Films That Matter
An Impossible Mission
How do you wrap up a franchise like Mission: Impossible? That is, if this even is the final installment... as they’ve made it sound (while at the same time, stars not named ‘Tom Cruise’ pipe up and suggest that might not be so). It has been twenty-nine years, with different writers and visionary directors – from twisty Brian De Palma and the action hair stylings of John Woo, to the lens flares of J.J. Abrams and animation expert Brad Bird, it was only about ten years ago that the franchise decided to opt for The Usual Suspects scribe Christopher McQuarrie for the final four. To return to that opening question once more, you could end with a Sopranos’ style cliffhanger, simply make another entertaining movie like the many before – like Everybody Loves Raymond did it with its final episode, or try to tie everything up in a neat little bow by bringing everything together as the Daniel Craig era did with James Bond. Well, it is definitely more along the lines of the latter example, with some distinct differences.
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Star Pick with Ron Perlman
Worth a RepeatThe GodfatherJanuary 19, 2016I spoke to character actor Ron Perlman recently about his favourite films. The veteran performer, who has been in motion pictures and television for more than thirty-five years, shot to fame in the late eighties with the show Beauty and the Beast. He has not stopped since, taking on numerous memorable roles in series such as Sons of Anarchy and Hand of God as well as in films like Hellboy, Drive and Pacific Rim, to name but a few. He has worked with horror maestro Guillermo del Toro an impressive six times – calling the director an absolute genius.
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Star Pick with Tony D
A Movie You Couldn’t RefuseThe GodfatherJanuary 18, 2016It is not hard to argue that the classic 1972 crime film The Godfather is the biggest movie to come out of that decade and transcend the generations (that is, if we do not count its 1974 sequel – which is of equal popularity and importance).
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Grifter has Tenuous Grip in this Film Noir
Night and the CityJanuary 15, 2016In 1950, just prior to being blacklisted, director Jules Dassin was sent to make a film in London, England – being warned by producer Darryl F. Zanuck that it would most likely be the last movie he would make. What came of this venture was the classic film-noir Night and the City.
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Two Stars Shine Bright in the Heavens
January 14, 2016By now, I am sure many of you have already heard that legendary rock star David Bowie passed away on January 10th, 2016. What you may not yet have heard is that iconic British actor Alan Rickman passed away earlier today.
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Cool Runnings Warms the Heart
Cool RunningsJanuary 12, 2016The phrase "based on true events" is used a lot in films these days, but as we know, it is a very loose term. Though there are kernels of truth in most of these movies, it is usually just an idea that captures the screenwriters’ imagination which is then turned into his or her own fictionalized version of history. One movie that exemplifies this is the Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure, Last Vegas) Disney flick Cool Runnings.
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A Masterclass in Screenwriting
12 Angry MenJanuary 10, 2016If there is one thing that films often lack, especially in the twenty-first century, it is a solid script. One classic motion picture that demonstrates a near perfect screenplay is the iconic 1957 movie 12 Angry Men.
