Let's Be Cops (2014)

Genre

Comedy

Director

Luke Greenfield

Country

United States

Cast

Damon Wayans Jr., Jake Johnson, Rob Riggle, Nina Dobrev, Keegan-Michael Key, James D'Arcy, Andy García, Jon Lajoie, Tom Mardirosian, Natasha Leggero, Rebecca Koon, Nelson Bonilla, Jeff Chase, Jwaundace Candece, Briana Venskus, Alec Rayme, Ron Caldwell

Plot

Justin (Damon Wayans Jr.) and Ryan (Jake Johnson), two pals disappointed about their life, dress as police officers for a costume party. When they are mistaken for real cops, they take advantage of it and have some fun. However, soon they get tangled in a real life web of mobsters, and the real trouble begins.

Opinion

Critics won't agree with me, but Let's Be Cops is an enjoyable cop comedy. It lacks a bit of originality - the story and the little ending fight between the two pals remembered me of 21 Jump Street - but after all it isn't that bad. I have to admit it is not very logical or realistic at some points, but it's a comedy, and as such we shouldn't take it too seriously. The jokes are not brilliant, yet they are funny.

There's chemistry between Damon Wayans Jr. and Jake Johnson, and they both do a good work with their characters. Although I believe their comic potential has been wasted in this film. 

Buy on Amazon.com | Buy/Rent on Amazon Instant Video

Quotes

Ryan: I got promoted to sergeant!

Justin: You got promoted to sergeant?

Ryan: I felt like I deserved it.

Rating

7.3/10

Magic in the Moonlight (2014)

Genre

Comedy | Romance

Director

Woody Allen

Country

UK | USA

Cast

Colin Firth, Emma Stone, Hamish Linklater, Marcia Gay Harden, Jacki Weaver, Erica Leerhsen, Eileen Atkins, Simon McBurney, Lionel Abelanski

Plot

Stanley Crawford (Colin Firth) is a famous English magician who has dedicated his life to revealing fraudulent spiritualists. Persuaded by his friend, Howard Burkan (Simon McBurney), he plans to uncover a young spiritualist, Sophie (Emma Stone). However, the more time he spends with her, he starts believing she is not a charlatan, but a real psychic. 

Opinion

It may have disappointed me a little bit, still Magic in the Moonlight is a good film. Life might be not just black and white, but also a mixture of shades of gray. 

Dealing with magic and mysticism, Woody Allen poses himself/us a question: is there most than what we see? Does magic exist?

I've been amazed by the bright and shiny colours. The music is great, and I particularly enjoyed listening to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.

If until now I've only said good things, had come the time to talk about the bad ones: I didn't appreciate much the script. While it was very promising at the beginning, it ended up into a cliché.

Colin Firth, serious and hilarious as the skeptical Stanley, is terrific. Emma Stone is funny and delightful as always. Eileen Atkins, who plays Aunt Vanessa, is marvelous.

We Are Wrapped!! 40 BELOW AND FALLING Enters Post Production!

We're wrapped! Into post we go. What a journey so far and I'm thrilled to be a part of such an awesome movie. I'll be sure to keep you all up to speed on happenings in post production as well and we have some surprises in store for you!

Here's our official press release: 

EDMONTON - That’s a wrap! Filming in Edmonton is officially complete on 12pt Media’s 3D Romantic Adventure/Comedy 40 Below and Falling. The film stars actors Jewel Staite (Firefly, The Killing) and Shawn Roberts (Resident Evil) along with a superb Canadian support cast that includes Cindy Busby, Shaun Johnston, Mark Meer and Hollywood trained grizzly bear Whopper from Innisfail, Alberta.

40 Below and Falling tells the story of Kate Carter (Jewel Staite), a small town school teacher who is moving back to the big city for her wedding. When a blizzard strikes, her flight gets cancelled and the roads are shut down, leaving Kate no choice but to hop on the back of a surly stranger named Redford’s (Shawn Roberts) snowmobile. As they battle the winter elements together and their adventures unfold, Kate slowly starts to question the choice she has made about the man she is set to marry.

The movie was filmed in Edmonton and various locations across Alberta with a custom manufactured beam-splitting rig. This cutting-edge technology allowed the team to effectively shoot in freezing Canadian temperatures with reduced setup times for all of the film's remote locations. The feature is now entering into post-production, utilizing Davinci Resolve, AVID, NUKE and After Effects to meet its quick delivery date at the end of May. The complicated workflow involves over 150TB of data and is being managed in house by 12pt Media.

Executive Producers Darren Arsenault, Corinne Ferguson, Pierre-Andre Rochat, Producer Andrew Scholotiuk, Associate Producer Jim Dorey, along with the crew, are hard at work behind the scenes getting the film ready for its expected release in the fall of 2015. 40 Below and Falling is currently scheduled to be broadcast in Canada in 2D on Super Channel, with an international release being handled by distributor DARO Films out of Monaco.

Produced in association with the Edmonton Film Fund and with the assistance of the Government of Alberta Media Fund and the Canadian Film or Video Tax Credit Program.

Stay up to date on the film’s adventures and get in on some of the behind the scenes action by following 40 Below and Falling on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Facebook: 40 Below and Falling 3D
Twitter/Instagram: 40Below3D
www.40belowandfalling.com 

Stay tuned for more!
 

February Expiration Watch: Whittling Away

"I am not an animal! I am...
...an old movie on Netflix!"

I'm going to keep it short this month, as it's more of the same old story, i.e., Netflix is taking yet another chunk out of its back catalog, erasing nearly 20 more pre-1982 titles. Among those are such all-time greats as The Elephant Man (1980), The Graduate (1967), The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), The Long, Hot Summer (1958), Old Yeller (1957), Ordinary People (1980), Saturday Night Fever (1977), and Das Boot (1981). At this rate, I hate to imagine what will be left of legitimate classics by year's end.

That's not even taking into account expiring second-tier pics like Adios, Sabata (1971), Hatari! (1962), Thief (1981), This Property Is Condemned (1966), and Will Penny (1968). Granted, there should be a few pre-1982 additions arriving in March, but at this point I count only two: Taxi Driver and 3 Days of the Condor. Of course, if you're a fan of upcoming TV shows like A Different World or the recently added Robocop remake, then no worries, right? (Note: heavy sarcasm. Do not ingest if on a low-calorie diet.)

If we look at more recent decades' titles, the picture isn't much rosier. The 1980s fare the best, with the most notable deletions being Ridley Scott's underrated Black Rain (1989), the B-grade John Hughes flick Pretty in Pink (1986), kiddie fave Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989), and Terry Gilliam's hot mess, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989).

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The Last Samurai (2003)

Genre

Action | Drama | History

Director

Edward Zwick

Country

Japan | New Zealand | United States

Cast

Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Hiroyuki Sanada, Shin Koyamada, Tony Goldwyn, Masato Harada, Shichinosuke Nakamura, Timothy Spall, Seizo Fukumoto, Koyuki, Billy Connolly, Shun Sugata, Sosuke Ikematsu, Scott Wilson, Togo Igawa

Plot

Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), a veteran of the U.S. Civil War, is hired by the Emperor Meiji (Shichinosuke Nakamura) to train an army capable of wiping out the samurai. But when Algren is captured by the samurai and taught about their history and way of life, he finds himself conflicted over who he should be fighting alongside

Opinion

I wasn't expecting much from this film, I thought it would be just another high-budget film starring Tom Cruise, without any depth. I've never been more wrong in my life. I absolutely loved it and I regret not watching it before.
The Last Samurai is a brilliant story of honour, tradition and courage, and glorifies the Samurai lifestyle in a sublime way.
The film, masterfully directed by Edward Zwick, manages to capture Japanese men living in a transition world: the fall of the Bushido and the rise of a modern empire.
The action/fighting scenes are spectacular. The sublime music, provided by Hans Zimmer, contributes in making the film even more fantastic.
Tom Cruise - actor I don't particularly like, and the reason why I watched this film only now - gives his best performance ever. However, Ken Watanabe, who plays Samurai leader Katsumoto, steals the show with his intense and mesmerising performance, and the Oscar is definitely worthy, but the Academy rarely fails to disappoint.

Buy on Amazon.com

Quotes

Katsumoto: You believe a man can change his destiny?
Algren: I think a man does what he can, until his destiny is revealed.

Emperor Meiji: Tell me how he died.
Algren: I will tell you how he lived.

Katsumoto: The perfect blossom is a rare thing. You could spend your life looking for one, and it would not be a wasted life.

Katsumoto: Perfect... They are all... perfect...

Simon Graham: [narrating] And so the days of the Samurai had ended. Nations, like men, it is sometimes said, have their own destiny. As for the American Captain, no one knows what became of him. Some say that he died of his wounds. Others, that he returned to his own country. But I like to think he may have at last found some small measure of peace, that we all seek, and few of us ever find.

Rating

10/10

Iron Man 3 (2013)

Genre

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Director

Shane Black

Country

United States

Cast

Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge, Jon Favreau, Ben Kingsley, Paul Bettany, Ty Simpkins, Ashley Hamilton, William Sadler, Miguel Ferrer, Adam Pally, Shaun Toub, Stan Lee, Dale Dickey, Wang Xueqi, Mark Ruffalo

Plot

When Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

Opinion

While Iron Man 2 was not very good, Iron Man 3 is back to Iron Man’s level. Iron Man 3 is a great film, different from the previous films of the trilogy mostly because of the increasing thrill. The awesome action is worth a watch. Director Shane Black, who replaced Jon Favreau, does an excellent work. The visual effects are great; Brian Tyler’s music is good, but not as good as AC/DC in the previous films.

Robert Downey Jr. is good as usual as Tony Stark/Iron Man; Gwyneth Paltrow, which has a more important role in this film, does a great job; Guy Pearce is an excellent villain. 

Buy on Amazon.com | Buy on Amazon Instant Video

Quotes

Tony Stark: [narrates] My armor was never a distraction or a hobby, it was a cocoon, and now I'm a changed man. You can take away my house, all my tricks and toys, but one thing you can't take away - I am Iron Man.

Rating

8.2/10

2015 Czech Lion Awards Winners

Yesterday the Czech Film and Television Academy had the annual ceremony where according to Czech news dispatches many were surprised as front runner with unprecedented 14 nominations, Fair Play by Andrea Sedláčková, was Czech Republic submission to Oscar, got snubbed. Still seems audiences enjoyed film more than industry as film collected the Audience Viewers' Choice award.

The BIG winner of the night with seven (7) awards was Petr Václav’s much-acclaimed Cesta ven (The Way Out) that won category after category, with the exception of the acting honors that went to the group of experienced theater actors in Morslav Krobot's Díra u Hanušovic (Nowhere in Moravia), a film that got three (3) awards.

Best Film: Cesta ven (The Way Out)
Best Director: Petr Václav for Cesta ven (The Way Out)
Best Actress: Klaudia Dudová for Díra u Hanušovic (Nowhere in Moravia),
Best Actor: Ivan Trojan for Díra u Hanušovic (Nowhere in Moravia),
Best Documentary: Olga, Miroslav Janek
Best Cinematography: Štěpán Kučera for Cesta ven (The Way Out)
Best Screenplay: Petr Václav for Cesta ven (The Way Out)

To check winners in all categories go official site here, available in Czech right now but eventually will be in English a the same website.