe, not actually giving us anything nearly as edgy or new as it claims to; but, it still gives us something entertaining nonetheless. First, let me say that Jason Bateman’s direction is not one of the problems I had with the film. In fact, I thought one of the strongest aspects of the film was its unique and artful stylization which actually...
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Why Horror Films Need Their Own Oscars
With the main exceptions of The Silence of the Lambs and The Exorcist (which in my opinion should have won the Oscar it was up for), horror films are nearly always ignored come awards season. This is no longer a disappointment to me. In fact, it makes perfect sense given what these awards have become compared to horror’s B-genre classification. Horror used to be considered only a notch below comedy. But, the comedy genre (when done artfully, intelligently or heartwarmingly enough) can actually still get elevated by Academy recognition—think Little Miss Sunshine or even this year’s American Hustle. I have no valid argument to put forth in a debate about whether horror films deserve mainstream industry accolades. I do, however, think they deserve to be considered in a similar way—why can’t an awards show exist that understands the genre...
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5 Buzzworthy Films From Sundance 2014
Twenty years ago, one of my favorite films and filmmakers got their big break, so to speak, at Sundance: Clerks and its mastermind Kevin Smith. This year, keeping up with the buzz surrounding the festival has been particularly exciting for me, with acquisitions being made for some films that seem just as odd and out-there in spirit and charm as Smith’s black and white low budget comedy about nothing had been before ever even being picked up by Miramax and the Weinsteins. Compiling this buzz I’ve been hearing (and doing a little bit of further research into the final distribution rights bought by whom and for what films), I’ve managed to pick five standout selections from Sundance 2014 that I, personally, cannot wait for, and which seem to reflect the festival’s lasting reputation, at least in my mind, as one...
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The 71st Golden Globes: A Lesson in Awards Show Shenanigans and Politics
The Golden Globes has, in my mind, always been the reckless and rebellious cousin to the Oscars, with the Hollywood Foreign Press’ celebration of cinema and television seeming not quite as stuffy and serious as the Academy’s affair. The party this year, however, got a little out of hand and in not enough of the right ways, either. Some of my criticisms may seem pointlessly unsolvable, and I realize that, especially given my growing and deepening investment in all things film seeming to correlate with my feeling that awards, in general, have grown increasingly predictable. First, let me point out that there were some surprises in the latter portion of this year’s Globes specifically; I was pleased when Robin Wright won for her elegantly wicked turn in House of Cards, and for Andy Samberg and Brooklyn Nine Nine to...
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THE WOLF OF WALL STREET & GOODFELLAS: Martin Scorsese’s Best Double Feature Yet
Martin Scorsese has two tendencies: the first is to make films that all follow a thematic or stylistic pattern, building off of one another and forming a canon of work that has since proved him to be a great auteur. Then there’s his tendency to break away from that and make something seemingly totally different than any of those defining films but which still, to varying extents perhaps, appeal to the masses. But where does his new film, The Wolf of Wall Street, fit in? It is one of the funniest films he’s ever made, in my opinion, and it isn’t necessarily violent, not in the traditional sense anyway. But, when paired with 1990’s Goodfellas, Scorsese’s main stylistic techniques and of course his thematic focuses are really made apparent. And this is by no means a negative pairing I’m...
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The Most Anticipated Movies of Winter 2013
December is always an exciting time for movies; you have your Oscar bait trying to wriggle into theaters just in time for awards season, and therefore a whole slew of American cinema’s best and brightest, or so the marketing will lead audiences to believe. Then, you have your Christmas releases, which are usually some mixture of the award favorites and straightforward fun fare. Then we get to January, where movie choices are usually oddly limited, as if Hollywood and moviegoers feel winded from everything I’ve just mentioned and need a month break. Maybe this is just my skewed perspective, but it cannot just be a matter of coincidence or imagination that my late-January birthday was always spent wishing there was something better in the movies to see with friends for the occasion than Underworld: Evolution or No Strings Attached....
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