Regardless of what one thinks about the quality of South Park these days (and I think it still has the capacity to do some good satire, like last week’s episode “Reverse Cowgirl”), Trey Parker and Matt Stone consistently reveal themselves to have an impressive ability to create some hilarious and catchy songs. (And if you haven’t listened to it yet, check out their Book of Mormon work. It’s really great.) And last night’s episode “Cash For Gold” once again showcased their musical ingenuity (and insanity) with a whimsical variation on the theme song from The Blob. Check it out after the jump.

Keep Reading »

In 1978, a year after Star Wars catapulted audiences into the alien cosmos, Warner Brothers did humankind a solid by bringing the alien to modern-day America with Superman: The Movie. With the appropriately rousing–if not a bit biologically misleading (it’s marketing, people!)–tagline “You’ll Believe A Man Can Fly”, Richard Donner’s adaptation found the right balance between honoring the rich mythology of the character’s comic origins and reconfiguring it through the epic scope that only the big screen can hold. And thanks to this steady footing provided by the saga’s terra firma that stretches from the distant Krypton to Earth’s Smallville and Metropolis, it is no wonder why, when push comes to shove and heroics are called for, Superman can leap buildings in a single bound (and the like) into the stratosphere: the ground is set for success, which makes the flying leap that much more believable. Indeed, Superman takes off, soaring to immense heights as it is still one of the best comic book adaptations in film. (Slight tangent: its structure, still an unbeatable beacon for doing a great origin story, has “inspired”–or, more cynically, motivated the lazy–makers of subsequent comic films to follow Superman’s shining light too much, too closely, like moths to the flame. Some men just can’t fly well, it seems–and Superman’s mastery becomes all the more apparent.)

Keep Reading »

Though it is unquestionably a great film in my mind, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a strange beast of meshing tones, genres, and storytelling techniques. Dynamic as hell, it has the ability to jump at a (strange) moment’s notice from farcical, tongue-in-cheek roguishness more fit for a straight comedy to pensive, anti-western mythmaking more in keeping with late 60s-early 70s westerns. A particularly fitting example is when the protagonists escape to Bolivia: there, we are hit with the wonderful irony of Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman) and Sundance Kid’s (Robert Redford) professional transmogrification from bank robbers to payroll security; but before this can be relished, both characters are confronted by outlaws not unlike themselves (albeit more lethal), which rapidly culminates in a slow-motion shootout analogous to Peckinpah’s bloody masterpiece The Wild Bunch. The shift is shocking–as one of such a violent nature should be.

Keep Reading »

First things first: a self-indulgent, rambling preface.

I love movies, especially good, solid movies that work cohesively. I watch movies a lot, hoping that they will all accomplish what they set out to do (or, rather, what I think each is trying to do). Of course, every movie cannot be all-time success, because for there to be a good, there has to be a bad, and vice versa; it’s just how it works out. But when I see a solid movie, I take particular pleasure in not just how it works overall–in a well-made, impressive fashion–but how each part adds up to its collective impressive functionality. And when you watch movies a lot, you tend to become more aware of how specific moments, scenes, even sequences function within the stories being told. Ostensibly, these moments are all included in the final work for a reason–and I don’t think that it’s a stretch to say that the inclusions were made in an attempt to better it in an overall way, be they by simple character clarifications or complex expansions of the story’s universe.

Keep Reading »

When Alexandre Aja breathed new life into the Piranha series in 2010, he went about it in the best way possible: he fashioned a pure slopfest wherein every action and statement is done completely tongue-in-cheek—that is until that tongue, cheek, or both were ripped out mercilessly and hilariously. The movie may not have worked very well as a horror movie (honestly, who would want that?), but it sure as hell worked for comedy. And although Aja isn’t the driving force behind it, Piranha 3DD seems to follow in line with its perverted predecessor.

Keep Reading »

There are few directors working today that have as unique an aesthetic as Wes Anderson. The look, feel, sound, and tone of all his movies are entirely his own. Crafting meticulously shot narratives that are punctuated by some quirk (a term I use lovingly in this case) and droll humor, Anderson movies have become a staple of American cinema for more than a decade. And now he’s back at it again with Moonrise Kingdom, his first live-action movie since 2007 (Fantastic Mr. Fox being a successful foray into stop-motion filmmaking in 2009). Hit the jump and check it out.

Keep Reading »

Steven Spielberg is a master filmmaker. At times, he is also an erratic one. Not in terms of quality (which, on the whole, is consistently good to great), but in terms of output. For most years, when he isn’t producing up a storm and making bundles of money off of the movies, he pumps out about one film every year or two. But then, every so often, he ends up taking a break from directing before bursting back onto the scene with two movies together–and both are usually very different, in terms of commercial and Oscar-gold potential. In 93, he came out firing with an absurd (and absurdly great) combo: Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List. In 97 (after a few years off after the aforementioned combo), he gave the world a sequel to the dino-spectacular, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and Amistad, a movie chronicling the legendary slave rebellion and Supreme Court case. 2002 brought us Minority Report and Catch Me If You Can (though this duo muddies the water a bit because both are pretty damn commercial.) Then in 2005, he nearly obliterated the human race with War of the Worlds before turning his eye towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Munich.

Keep Reading »

(Warning: This review contains some minor spoilers.)

Five minutes. That’s all the Driver (Ryan Gosling) gives his fellow criminals on a heist. No more, no less. Anything before or after that allotted time is not his concern; it is outside his frame of reference. But within those five minutes, he is all in, willing to do anything to get the job done. Because, during those five minutes, he is doing what he was meant to do, doing what defines him: He is behind the wheel of a get-away car, driving relentlessly for a few minutes at a time.

Keep Reading »

Hello, Omega-Level Rebel Alliance.

Last week, I offered it up to you fine people here at OL whether or not it was a good idea to start a Kickstarter campaign to buy the Star Wars franchise to save the original trilogy, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. Not only did we decide that it was a most worthy venture, but there was simply no other realistic option; creating a Kickstarter in order to raise enough money to buy Star Wars from George Lucas was clearly the right thing to do.

Keep Reading »

Hey, OL readers.

In case you missed it, Caffeine Powered  posted yesterday (and today) about how George Lucas is, once again, messing with the glory of the original Star Wars trilogy. Understandably, we all found it horrendous. Then Seth, one of our finest commenters, came up with a pretty great idea: It would be cool if all Star Wars fans could pool money together in order buy the movies/franchise. I heartily agreed with him and now I offer it up for debate: Should Omega-Level back this enterprise and create a kickstarter campaign dedicated to raising the insane amount of money needed to buy the Star Wars franchise? And if we were to do such a ridiculous thing (that is, make a kickstarter, not actually raise the necessary billions), what would we stand for? Caffeine Powered and I agree that preserving the original Star Wars trilogy and offering a pure blu-ray set of them would be priority number one. But is there anything else we could do? What would be our Omega-Level Rebel Alliance credo, our mission statement?

Keep Reading »