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‘Killers’ (2014): When Cinematic Violence Asks Hard Questions

Directed by: The Mo Brothers || Produced by: Yoshinori Chiba, Shinjiro Nishimura, Takuji Ushiyama, Kimo Stamboel, Timo Tjahjanto Screenplay by: Takuji Ushiyama, Timo Tjahjanto || Starring: Kazuki Kitamura, Oka Antara, Rin Takanashi, Luna Maya, Ray Sahetapy, Ersya Aurelia, Epy Kasnandar, Mei Kurokawa Music by: Fajar Yuskemal, Aria Prayogi || Cinematography by: Gunnar Nimpuno || Edited … Continue reading

‘The Lunchbox’ (2013): Indian Awards-Bait

Directed by: Ritesh Batra || Produced by: Arun Rangachari, Anurag Kashyap, Guneet Monga Screenplay by: Ritesh Batra || Starring: Irrfan Khan, Nimrat Kaur, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Denzil Smith, Bharai Achrekar, Nakul Vaid, Yashvi Puneet, Lillete Dubey Music by: Max Richter || Cinematography by: Michael Simmonds || Edited by: John F. Lyons || Country: India, France, Germany … Continue reading

‘American Sniper’ (2014): Bradley Cooper Tries Something New

Directed by: Clint Eastwood || Produced by: Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, Andrew Lazar, Bradley Cooper, Peter Morgan Screenplay by: Jason Hall || Starring: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Max Charles, Luke Grimes, Kyle Gallner, Sam Jaeger, Jake McDorman, Cory Hardrict Music by: Joseph DeBeasi, Clint Eastwood || Cinematography: Joel Cox || Edited by: Gary D. Roach … Continue reading

‘The Imitation Game’ (2014): Acceptable Oscar-Bait?

Directed by: Morten Tyldum || Produced by: Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky, Teddy Schwarzman Screenplay by: Graham Moore || Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Mark Strong, Charles Dance, Allen Leech, Matthew Beard, Rory Kinnear Music by: Alexandre Desplat || Cinematography by: Oscar Faura || Edited by: William Goldenberg || Country: United Kingdom || Language: … Continue reading

Reality Check: 2015 Oscar Nominations-Freakout Time

Every year around late January to early February when the Academy Award nominations are announced, tons of people waste plenty of energy whining and bitching about what films got picked and which didn’t. The complaints often go something like this: ‘Whaa, whaa, Whaaaaa, my favorite movie/actor/director/whomever/whatever didn’t get nominated! Whaaa, it’s almost like the Academy … Continue reading

‘The Babadook’ (2014): Revamped Jungian Horror

Directed by: Jennifer Kent || Produced by: Kristina Cetyon, Dristian Moliere Screenplay by: Jennifer Kent || Starring: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall, Hayley McElhinney, Barbara West, Ben Winspear Music by: Jed Kurzel || Cinematography: Radek Ladczuk || Edited by: Simon Njoo || Country: Australia || Language: English Running Time: 94 minutes What separates quality horror … Continue reading

‘Selma’ (2014): Critics Told Me to Like It

Directed by: Ava DuVernay || Produced by: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Christian Colson, Oprah Winfrey Screenplay by: Paul Webb || Starring: David Oyelowo, Tom Wilkinson, Carmen Ejogo, Tim Roth, Oprah Winfrey, Giovanni Ribisi, Keith Stanfield, Alessandro Nivola, Andre Holland, Wendell Pierce Music by: Jason Moran || Cinematography: Bradford Young || Edited by: Spencer Averick || … Continue reading

‘The Theory of Everything’ (2014): Vintage Oscar-Bait

Directed by: James Marsh || Produced by: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce, Anthony McCarten Screenplay by: Anthony McCarten || Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Charlie Cox, Emily Simon, Simon McBurney, David Thewlis, Christian McKay, Maxine Peake, Guy Oliver-Watts Music by: Johann Johannsson || Cinematography by: Benoit Delhomme || Edited by: Jinx Godfrey || Country: … Continue reading

‘Foxcatcher’ (2014): The Thinking Man’s Sports Drama

Directed by: Bennett Miller || Produced by: Bennett Miller, Megan Ellison, Jon Kilik, Anthony Bregman Screenplay by: E. Max Frye, Dan Futterman || Starring: Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, Vanessa Redgrave, Sienna Miller, Anthony Michael Hall Music by: Rob Simonsen, West Dylan Thordson || Cinematography by: Greig Fraser || Edited by: Stuart Levy, Conor … Continue reading

Je Suis Charlie: Some men just want to watch the world burn…

In light of the most recent attacks on French cartoonists at Charlie Hebdo for what was most likely “retaliation” for parodies of religious figures throughout the years, I decided to write one last post summarizing my thoughts on this sort of violence against artistic expression and free speech. The matter of whether or not we … Continue reading

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