JUSTIFIED SEASON 2: What started out as a guilty pleasure/extension of my massive DEADWOOD love quickly transformed into yet another Dork obsession. I've always been a fan of Elmore Leonard but I had somehow missed the Raylan Givens novels (Pronto, Riding The Rap, "Fire In The Hole") and thought that the original trailers for the Timothy Olyphant show looked rather silly. But halfway through season one I realized that Justified had the potential to be one of the great cop dramas and that season finale!!!! Badass. But I only watch TV via DVD & Streaming and Season 2 was hard to come by. Now it's in my hands and I'm dying to dive in...but I have to wait for The Wife. She's got an Olyphant crush too.
Buy!
DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK: I thoroughly enjoyed this little creature feature from producer Guillermo Del Toro and director Troy Nixey. It's not the kinda movie to make a big splash but one you catch on TV and go, "Damn, that was shockingly good." And Katie Holmes...she don't suck. She's actually rather good as the put-upon Stepmother. And wonderful tiny monsters with a wicked backstory.
Rent!
CONTAGION: Tried to catch this panic film in the theater but just couldn't make it happen. There's a great cast here and that Paltrow poster gives me all kinds of heebie jeebies. But I've also heard that it's just a slightly more serious take on Outbreak.
THE GUARD: Yet another film I didn't manage to see last year but desperately wanted to; Brendan Gleeson's rough Irish cop partnering up with Don Cheadle's slick American G-Man sounds like it could be all manner of In Bruges entertainment.
MILDRED PIERCE: As I type this I'm two episodes into the HBO mini-series directed by Todd Haynes (Far From Heaven, Velvet Goldmine). I can tell you right now that if this had been released theatrially it would have probably made my Top Ten Films of the Year and Kate Winslet would have most certainly surpassed Charlize Theron (Young Adult) as Best Leading Female Performance. I never read James M Cain's thin novel or seen the original adaptation, and I really have no clue where this story is going, all I know is that I'm along for the ride. Just a beautiful period character study so far...
PUNCTURE: Chris Evans is a junkie lawyer caught up in the case of a lifetime or some such nonsense. I haven't heard a single thing about this movie, but Captain America has wormed his way into my heart and I'm ready to queue up my Netflix for another Erin Brockovich.
Avoid!
SHARK NIGHT: This was a total waste of time. Why on earth was this cheap Lake Shark vs Bikinied Teen movie rated PG-13? Crank this up to a Piranha R and you might actually have had something enjoyable. Instead you have dismissible bunk.
--Brad
I love coming here to find things I'd missed or not known about. Thank you, sir.
ReplyDeleteLooking at this list, my first thought is: Is Guy Pearce the man, or what? If he's in a film, I'm certainly giving it a look.
Second: Did you know Troy Nixey was a comic artist before turning to film directing? http://lambiek.net/artists/n/nixey_troy.htm
That's where I know him from. I knew he was moving into film, but had no idea he was hooking up with del Toro. Definitely excited now to see what he did with "Don't be Afraid..."
chris
Yeah, I saw Nixey at Comic Con and that's where I learned his history. Need to check out more of his stuff.
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