Posted in Art-house Cinema, Arts and Entertainment, Awards, Book to Film Adaptations, History, Movies, Pop Culture, tagged Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Joe Wright, Oscar Predictions, David Fincher, Previews, Trailers, Fall Movie Preview, Spike Lee, The Miracle at St. Anna, Movie Trailers, Mongol, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Australia, Baz Luhrmann, The Soloist, Revolutionary Road, Sam Mendes, Changeling, Clint Eastwood, Defiance, Edward Zwick, Daniel Craig, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Alexandra Maria Lara, Burn After Reading, Quantum of Solace, Ghengis Khan on July 1, 2008 | 2 Comments »
CAPTION: Ghengis Khan is all up in this yurt.
So last week I saw that flick Mongol, you know, the new epic about Ghengis Khan made by a Russian director (Sergei Bodrov), starring a Japanese dude (Tadonubo Asano), nominated for an Oscar, and inexplicably released stateside in the middle of the summer movie season. It was a pretty [...]
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Posted in Book Reviews, Book to Film Adaptations, Books, Literature, Movie Reviews, Movies, Psychology, tagged Horror Films, Psychological Thrillers, Ghost Stories, Film Classics, Henry James, The Turn of the Screw, Repression, Freud, The Innocents, Jack Clayton, Freddie Francis, Deborah Kerr, Victorian Era, Film School, Novellas on May 5, 2008 | No Comments »
Henry James’ classic novella from 1898, “The Turn of the Screw” opens with a group of friends discussing ghost stories:
“I quite agree–in regard to Griffin’s ghost, or whatever it was-that its appearing first to the little boy, at so tender an age, adds a particular touch. But it’s not the first occurrence of its charming [...]
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As I write this, the details are sketchy, but it’s been confirmed that Oscar-winning film director Anthony Minghella has died at the age of 54. At the turn of the millennium, Minghella was the go-to man for star-studded, moderately budgeted, profit-making, literary minded prestige films.
In 1996, he achieved his greatest success with his film adaptation of Michael Ondaatje’s [...]
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Posted in Arts and Entertainment, Book to Film Adaptations, Books, History, Literature, Politics, Television, tagged Abigail Adams, Alexander Hamilton, American History, American Revolution, Beer, Ben Franklin, Boston, Charles Adams, Danny Huston, David McCullough, David Morse, Drinking, Founding Fathers, George Washington, HBO, John Adams, John Adams Episode Guide, John Quincy Adams, Laura Linney, Miniseries, Paul Giamatti, Philadelphia, Revolutionary War, Rufus Sewel, Samuel Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Tom Hooper, Tom Wilkinson on March 16, 2008 | 11 Comments »
**This was a post in progress.
Weekly updates appeared as each episode of John Adams aired Sunday nights on HBO.
And remember, faithful viewers, Samuel Adams White Ale is the (un)official beer of HBO’s John Adams. Real Patriots Drink Samuel Adams.
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*Above: Political Propaganda circa 1776.
PREVIEW:
Ever since the demise of The Sopranos and Rome, the only thing even remotely worth [...]
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Posted in Art-house Cinema, Book to Film Adaptations, Movie Reviews, Movies, tagged There Will Be Blood, Oil, Upton Sinclair, Greed, Paul Thomas Anderson, American Epic, Masterpiece, Daniel Day Lewis, Daniel Plainview, Religion, Capitalism, Evangelism on January 7, 2008 | 3 Comments »
CAPTION: Fathers and Sons, Drowning in Oil.
The World of Blood and Oil According to Plainview, 6 January 2008
Author: David H. Schleicher from New Jersey, USA
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
There’s a recurring nightmare of mine where I am falling down a well. Our reality is an illusion. This life is simply the dream we [...]
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Posted in Book to Film Adaptations, Movie Reviews, Movies, Pop Culture, tagged Apocalypse, Horror, I Am Legend, New York City, Remake, Richard Matheson, Sci-fi, Virus, Will Smith, Zombies on December 16, 2007 | 2 Comments »
I Am Legend is based on the novel by Richard Matheson. It has been adapted twice before for film under different titles: The Last Man on Earth starring Vincent Price and The Omega Man with Charlton Heston. This latest version is directed by Francis Lawrence.
CAPTION: Quick, dog, look cool. People will love us.
I Am Overrated, 15 December 2007
Author: [...]
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Posted in Art-house Cinema, Book to Film Adaptations, History, Movie Reviews, Movies, tagged Joe Wright, Ian McEwan, Atonement, Period Piece, WWII, Romance, Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, Great Britian on December 10, 2007 | No Comments »
(01/04/200 I rarely do this, but I felt compelled after a second viewing of Atonement to admit where I may have been off base with my initial review. I judged the characters rather harshly, but on second look felt them worthy of forgiveness from the audience. I was especially unfair to Keira Knightley. Her emaciated appearance adds a bizarre element to [...]
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Posted in Book to Film Adaptations, Movie Reviews, Movies, Politics, Pop Culture, tagged Atheism, Children's Stories, Chris Weitz, Fantasy Films, His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman, The Golden Compass, Trilogy on December 9, 2007 | No Comments »
*Note to readers: I have not read any of Philip Pullman’s books, but I have read numerous interviews with the author and book excerpts to have a decent grasp of his intents and the books’ message.
Ask the Dust, 9 December 2007
Author: David H. Schleicher from New Jersey, USA
An evil empire called the Magestirium attempts total control of the [...]
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Posted in Book to Film Adaptations, Movie Reviews, Movies, Politics, tagged Culture of Fear, Frank Darabont, Horror Films, Monster Movies, Stephen King, The Mist on November 28, 2007 | 3 Comments »
CAPTION: Holy Crap! I’m a little kid in a Stephen King story. I am so screwed.
Misanthropes in the Mist, 27 November 2007
Author: David H. Schleicher from New Jersey, USA
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
It’s official: Stephen King and Frank Darabont hate humanity. It’s almost impossible to fathom that these two were responsible for the life-affirming “Shawshank [...]
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Posted in Book to Film Adaptations, History, Literature, Movie Reviews, Movies, Pop Culture, tagged Robert Zemeckis, Angelina Jolie, Grendel, Beowulf, Classic Literature, Epic Poem, Digital 3D on November 19, 2007 | 1 Comment »
Chasing the Dragon, 18 November 2007
Author: David H. Schleicher from New Jersey, USA
*The following is a review of the digital 3D version showing at select theaters:
Robert Zemeckis has always been a trailblazer with film technology. He was among the first to utilize CGI in “Death Becomes Her” and with his adaptation of the oldest surviving [...]
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