*Sigh* You guys…sometimes I don’t have the energy for this. Well, just because I personally cannot muster up any excitement whatsoever for the newest releases this weekend doesn’t mean I can neglect my duty to you, dear readers. Without further ado…
Look, I’m not naïve. I understand that moviemaking is a business, and with risky passion projects must also come those aimed to make a profit. I have no problem with companies exercising their power over franchise installments and popcorn flicks for commercial purposes. It’s business…it’s life. But dammit, a line has to be drawn somewhere, and the debate over whether or not a reboot of Spider-Man so soon after the previous trilogy ended was “necessary” sidesteps why it exists in the first place. Because the truth of the matter is that The Amazing Spider-Man – retelling the iconic superhero’s origin story with Andrew Garfield web-slinging through New York City – was made for the sole purpose of fulfilling a fine-print contractual obligation regarding licensing rights. There was no personal ambition in the creation of this film, either artistically or financially. Even the popular canard that Columbia and Sony Pictures are trying to redeem the franchise à la Batman Begins doesn’t fly; the only reason they didn’t move forward with a Spider-Man 4 was because Sam Raimi was frustrated with their strong-arming of the third film and called it quits when they were planning to do it again. Read more on Weekend Openings (July 6-8)…
Categories: Weekend Openings Tags: Andrew Garfield, Benicio Del Toro, Blake Lively, comics and superheroes, demian bichir, emma stone, Jay and Mark Duplass, John Travolta, katy perry, Marc Webb, Oliver Stone, popcorn movies, Rhys Ifans, Salma Hayek, Savages, Taylor Kitsch, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Do-Deca-Pentathlon, Weekend Openings
 In preparation for this film, I went back and watched Brian de Palma’s Scarface (1983) with Al Pacino, a film written by Oliver Stone before he became a two-time Oscar-winning director. Scarface (1983) was un-mercilessly slaughtered by the critics when it opened, yet became a top renter on video and was rediscovered by audiences through the years. Pacino’s over the top performance as Tony Montana is electrifying to watch, as he commands the screen with a confidence he has not had since 1990, and an inner rage that drove him in his early work. The performance works big, because the film is about wretched excess, everything about Tony’s life is going to be big. Tracing the rise of the Cuban immigrant from dish washer to all-powerful drug lord, selling cocaine and making untold millions, the film was a cautionary tale about drugs in the eighties when cocaine was still the drug of choice. Despite the film’s failure, it is now considered a classic and taught in film schools as an example of outstanding direction from this era.
I thought Savages might share some of the qualities as Scarface (1983). Read more on Savages (**)…
 Directed by: Oliver Stone
Written by: Oliver Stone, Shane Salerno, and Don Winslow (based off of Winslow’s novel)
Cast: Taylor Kitch, Aaron Johnson, Blake Lively, John Travolta, Salma Hayek, Emile Hirsch, Benicio Del Toro, Uma Thurman, Joel David Moore, Demian Bichir, Trevor Donovan, and Jonathan Patrick Moore
Synopsis (courtesy of IMDb): Pot growers Ben and Chon face off against the Mexican drug cartel who kidnapped their shared girlfriend.
Read more on Awards Profile: Savages…
Categories: Award Profile Tags: Awards Profile, Benicio Del Toro, Blake Lively, book adaptation, demian bichir, Emile Hirsch, John Travolta, Oliver Stone, Oscar hopeful, Salma Hayek, Savages, Taylor Kitsch, Uma Thurman
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