On this week’s episode, Zach and Brian welcome Alistair Ryder and Dylan Griffin on the podcast to discuss Alistair’s piece on Blumhouse Productions and how Jason Blum is becoming a staple in modern horror much like Roger Corman did with exploitation films years ago while Dylan discusses his “box office sabermetrics” and how Blumhouse movies are bringing in money on minimal budgets. They also look at the final Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer, say goodbye to Maureen O’Hara, and make way-too-early predictions as to who will join Sandra Bullock in the Ocean’s Eleven all-female reboot.
Don’t forget to donate to the Indiegogo page to help keep PopOptiq afloat!
Top Stories
Final Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer previews the new beginning Rip Maureen O’Hara, star of Miracle on 34th Street and The Quiet Man Billy Bob Thornton to reprise famous role...
Don’t forget to donate to the Indiegogo page to help keep PopOptiq afloat!
Top Stories
Final Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer previews the new beginning Rip Maureen O’Hara, star of Miracle on 34th Street and The Quiet Man Billy Bob Thornton to reprise famous role...
- 11/1/2015
- by Zach Dennis
- SoundOnSight
It shouldn’t be a surprise to any of our readers that we here at PopOptiq love horror movies. All month long we’ve been counting down the 200 greatest horror films ever made alongside our 31 Days of Horror marathon. And every year just before Halloween, our staff bands together to decide what our favourite horror films of the past year are. It’s never an easy feat since we don’t always agree but as with every list, nobody will. That said, here are the 17 best horror films of 2015 according to our writers.
Note: We didn’t bother to list them in any order but we recommend them all!
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A Christmas Horror Story
A Christmas Horror Story offers five interwoven tales of terror set on Christmas Eve, as executed by three Canadian filmmakers, Grant Harvey, Bret Sullivan and veteran genre producer Steven Hoban making his feature directorial debut. Much like Trick ‘r Treat,...
Note: We didn’t bother to list them in any order but we recommend them all!
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A Christmas Horror Story
A Christmas Horror Story offers five interwoven tales of terror set on Christmas Eve, as executed by three Canadian filmmakers, Grant Harvey, Bret Sullivan and veteran genre producer Steven Hoban making his feature directorial debut. Much like Trick ‘r Treat,...
- 10/30/2015
- by Ricky Fernandes
- SoundOnSight
Oh high school. It was a rough time for a lot of us. Maybe more memorable for some. While we’re passed those adolescent days now, we’re deep in Back to School days and getting more than a little nostalgic. That’s due in part to all the high school teen movies that still rattle around in our pop culture consciousness. Many of the characters in the movies shared the same embarrassments we did, the same first crushes, the same droning teachers, and we all wish we had a friend like Ferris Bueller.
So we asked the PopOptiq staff, which high school character from the movies were you? Share your own pop culture doppelgänger below!
Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) from Scream
Randy Meeks and I have much in common. We are both massive horror movie fans who worked in a video store, studied film and had a hopeless crush on our best friend.
So we asked the PopOptiq staff, which high school character from the movies were you? Share your own pop culture doppelgänger below!
Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) from Scream
Randy Meeks and I have much in common. We are both massive horror movie fans who worked in a video store, studied film and had a hopeless crush on our best friend.
- 10/5/2015
- by Staff
- SoundOnSight
10. Watchmen
How do you go about adapting a supposedly unadapatable text? While faithful translations tend not to artistically successful, a faithful adaptation with fetishistic attention to detail can create something unique. While Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller had it comparatively easy when adapting Miller’s Sin City to screen as they more or less would just be recreating paintings but with moving parts, Zack Snyder’s Watchmen adaptation painstakingly recreated much of Alan Moore’s tome by hand, capturing much of Moore’s world in camera. Snyder creates a lived-in and breathing universe, a key part to selling the idea to the audience of this time-hopping opus about the natural decline of superheroism. Watchmen is often accused of being too literal, speaking in the language of comics instead of cinema, but it is precisely this literal approach that makes Watchmen a stellar page-to-screen success. By being a “literal” film, it becomes personal,...
How do you go about adapting a supposedly unadapatable text? While faithful translations tend not to artistically successful, a faithful adaptation with fetishistic attention to detail can create something unique. While Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller had it comparatively easy when adapting Miller’s Sin City to screen as they more or less would just be recreating paintings but with moving parts, Zack Snyder’s Watchmen adaptation painstakingly recreated much of Alan Moore’s tome by hand, capturing much of Moore’s world in camera. Snyder creates a lived-in and breathing universe, a key part to selling the idea to the audience of this time-hopping opus about the natural decline of superheroism. Watchmen is often accused of being too literal, speaking in the language of comics instead of cinema, but it is precisely this literal approach that makes Watchmen a stellar page-to-screen success. By being a “literal” film, it becomes personal,...
- 9/2/2015
- by Staff
- SoundOnSight
40. Road to Perdition
One of the more surprising and lesser-known facts about Sam Mendes’ second film, Road to Perdition, is that it’s actually adapted from a graphic novel of the same name by Max Allan Collins. The plot follows Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks), an Irish mob enforcer as he goes on the run with his son Michael Jr. after Jr. witnesses a murder and their family is killed in an effort to cover up any witnesses. There’s many great things in this film that standout, such as Jude Law’s creepy performance as assassin Harlen Maguire, one of Paul Newman’s final and finest performances as mob boss John Rooney, and Hollywood got an early look at the talent of Daniel Craig as the unstable Connor Rooney. However, it’s the climax that remains the most memorable thing in it, featuring some of the most iconic work from...
One of the more surprising and lesser-known facts about Sam Mendes’ second film, Road to Perdition, is that it’s actually adapted from a graphic novel of the same name by Max Allan Collins. The plot follows Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks), an Irish mob enforcer as he goes on the run with his son Michael Jr. after Jr. witnesses a murder and their family is killed in an effort to cover up any witnesses. There’s many great things in this film that standout, such as Jude Law’s creepy performance as assassin Harlen Maguire, one of Paul Newman’s final and finest performances as mob boss John Rooney, and Hollywood got an early look at the talent of Daniel Craig as the unstable Connor Rooney. However, it’s the climax that remains the most memorable thing in it, featuring some of the most iconic work from...
- 9/2/2015
- by Staff
- SoundOnSight
When we asked our staff to vote on the best comic book movie adaptations, we were afraid the results would consist only of superhero films. While there are many superhero movies listed below, it is great to see a bulk of non-Hollywood films appearing on the list as well. We set out to compile a list of 50 movies but as it were, we ended up with 5 ties, and so the list consists 55 films instead. Let us know if you think we missed something. Enjoy!
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55. The Adventures of Tintin
Spielberg’s first venture into animation is one of his best. Taking notes from the classic Raiders of the Lost Ark playbook, Spielberg crafted another spirited, thrilling, and always entertaining adventure. The Adventures of Tintin is one of the most pleasurable, family-friendly experiences, that boils down to one grand treasure hunt. There’s much to admire on-screen, but it is the spectacular...
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55. The Adventures of Tintin
Spielberg’s first venture into animation is one of his best. Taking notes from the classic Raiders of the Lost Ark playbook, Spielberg crafted another spirited, thrilling, and always entertaining adventure. The Adventures of Tintin is one of the most pleasurable, family-friendly experiences, that boils down to one grand treasure hunt. There’s much to admire on-screen, but it is the spectacular...
- 9/2/2015
- by Staff
- SoundOnSight
Summer 2015 had a lot to offer, a lot to lose sleep over, and a lot to learn from. It gave us hope that the next summer could be even better, and that Hollywood blockbusters still have some life in them yet. Before back to school this month, here are nine lessons we took away from this summer at the movies.
Lesson #1: Mad Max: Fury Road reset the bar for action movies – Zach Dennis
In a summer overrun by dinosaurs and emotive minds, the real kings of the season busted through the Australian apocalypse on top of supercharged cars with a chrome-infused vengeance. In a summer where nostalgia boomed, a new film that will influence the future was born — and it was born on the Fury Road.
Good movies are invigorating, and nothing awoke everyone’s passion like Mad Max: Fury Road did. It wasn’t just classic fun tied...
Lesson #1: Mad Max: Fury Road reset the bar for action movies – Zach Dennis
In a summer overrun by dinosaurs and emotive minds, the real kings of the season busted through the Australian apocalypse on top of supercharged cars with a chrome-infused vengeance. In a summer where nostalgia boomed, a new film that will influence the future was born — and it was born on the Fury Road.
Good movies are invigorating, and nothing awoke everyone’s passion like Mad Max: Fury Road did. It wasn’t just classic fun tied...
- 8/31/2015
- by Staff
- SoundOnSight
Considered the world’s largest genre film festival and running over three weeks long, Fantasia is celebrating its 19th edition this year and the lineup is pretty incredible. This year’s fest runs July 14 through August 4 and will see over 130 feature films including more than 20 world premieres. Legendary filmmaker Sion Sono is delivering three new movies with Tag, Love & Peace, and Shinjuku Swan, meanwhile Tales of Halloween and A Christmas Horror Story are bringing horror anthologies back to the big screen. In addition, the festival will offer up the Montreal premiere of Marvel’s highly anticipated Ant-Man, the world premiere of Israeli horror flick Jeruzalem, the world premiere of Assassination Classroom and the first Canadian screening of the Canadian/Kiwi festival hit Turbo Kid. The festival is rounded out with screenings of Big Match, Crumbs, Deathgasm, The Demolisher, Experimenter, Cooties, We Are Still Here, The Editor, Cub, He Never Died,...
- 7/26/2015
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Don’t think Ryan Reynolds is capable of being in smaller movies? Well this trailer for Mississippi Grind may just prove you wrong. The third feature from writer/directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Half Nelson and It’s Kind of a Funny Story) stars Ben Mendelsohn as a gambler on the verge of running out of his luck who meets Reynolds’, a poker player who seems to have all of the luck. Here’s the synopsis:
Down on his luck and facing financial hardship, Gerry teams up with a younger charismatic poker player named Curtis in an attempt to change his luck. The two set off on a road trip through the South with visions of winning back what has been lost.
What looks to be a thoughtful character piece sure has an interesting duo at the forefront. Reynolds has had his odd share of pairings (he and Jeff Bridges in R.
Down on his luck and facing financial hardship, Gerry teams up with a younger charismatic poker player named Curtis in an attempt to change his luck. The two set off on a road trip through the South with visions of winning back what has been lost.
What looks to be a thoughtful character piece sure has an interesting duo at the forefront. Reynolds has had his odd share of pairings (he and Jeff Bridges in R.
- 7/22/2015
- by Sarah Pearce Lord
- SoundOnSight
Considered the world’s largest genre film festival and running over three weeks long, Fantasia is celebrating its 19th edition this year and the lineup is pretty incredible. This year’s fest runs July 14 through August 4 and will see over 130 feature films including more than 20 world premieres. Legendary filmmaker Sion Sono is delivering three new movies with Tag, Love & Peace, and Shinjuku Swan, meanwhile Tales of Halloween and A Christmas Horror Story are bringing horror anthologies back to the big screen. In addition, the festival will offer up the Montreal premiere of Marvel’s highly anticipated Ant-Man, the world premiere of Israeli horror flick Jeruzalem, the world premiere of Assassination Classroom and the first Canadian screening of the Canadian/Kiwi festival hit Turbo Kid. The festival is rounded out with screenings of Big Match, Crumbs, Deathgasm, The Demolisher, Experimenter, Cooties, We Are Still Here, The Editor, Cub, He Never Died,...
- 7/13/2015
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
My original plan was to publish a list of my ten most anticipated films screening at the Fantasia Film Festival but considering the incredible line-up this year, I find it near impossible to narrow it down to only ten. So instead I’ve decided to select one movie a day, or better yet, the movie that you should choose if you only had time for one.
Day 1. Tangerine
Christmas Eve in Tinseltown!
If you’re not familiar with director Sean Baker start taking notes. The man is a genius and one of the best indie American filmmakers working today. In Starlet, Baker spun an unlikely friendship between a young porn actress and an old lady in the San Fernando Valley. In Prince of Broadway, he chronicled the struggles of a hustler balancing fatherhood while working in New York’s wholesale district. Baker’s work avoids labels by refusing to adhere...
Day 1. Tangerine
Christmas Eve in Tinseltown!
If you’re not familiar with director Sean Baker start taking notes. The man is a genius and one of the best indie American filmmakers working today. In Starlet, Baker spun an unlikely friendship between a young porn actress and an old lady in the San Fernando Valley. In Prince of Broadway, he chronicled the struggles of a hustler balancing fatherhood while working in New York’s wholesale district. Baker’s work avoids labels by refusing to adhere...
- 7/10/2015
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
The next Spider-Man….is British again.
Marvel announced on Tuesday that they would be finding someone across the pond to play Peter Parker in their upcoming reboot of Spider-Man and they have named The Impossible and Wolf Hall star Tom Holland for the part.
Holland beat out a range of actors who tested for the role including Asa Butterfield (Hugo), who was rumored in mid-April to have the role all but locked up.
Holland doesn’t have an extensive resume with his biggest role (and first) coming beside Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts in The Impossible. He has also appeared in the television series, Wolf Hall, and is set to have a role in Ron Howard’s upcoming film, In The Heart of the Sea.
Marvel also tapped Jon Watts to direct the film with the director just finishing up his Sundance film, Cop Car. Much like his actor, Watts...
Marvel announced on Tuesday that they would be finding someone across the pond to play Peter Parker in their upcoming reboot of Spider-Man and they have named The Impossible and Wolf Hall star Tom Holland for the part.
Holland beat out a range of actors who tested for the role including Asa Butterfield (Hugo), who was rumored in mid-April to have the role all but locked up.
Holland doesn’t have an extensive resume with his biggest role (and first) coming beside Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts in The Impossible. He has also appeared in the television series, Wolf Hall, and is set to have a role in Ron Howard’s upcoming film, In The Heart of the Sea.
Marvel also tapped Jon Watts to direct the film with the director just finishing up his Sundance film, Cop Car. Much like his actor, Watts...
- 6/23/2015
- by Zach Dennis
- SoundOnSight
Fresh off the heels of its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, a trailer has been released for Turbo Kid, the post-apocalyptic throwback from Anouk Whissell, François Simard and Yoann-Karl Whissell. What started as a short film (T Is For Turbo) that was submitted for the first ABCs Of Death anthology, is now a full length homage to Eighties kitsch. Our very own Dylan Griffin wrote a very positive review calling it a “a blast from the gory and campy past with a terrific sense of humour.”
Here’s the synopsis from Sundance:
It’s 1997. In a ruined post-apocalyptic world, the orphaned Kid survives on his own through drought-ridden nuclear winter, traversing the Wasteland on his BMX, scavenging for scraps to trade for a scant supply of water. When his perpetually chipper, pink-haired new best friend Apple is kidnapped by a minion of evil overlord Zeus, the Kid summons the...
Here’s the synopsis from Sundance:
It’s 1997. In a ruined post-apocalyptic world, the orphaned Kid survives on his own through drought-ridden nuclear winter, traversing the Wasteland on his BMX, scavenging for scraps to trade for a scant supply of water. When his perpetually chipper, pink-haired new best friend Apple is kidnapped by a minion of evil overlord Zeus, the Kid summons the...
- 6/18/2015
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Sound on Sight undertook a massive project, compiling ranked lists of the most influential, unforgettable, and exciting action scenes in all of cinema. There were hundreds of nominees spread across ten different categories and a multi-week voting process from 11 of our writers. The results: 100 essential set pieces, sequences, and scenes from blockbusters to cult classics to arthouse obscurities.
If you’ve seen a film montage in the last 10 years, then you’ve been witness to at least one of the scenes mentioned on this list: the vibrating water glass from Jurassic Park signaling the T-Rex prowling nearby. It’s the perfect type of image to tell the audience: something is coming. These flashes of exhilaration are fan-favorites, and it’s no surprise to see them featured prominently as the centerpieces for some of the greatest films ever. It’s the invasion when the aliens come out of the sky, the...
If you’ve seen a film montage in the last 10 years, then you’ve been witness to at least one of the scenes mentioned on this list: the vibrating water glass from Jurassic Park signaling the T-Rex prowling nearby. It’s the perfect type of image to tell the audience: something is coming. These flashes of exhilaration are fan-favorites, and it’s no surprise to see them featured prominently as the centerpieces for some of the greatest films ever. It’s the invasion when the aliens come out of the sky, the...
- 6/11/2015
- by Shane Ramirez
- SoundOnSight
Sound on Sight undertook a massive project, compiling ranked lists of the most influential, unforgettable, and exciting action scenes in all of cinema. There were hundreds of nominees spread across ten different categories and a multi-week voting process from 11 of our writers. The results: 100 essential set pieces, sequences, and scenes from blockbusters to cult classics to arthouse obscurities.
Whether storming a beach or a besieging castle, marching on foot or charging on horseback, in a historical epic or a fantasy extravaganza, battles scenes are some of the most complex and intricately choreographed of all action scenes. Capable of zooming in to a one-on-one fight between two foes or zooming out to show a big picture look at the action–and featuring anywhere from dozens to hundreds to thousands of extras, either flesh and blood or digital–these are the scenes in which wars are fought, tides are turned, and glory is won.
Whether storming a beach or a besieging castle, marching on foot or charging on horseback, in a historical epic or a fantasy extravaganza, battles scenes are some of the most complex and intricately choreographed of all action scenes. Capable of zooming in to a one-on-one fight between two foes or zooming out to show a big picture look at the action–and featuring anywhere from dozens to hundreds to thousands of extras, either flesh and blood or digital–these are the scenes in which wars are fought, tides are turned, and glory is won.
- 6/9/2015
- by Shane Ramirez
- SoundOnSight
Sound on Sight undertook a massive project, compiling ranked lists of the most influential, unforgettable, and exciting action scenes in all of cinema. There were hundreds of nominees spread across ten different categories and a multi-week voting process from 11 of our writers. The results: 100 essential set pieces, sequences, and scenes from blockbusters to cult classics to arthouse obscurities.
Shootouts, unlike any other type of action scenes, put death in the forefront of the audience’s mind. Whereas a car chase draws the attention onto the race, or a fight scene onto the pursuit of victory, shootouts test the mortality of our protagonists and anti-heroes. It’s more than just a hail of bullets that matters on screen, it’s who those bullets are clipping down or propping up. Legends can be made in a flurry of lead. The last man standing after the fray isn’t always the best or...
Shootouts, unlike any other type of action scenes, put death in the forefront of the audience’s mind. Whereas a car chase draws the attention onto the race, or a fight scene onto the pursuit of victory, shootouts test the mortality of our protagonists and anti-heroes. It’s more than just a hail of bullets that matters on screen, it’s who those bullets are clipping down or propping up. Legends can be made in a flurry of lead. The last man standing after the fray isn’t always the best or...
- 6/2/2015
- by Shane Ramirez
- SoundOnSight
Sound on Sight undertook a massive project, compiling ranked lists of the most influential, unforgettable, and exciting action scenes in all of cinema. There were hundreds of nominees spread across ten different categories and a multi-week voting process from 11 of our writers. The results: 100 essential set pieces, sequences, and scenes from blockbusters to cult classics to arthouse obscurities.
Sword fights, like one-on-one fights, target the emotion and power of each individual fighter, but are amplified by the extension of their weapon. Whereas one-on-one fights test the might and bronze of our competitors, sword fights add an extra element of intelligence and skill. A fighter can scrape by through luck in a brawl of fists, but a sword (and knife) fight exposes the true strengths and weaknesses of its opponents.
10. Rob Roy (1995) – No quarter asked, no quarter given
Roger Ebert called the final duel between Rob Roy (Liam Neeson, in a...
Sword fights, like one-on-one fights, target the emotion and power of each individual fighter, but are amplified by the extension of their weapon. Whereas one-on-one fights test the might and bronze of our competitors, sword fights add an extra element of intelligence and skill. A fighter can scrape by through luck in a brawl of fists, but a sword (and knife) fight exposes the true strengths and weaknesses of its opponents.
10. Rob Roy (1995) – No quarter asked, no quarter given
Roger Ebert called the final duel between Rob Roy (Liam Neeson, in a...
- 5/27/2015
- by Shane Ramirez
- SoundOnSight
Aren’t we all just looking for love?
The first trailer for the Sundance hit, The Diary of a Teenage Girl, hit on Tuesday and the film based on Phoebe Gloeckner’s graphic novel of the same name seems to live up to the hype. The movie stars Bel Powley, Alexander Skarsgård, Kristen Wiig, with appearances by Christopher Meloni and Margarita Levieva.
The Diary of a Teenage Girl follows Minnie (Powley) who like most teenage girls is longing for love, acceptance and a sense of purpose in the world. Minnie begins a complex love affair with her mother’s (Wiig) boyfriend, “the handsomest man in the world,” Monroe Rutherford (Skarsgård). What follows is a sharp, funny and provocative account of one girl’s sexual and artistic awakening, without judgment.
The film seems to ooze a mix between Juno and Fish Tank and should be on the radar for most fans of the teenage novel genre.
The first trailer for the Sundance hit, The Diary of a Teenage Girl, hit on Tuesday and the film based on Phoebe Gloeckner’s graphic novel of the same name seems to live up to the hype. The movie stars Bel Powley, Alexander Skarsgård, Kristen Wiig, with appearances by Christopher Meloni and Margarita Levieva.
The Diary of a Teenage Girl follows Minnie (Powley) who like most teenage girls is longing for love, acceptance and a sense of purpose in the world. Minnie begins a complex love affair with her mother’s (Wiig) boyfriend, “the handsomest man in the world,” Monroe Rutherford (Skarsgård). What follows is a sharp, funny and provocative account of one girl’s sexual and artistic awakening, without judgment.
The film seems to ooze a mix between Juno and Fish Tank and should be on the radar for most fans of the teenage novel genre.
- 5/26/2015
- by Zach Dennis
- SoundOnSight
If It Follows was the best argument for abstinence in a horror movie in some time, Eli Roth’s Knock Knock should make a good double feature about the sin of adultery.
Keanu Reeves stars in Roth’s latest, in which two gorgeous women (breakouts Lorenza Izzo and Ana De Armas) seemingly stranded out in the rain take advantage of him sexually while his family is away, only for them to return, invade his home and terrorize him for his infidelity.
In our review upon its premiere at Sundance, Dylan Griffin called it “camp glory,” writing, “Knock Knock is Roth’s most measured work to date, but it does still carry some of his filmmaking’s more significant pitfalls.” Griffin added that the film is designed to be something of a horror satire, lit like a soap opera and offering great joys in Keanu Reeves shouting at the top of his lungs.
Keanu Reeves stars in Roth’s latest, in which two gorgeous women (breakouts Lorenza Izzo and Ana De Armas) seemingly stranded out in the rain take advantage of him sexually while his family is away, only for them to return, invade his home and terrorize him for his infidelity.
In our review upon its premiere at Sundance, Dylan Griffin called it “camp glory,” writing, “Knock Knock is Roth’s most measured work to date, but it does still carry some of his filmmaking’s more significant pitfalls.” Griffin added that the film is designed to be something of a horror satire, lit like a soap opera and offering great joys in Keanu Reeves shouting at the top of his lungs.
- 5/22/2015
- by Brian Welk
- SoundOnSight
Sound on Sight undertook a massive project, compiling ranked lists of the most influential, unforgettable, and exciting action scenes in all of cinema. There were hundreds of nominees spread across ten different categories and a multi-week voting process from 11 of our writers. The results: 100 essential set pieces, sequences, and scenes from blockbusters to cult classics to arthouse obscurities.
You know an action hero is the baddest of badasses when he or she walks in and the room goes silent. The drug lord’s bodyguards, the mastermind’s henchmen, or even the foolhardy pack of drunkards outside a roadside bar stand at attention, ready for a challenge. It’s just one person. This shouldn’t be too hard. Seconds later, they’re on the ground nursing bruises, or worse, stumps where their arms and legs used to be. The One vs. Many Fight is the chance for the hero to prove...
You know an action hero is the baddest of badasses when he or she walks in and the room goes silent. The drug lord’s bodyguards, the mastermind’s henchmen, or even the foolhardy pack of drunkards outside a roadside bar stand at attention, ready for a challenge. It’s just one person. This shouldn’t be too hard. Seconds later, they’re on the ground nursing bruises, or worse, stumps where their arms and legs used to be. The One vs. Many Fight is the chance for the hero to prove...
- 5/21/2015
- by Shane Ramirez
- SoundOnSight
Sound on Sight undertook a massive project, compiling ranked lists of the most influential, unforgettable, and exciting action scenes in all of cinema. There were hundreds of nominees spread across ten different categories and a multi-week voting process from 11 of our writers. The results: 100 essential set pieces, sequences, and scenes from blockbusters to cult classics to arthouse obscurities.
A good fight scene is built into the fabric of an action film such that you can sense it coming like a storm on the horizon. It’s in the details of the opponents: the cracking of knuckles, the puffing of chests, the staredowns that say, “It’s about to go down.” A good fight scene makes you want to cover your eyes yet is impossible to look away from. You get tingly waiting for the violence to erupt, and if it’s done its job, you come away dizzy, invigorated, or even nauseated.
A good fight scene is built into the fabric of an action film such that you can sense it coming like a storm on the horizon. It’s in the details of the opponents: the cracking of knuckles, the puffing of chests, the staredowns that say, “It’s about to go down.” A good fight scene makes you want to cover your eyes yet is impossible to look away from. You get tingly waiting for the violence to erupt, and if it’s done its job, you come away dizzy, invigorated, or even nauseated.
- 5/19/2015
- by Shane Ramirez
- SoundOnSight
Sound on Sight undertook a massive project, compiling ranked lists of the most influential, unforgettable, and exciting action scenes in all of cinema. There were hundreds of nominees spread across ten different categories and a multi-week voting process from 11 of our writers. The results: 100 essential set pieces, sequences, and scenes from blockbusters to cult classics to arthouse obscurities.
Hollywood has had a long love affair with the heist sub-genre. Dating as far back as the silent film era with 1928’s Alias Jimmy Valentine, and transcending various genres like westerns (The War Wagon), war (Kelly’s Heroes) and even animation (Toy Story 3), the heist has tantalized our fantasies and outsmarted our wits for decades. Whether it’s for the very last time before retirement, gathering the gang back together for a big payday or for the thrill of pulling off the perfect robbery, all heist films share one key element: commitment to a plan.
Hollywood has had a long love affair with the heist sub-genre. Dating as far back as the silent film era with 1928’s Alias Jimmy Valentine, and transcending various genres like westerns (The War Wagon), war (Kelly’s Heroes) and even animation (Toy Story 3), the heist has tantalized our fantasies and outsmarted our wits for decades. Whether it’s for the very last time before retirement, gathering the gang back together for a big payday or for the thrill of pulling off the perfect robbery, all heist films share one key element: commitment to a plan.
- 5/14/2015
- by Shane Ramirez
- SoundOnSight
Sound on Sight undertook a massive project, compiling ranked lists of the most influential, unforgettable, and exciting action scenes in all of cinema. There were hundreds of nominees spread across ten different categories and a multi-week voting process from 11 of our writers. The results: 100 essential set pieces, sequences, and scenes from blockbusters to cult classics to arthouse obscurities.
If you’re an action hero, pulling off daring rescues and badass escapes is just another day at the office. The rescue has been the prototypical action scene since humans have been able to put pen to paper. From Tarzan swinging in on a vine to Iron Man flying in on his jets, a hero isn’t a hero unless he can swoop in and save the damsel or the day. The only thing more exciting is if the clock is ticking on his escape. Whether it’s from a burning building,...
If you’re an action hero, pulling off daring rescues and badass escapes is just another day at the office. The rescue has been the prototypical action scene since humans have been able to put pen to paper. From Tarzan swinging in on a vine to Iron Man flying in on his jets, a hero isn’t a hero unless he can swoop in and save the damsel or the day. The only thing more exciting is if the clock is ticking on his escape. Whether it’s from a burning building,...
- 5/12/2015
- by Shane Ramirez
- SoundOnSight
Sound on Sight undertook a massive project, compiling ranked lists of the most influential, unforgettable, and exciting action scenes in all of cinema. There were hundreds of nominees spread across ten different categories and a multi-week voting process from 11 of our writers. The results: 100 essential set pieces, sequences, and scenes from blockbusters to cult classics to arthouse obscurities.
Part 2 of 10: A good car chase works for completely different reasons than its bipedal counterpart. Where a foot chase is more intimate, desperate, and rough, car chases are cool, exciting, almost romantic. Here the journey overwhelms destination: tough guys (and girls) driving sleek machines at impossible speeds. And unlike foot chases, there are no real limitations on where they can go or what they can do—sometimes cars can even fly.
10. Death Proof (2007) – Girl power vs. horse power
The obvious reference points of Death Proof are such movies as Vanishing Point,...
Part 2 of 10: A good car chase works for completely different reasons than its bipedal counterpart. Where a foot chase is more intimate, desperate, and rough, car chases are cool, exciting, almost romantic. Here the journey overwhelms destination: tough guys (and girls) driving sleek machines at impossible speeds. And unlike foot chases, there are no real limitations on where they can go or what they can do—sometimes cars can even fly.
10. Death Proof (2007) – Girl power vs. horse power
The obvious reference points of Death Proof are such movies as Vanishing Point,...
- 5/7/2015
- by Shane Ramirez
- SoundOnSight
Sound on Sight undertook a massive project, compiling ranked lists of the most influential, unforgettable, and exciting action scenes in all of cinema. There were hundreds of nominees spread across ten different categories and a multi-week voting process from 11 of our writers. The results: 100 essential set pieces, sequences, and scenes from blockbusters to cult classics to arthouse obscurities.
Part 1 of 10: There’s nothing like the thrill of a chase. A bank robber pulls off an elaborate heist only to be pursued by a dogged detective on foot. A soldier escapes from enemy territory but must outrun the angry combatants on his tail. A man wrongly accused of murder has just his wits and his two legs to flee the authorities. It’s the immediacy that appeals: characters relying on their stamina, agility, and wit to stay alive, without the aid that a car, boat, or plane gives them. For filmmakers,...
Part 1 of 10: There’s nothing like the thrill of a chase. A bank robber pulls off an elaborate heist only to be pursued by a dogged detective on foot. A soldier escapes from enemy territory but must outrun the angry combatants on his tail. A man wrongly accused of murder has just his wits and his two legs to flee the authorities. It’s the immediacy that appeals: characters relying on their stamina, agility, and wit to stay alive, without the aid that a car, boat, or plane gives them. For filmmakers,...
- 5/5/2015
- by Shane Ramirez
- SoundOnSight
“Tangerine is the type of film that Sundance was created for,” wrote Dylan Griffin in his review from Sundance 2015. “It is bold, it is something that Hollywood would never make, it is a film liberated from formal limitations and it gives definition to the thrown-around term ‘independent.”
Not to be confused with the Oscar nominated foreign film Tangerines, Sean Baker’s film follows two transgender prostitutes, Sin-Dee (Kiki Katina Rodriguez) and Alexandra (Mya Taylor), who go around looking their pimp Chester after Sin-Dee learns that he has cheated on her with a white woman, or as it’s put so eloquently in the trailer: “Chester cheated on me with a real fish?” “Yeah, bitch, like a real fish, girl, like vagina and everything.”
Produced by The Duplass Brothers, Tangerine is the first ever film to be shot entirely on an iPhone, specifically an iPhone 5S (take that Samsung!). Surprisingly, it...
Not to be confused with the Oscar nominated foreign film Tangerines, Sean Baker’s film follows two transgender prostitutes, Sin-Dee (Kiki Katina Rodriguez) and Alexandra (Mya Taylor), who go around looking their pimp Chester after Sin-Dee learns that he has cheated on her with a white woman, or as it’s put so eloquently in the trailer: “Chester cheated on me with a real fish?” “Yeah, bitch, like a real fish, girl, like vagina and everything.”
Produced by The Duplass Brothers, Tangerine is the first ever film to be shot entirely on an iPhone, specifically an iPhone 5S (take that Samsung!). Surprisingly, it...
- 5/4/2015
- by Brian Welk
- SoundOnSight
Get ready to drop a beat this summer.
The first, full trailer for the Sundance hit, Dope, dropped on Friday. The film is directed Rick Famuyiwa and includes four new songs by Pharrell Williams.
The new trailer gives more information of what will be happening in the plot compared to the teaser that came right out of Sundance. Dope follows self-proclaimed 90s hip-hop geeks Malcolm (Shameik Moore), Diggy (Kiersey Clemons), and Jib (Tony Revolori) who get caught up in a drug deal and must figure out how to recoup the money and stay alive.
It seems to focus more of the story and music in this latest trailer, which shows off how much fun the final product could be. Our own Dylan Griffin caught the film at Sundance and said that “the film dabbles in clichés and forced drama, but the overall effort is well-meaning enough to look past the pitfalls.
The first, full trailer for the Sundance hit, Dope, dropped on Friday. The film is directed Rick Famuyiwa and includes four new songs by Pharrell Williams.
The new trailer gives more information of what will be happening in the plot compared to the teaser that came right out of Sundance. Dope follows self-proclaimed 90s hip-hop geeks Malcolm (Shameik Moore), Diggy (Kiersey Clemons), and Jib (Tony Revolori) who get caught up in a drug deal and must figure out how to recoup the money and stay alive.
It seems to focus more of the story and music in this latest trailer, which shows off how much fun the final product could be. Our own Dylan Griffin caught the film at Sundance and said that “the film dabbles in clichés and forced drama, but the overall effort is well-meaning enough to look past the pitfalls.
- 4/17/2015
- by Zach Dennis
- SoundOnSight
Lost River
Written and directed by Ryan Gosling
USA, 2014
When his film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last year, many critics reacted as if Ryan Gosling’s directorial debut had manifested itself into an abusive figure that vomited on their shoes, then repeatedly kicked their dog. Such a reaction was completely unearned by Lost River. There are flaws in the film, understandably, but it shines for them.
The film doesn’t follow a plot so much as it gravitates towards a heightened state of dream-like existence. Bones (Ian De Caestecker) is a teenager who strips houses for copper to support his mother, Billy (Christina Hendricks), and his little brother in an economically desperate and abandoned outskirts of a city (the film as shot in Detroit). Doing so gets him in trouble with a local self-proclaimed crime lord, Bully (Matt Smith). Billy, meanwhile, goes to work in a seedy, macabre...
Written and directed by Ryan Gosling
USA, 2014
When his film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last year, many critics reacted as if Ryan Gosling’s directorial debut had manifested itself into an abusive figure that vomited on their shoes, then repeatedly kicked their dog. Such a reaction was completely unearned by Lost River. There are flaws in the film, understandably, but it shines for them.
The film doesn’t follow a plot so much as it gravitates towards a heightened state of dream-like existence. Bones (Ian De Caestecker) is a teenager who strips houses for copper to support his mother, Billy (Christina Hendricks), and his little brother in an economically desperate and abandoned outskirts of a city (the film as shot in Detroit). Doing so gets him in trouble with a local self-proclaimed crime lord, Bully (Matt Smith). Billy, meanwhile, goes to work in a seedy, macabre...
- 4/12/2015
- by Dylan Griffin
- SoundOnSight
The hype surrounding Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s Me and Earl and the Dying Girl when it premiered at Sundance was enormous. The film went on to win the Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize at 2015’s festival, it sparked a huge bidding war to eventually be released by Fox Searchlight and Indian Paintbrush, and the reviews were nothing short of incredible.
Back when Dylan Griffin reviewed the film for Sound on Sight, he said to believe the hype.
Just released today was the first trailer for the film, and immediately it’s clear how stylish, unusual and poignant the story is, a step up from the blockbuster that was the similar story The Fault in Our Stars. Here’s the official synopsis:
Me And Earl And The Dying Girl is the uniquely funny, moving story of Greg (Thomas Mann), a high school senior who is trying to blend in anonymously, avoiding...
Back when Dylan Griffin reviewed the film for Sound on Sight, he said to believe the hype.
Just released today was the first trailer for the film, and immediately it’s clear how stylish, unusual and poignant the story is, a step up from the blockbuster that was the similar story The Fault in Our Stars. Here’s the official synopsis:
Me And Earl And The Dying Girl is the uniquely funny, moving story of Greg (Thomas Mann), a high school senior who is trying to blend in anonymously, avoiding...
- 4/8/2015
- by Brian Welk
- SoundOnSight
“I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.”
This seems to be what Blythe Danner’s Carol is dealing with during the first trailer for the Sundance hit, I’ll See You In My Dreams. The film also stars Sam Elliott, Martin Starr, Malin Akerman, June Squibb, and Rhea Pearlman, and is directed by Brett Haley.
The story follows a widow (Danner) whose quiet life is shaken up by the death of her dog, inspiring her to strike up some new friendships. And that means elderly speed dating and karaoke, among other things.
Our own Dylan Griffin saw the film at Sundance and said that “A lot of the comedy is derived from “this is funny because they’re old”, but luckily Haley has a cast that can sell it. I will happily watch June Squibb revel in any shenanigan, her comedic timing is impeccable. The script often...
This seems to be what Blythe Danner’s Carol is dealing with during the first trailer for the Sundance hit, I’ll See You In My Dreams. The film also stars Sam Elliott, Martin Starr, Malin Akerman, June Squibb, and Rhea Pearlman, and is directed by Brett Haley.
The story follows a widow (Danner) whose quiet life is shaken up by the death of her dog, inspiring her to strike up some new friendships. And that means elderly speed dating and karaoke, among other things.
Our own Dylan Griffin saw the film at Sundance and said that “A lot of the comedy is derived from “this is funny because they’re old”, but luckily Haley has a cast that can sell it. I will happily watch June Squibb revel in any shenanigan, her comedic timing is impeccable. The script often...
- 4/8/2015
- by Zach Dennis
- SoundOnSight
The winner of this year’s Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema Dramatic films at Sundance, the first trailer has been released for Slow West, the revisionist Western from first time filmmaker John Maclean, and it’s anything but slow.
The young Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road, Let Me In) plays a traveler from Scotland on a quest across the West to save his love from a “Dead or Alive” bounty placed on her life. Michael Fassbender is Silas Selleck, a mysterious drifter who accompanies him and teaches him about survival in this region. Slow West also stars Ben Mendelsohn and Rory McCann. Here’s the full plot description via IMDb:
‘Slow West’ follows a 16-year-old boy on a journey across 19th Century frontier America in search of the woman he loves, while accompanied by mysterious traveler Silas.
Two of our initial reviews out of Sundance, one from Dylan Griffin and another from Lane Scarberry,...
The young Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road, Let Me In) plays a traveler from Scotland on a quest across the West to save his love from a “Dead or Alive” bounty placed on her life. Michael Fassbender is Silas Selleck, a mysterious drifter who accompanies him and teaches him about survival in this region. Slow West also stars Ben Mendelsohn and Rory McCann. Here’s the full plot description via IMDb:
‘Slow West’ follows a 16-year-old boy on a journey across 19th Century frontier America in search of the woman he loves, while accompanied by mysterious traveler Silas.
Two of our initial reviews out of Sundance, one from Dylan Griffin and another from Lane Scarberry,...
- 3/24/2015
- by Brian Welk
- SoundOnSight
Following a bidding war that netted the film a sale of $12 million, a record at Sundance, the much hyped Me & Earl and the Dying Girl won both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award from the Sundance Film Festival Awards Saturday evening. The previous film to win both prizes was 2014’s Whiplash, which is now up for an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (our own Dylan Griffin raved about it) tells the story of an anti-social high school senior who is forced by his mother to become friends with a girl suffering from leukemia. Directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (Glee, American Horror Story), the film stars Thomas Mann, Rj Cyler, Olivia Cooke, Nick Offerman, Connie Britton, and Molly Shannon.
Fox Searchlight and Indian Paintbrush are now planning a 2015 release for the film. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl was selected by a jury that included Cary Fukunaga,...
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (our own Dylan Griffin raved about it) tells the story of an anti-social high school senior who is forced by his mother to become friends with a girl suffering from leukemia. Directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (Glee, American Horror Story), the film stars Thomas Mann, Rj Cyler, Olivia Cooke, Nick Offerman, Connie Britton, and Molly Shannon.
Fox Searchlight and Indian Paintbrush are now planning a 2015 release for the film. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl was selected by a jury that included Cary Fukunaga,...
- 2/1/2015
- by Brian Welk
- SoundOnSight
We’ve been relishing the chance to be in Park City again this year for Sundance, despite the fact that for the first time in the festival’s history no movies are being screened on 35mm. That said, some already incredible movies have received awards and much deserved buzz. Most notable among them is Don Hertzfeld’s animated World of Tomorrow, which won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Short Film.
But we’ve also been watching the buyers, because for those of us who couldn’t make it out to Utah this year, we have an invested interest in actually seeing these movies some day. Here’s a list of some of the more notable deals that were struck. Indiewire has a full list of films and buyers.
The End of the Tour – A24 picked up James P0nsoldt’s (Smashed, The Spectacular Now) biopic of David Foster Wallace...
But we’ve also been watching the buyers, because for those of us who couldn’t make it out to Utah this year, we have an invested interest in actually seeing these movies some day. Here’s a list of some of the more notable deals that were struck. Indiewire has a full list of films and buyers.
The End of the Tour – A24 picked up James P0nsoldt’s (Smashed, The Spectacular Now) biopic of David Foster Wallace...
- 1/30/2015
- by Brian Welk
- SoundOnSight
Sundance has only just begin but our crew is hard at work in Utah rolling out a good number of reviews. Screening this weekend as part of the Park City at Midnight series, is Eli Roth’s latest directorial effort Knock Knock, starring Keanu Reeves. In his review, Dylan Griffin calls it by far the best work Roth has ever done, a highlight for Reeves, Izzo and de Armas, and a damn fun time at the movies. While it doesn’t have distribution announced just yet, a teaser has been released online which you can watch below. Enjoy!
Synopsis
Evan Webber (Keanu Reeves) is living the dream. Just look at his beautiful, successful wife, his two wonderful kids, and his truly stunning house–which he designed himself. Of course he did. Things are going so well, Evan doesn’t even mind spending Father’s Day alone while the rest of...
Synopsis
Evan Webber (Keanu Reeves) is living the dream. Just look at his beautiful, successful wife, his two wonderful kids, and his truly stunning house–which he designed himself. Of course he did. Things are going so well, Evan doesn’t even mind spending Father’s Day alone while the rest of...
- 1/26/2015
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Knock Knock
Written by Eli Roth, Nicolás López and Guillermo Amoedo
Directed by Eli Roth
USA/Chile, 2015
Watching an Eli Roth film is the cinematic equivalent of passing a kidney stone. It’s painful, exhausting, nauseating,and makes you wish you were dead. Which is why it’s such a surprise that his latest, Knock Knock, is actually kind of great in its own twisted and campy way.
The film follows Evan (Keanu Reeves), a happily married family man who gets his life torn apart by a pair of femme fatales, Bel (Ana de Armas) and Genesis (Lorenza Izzo), after he lets them in his house during a storm while his family is away for the weekend. If you don’t clue into the fact that you’re supposed to laugh within the first few minutes, the experience won’t be a rewarding one. The opening is lit like a soap opera,...
Written by Eli Roth, Nicolás López and Guillermo Amoedo
Directed by Eli Roth
USA/Chile, 2015
Watching an Eli Roth film is the cinematic equivalent of passing a kidney stone. It’s painful, exhausting, nauseating,and makes you wish you were dead. Which is why it’s such a surprise that his latest, Knock Knock, is actually kind of great in its own twisted and campy way.
The film follows Evan (Keanu Reeves), a happily married family man who gets his life torn apart by a pair of femme fatales, Bel (Ana de Armas) and Genesis (Lorenza Izzo), after he lets them in his house during a storm while his family is away for the weekend. If you don’t clue into the fact that you’re supposed to laugh within the first few minutes, the experience won’t be a rewarding one. The opening is lit like a soap opera,...
- 1/25/2015
- by Dylan Griffin
- SoundOnSight
Eden
Written by Mia Hansen-Løve and Sven Hansen-Løve
Directed by Mia Hansen-Løve
France, 2014
I suppose it’s a right of passage of sorts to find your own music scene and counterculture when you’re growing up. And I suppose many of us try our hand at the artistry of it all. And I suppose some of us never really make it. I just never realized until this film how underwhelming it could be to watch it all happen on screen. You could argue that Eden is trying to point out how underwhelming the whole experience is, but did the film have to be so underwhelming too to make that happen?
Mia Hansen-Løve’s film follows the 20-year journey of a young French DJ named Paul, who gets caught up in the house and electro scene that propelled Daft Punk to stardom. Daft Punk is even represented in peripheral roles by...
Written by Mia Hansen-Løve and Sven Hansen-Løve
Directed by Mia Hansen-Løve
France, 2014
I suppose it’s a right of passage of sorts to find your own music scene and counterculture when you’re growing up. And I suppose many of us try our hand at the artistry of it all. And I suppose some of us never really make it. I just never realized until this film how underwhelming it could be to watch it all happen on screen. You could argue that Eden is trying to point out how underwhelming the whole experience is, but did the film have to be so underwhelming too to make that happen?
Mia Hansen-Løve’s film follows the 20-year journey of a young French DJ named Paul, who gets caught up in the house and electro scene that propelled Daft Punk to stardom. Daft Punk is even represented in peripheral roles by...
- 1/24/2015
- by Dylan Griffin
- SoundOnSight
Sound On Sight Podcast, #400: Final Episode featuring ‘Inherent Vice’ and the Top 10 Movies of 2014 with guests Adam Nayman and Kate Rennebohm
This is it, folks. After 400(!) episodes, Ricky and Simon decided to wrap up the Sound on Sight podcast. To send it off in style, they take a look back at the very best films of 2014, with some help from a variety of former guest- and co-hosts. Smack dab in the middle, with the help of special guests Kate Rennebohm and Adam Nayman, they go deep on Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice, the biggest missing piece in their 2014 moviegoing. It’s a nearly three-hour blowout, because it didn’t seem right to go out small. Cheers!
P.T. Anderson Week Spotlight Red States and Blue States: Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love and an Ode to Godard The Case against Paul Thomas Anderson ‘Inherent Vice’ a narcotic vision that demands...
This is it, folks. After 400(!) episodes, Ricky and Simon decided to wrap up the Sound on Sight podcast. To send it off in style, they take a look back at the very best films of 2014, with some help from a variety of former guest- and co-hosts. Smack dab in the middle, with the help of special guests Kate Rennebohm and Adam Nayman, they go deep on Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice, the biggest missing piece in their 2014 moviegoing. It’s a nearly three-hour blowout, because it didn’t seem right to go out small. Cheers!
P.T. Anderson Week Spotlight Red States and Blue States: Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love and an Ode to Godard The Case against Paul Thomas Anderson ‘Inherent Vice’ a narcotic vision that demands...
- 1/18/2015
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
40. Night Moves
Since 2006, Kelly Reichardt has found a way to reach inside of the hearts of her audiences, plucking out strings one by one with desolate re-imaginations of the American Pacific Northwest, seen through the eyes of people not so different than ourselves. With Meek’s Cutoff, she departed from her typical genre and moved in to the Old West, but you could still see her stark realism, perfectly imagined on-screen. Now, Reichardt has shifted gears again, this time to present day (still in the Pacific Northwest), following three environmental activists as they plan to blow up a dam. But this time Reichardt has eschewed all sense of dry, dirty characterization for a much more flowing story where the characters emerge from their settings more fully. It’s still methodical, but somewhere in between the planning and heist itself, Reichardt’s star Jesse Eisenberg finds notes we haven’t seen...
Since 2006, Kelly Reichardt has found a way to reach inside of the hearts of her audiences, plucking out strings one by one with desolate re-imaginations of the American Pacific Northwest, seen through the eyes of people not so different than ourselves. With Meek’s Cutoff, she departed from her typical genre and moved in to the Old West, but you could still see her stark realism, perfectly imagined on-screen. Now, Reichardt has shifted gears again, this time to present day (still in the Pacific Northwest), following three environmental activists as they plan to blow up a dam. But this time Reichardt has eschewed all sense of dry, dirty characterization for a much more flowing story where the characters emerge from their settings more fully. It’s still methodical, but somewhere in between the planning and heist itself, Reichardt’s star Jesse Eisenberg finds notes we haven’t seen...
- 12/28/2014
- by Staff
- SoundOnSight
20. Girls
The third season of HBO’s Girls is very much one of renewal and reinvention. Characters who find themselves at highs or in happy situations at the end of the previous season are quickly brought low, while others are finally free to soar as the season goes on. Coming off of the high of season two’s over-the-top (but nonetheless touching) finale, season three has the thankless job of bringing everyone back to reality. Charlie and Marnie are broken up, Ray and Shoshanna are broken up, and Hannah and Adam are seeing that their reconcilliation may be more short-lived than they imagined. Meanwhile, Jessa has finally reached the bottom of the barrel and is no longer free to live her indulgent and presumptuous lifestyle.
Life has a way of complicating things and so do the people in our lives, and further still, so do we, ourselves. What has always...
The third season of HBO’s Girls is very much one of renewal and reinvention. Characters who find themselves at highs or in happy situations at the end of the previous season are quickly brought low, while others are finally free to soar as the season goes on. Coming off of the high of season two’s over-the-top (but nonetheless touching) finale, season three has the thankless job of bringing everyone back to reality. Charlie and Marnie are broken up, Ray and Shoshanna are broken up, and Hannah and Adam are seeing that their reconcilliation may be more short-lived than they imagined. Meanwhile, Jessa has finally reached the bottom of the barrel and is no longer free to live her indulgent and presumptuous lifestyle.
Life has a way of complicating things and so do the people in our lives, and further still, so do we, ourselves. What has always...
- 12/13/2014
- by Staff
- SoundOnSight
Awesome Mix Tape Volume 5: Best Soundtracks & Scores of 2014
Back in August, I released a mix tape consisting of the best tracks, from the best movie soundtracks and best scores of the first half of 2014. This here, is the entire mix consisting of the best songs heard in movies all year long… click here to listen to the mix.
Childhood Memories: Revisiting The Wonder Years
For a series that rooted in the trappings of the American suburbs, with all the classic sitcom tropes present, The Wonder Years is a benediction. It showed us what television could (and would) be, and far more importantly, what life actually is. Set in and around a cookie-cutter neighbourhood where nothing spectacular ever happens,The Wonder Years extracts truths out of what appear to be life’s most random moments. The series is unique in that it is all from Kevin’s point of view,...
Back in August, I released a mix tape consisting of the best tracks, from the best movie soundtracks and best scores of the first half of 2014. This here, is the entire mix consisting of the best songs heard in movies all year long… click here to listen to the mix.
Childhood Memories: Revisiting The Wonder Years
For a series that rooted in the trappings of the American suburbs, with all the classic sitcom tropes present, The Wonder Years is a benediction. It showed us what television could (and would) be, and far more importantly, what life actually is. Set in and around a cookie-cutter neighbourhood where nothing spectacular ever happens,The Wonder Years extracts truths out of what appear to be life’s most random moments. The series is unique in that it is all from Kevin’s point of view,...
- 12/8/2014
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
This weekend will see the release of The Expendables 3, the latest in a series featuring all your favorite action stars from the 80s and 90s in the same movie. This series is a one trick pony – all your favorite action stars from the past reuniting to relive their collective glory days – but it is a trick I’d happily watch for seven more films. I remember when the first film came out I told my dad I went to see it and loved it, and when he asked what it was I just named the cast. He remarked that that movie would sound cool if it was made in the 90s. I replied oblivious to the dig with “Yeah, it’s awesome, right?” – The fact that these were all action heroes past their prime was the point.
One of the reasons why I enjoy writing and thinking about the...
One of the reasons why I enjoy writing and thinking about the...
- 8/15/2014
- by Dylan Griffin
- SoundOnSight
In Preston Sturges’s landmark 1941 film Sullivan’s Travels, the writer-director achieves a unique balance of genre aesthetics. The film is billed as a comedy, and it more than earns that title. But a significant portion of it is actually a tragedy, completely unlike anything else in the film. The combination of both sides of the coin in this film is potent. They are almost completely different movies in plot and tone, the only constant being protagonist Sullivan. By combining both the comedic and tragic, Preston Sturges creates a Hollywood movie that defies convention.
The plot kicks off with John Lloyd Sullivan (Joel McCrea), a successful comedy director in Hollywood, wanting to direct a dramatic epic as a change of pace. He wants to make a movie called O Brother Where Art Thou? to connect with the harsh times people were experiencing during the Great Depression. He decides to ‘get into character’, in a sense,...
The plot kicks off with John Lloyd Sullivan (Joel McCrea), a successful comedy director in Hollywood, wanting to direct a dramatic epic as a change of pace. He wants to make a movie called O Brother Where Art Thou? to connect with the harsh times people were experiencing during the Great Depression. He decides to ‘get into character’, in a sense,...
- 7/17/2014
- by Dylan Griffin
- SoundOnSight
Picking the best movies that come out in any given year is no easy feat. For film fans, a quality feature can come out at any time, from any one, and discovering an enjoyable and well-crafted feature is truly a pleasure. As we reach the halfway point of the year, many excellent films have already made their way to theatres, films that are well worth a watch. Below, you shall find the list of the top 30 films of 2014 to date, a list that ranges from science fiction thrillers to period dramas.
A few notes to keep in mind when reading our entry: Certain films from our 2013 list make a second appearance on this list. This is because the movies, while technically released this year, were seen by a select few in time for last year’s list, due to the benefit of film festivals and press screenings. The list itself is in no particular order,...
A few notes to keep in mind when reading our entry: Certain films from our 2013 list make a second appearance on this list. This is because the movies, while technically released this year, were seen by a select few in time for last year’s list, due to the benefit of film festivals and press screenings. The list itself is in no particular order,...
- 7/1/2014
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
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