REVIEW: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World [2010]

“You punched the highlights out of her hair” Some might say a tagline such as “An epic of epic epicness” is a tad too much. I might have even said that two hours ago, but alas, I saw the finished product. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is appropriately summed up in those five words—both epic in the Playstation lexicon synonym of 8-bit NES era ‘totally rad’ and in the Homer’s Illiad sense of a heroic journey of great achievements by the tale’s protagonist. But 22-year old Scott Pilgrim isn’t on…

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REVIEW: Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore [2010]

“I’m 65% sure, I can go to 67% … Oh, look! A potato bug” Remember those days of spoof films like Scary Movie, Superhero Movie, Date Movie, and ‘Insert Generic Genre Title’ Movie? Oh, that’s right, we haven’t left that abysmal period of cinematic history behind quite yet. But instead of inundating Middle Schoolers with fart jokes and actors who laugh at themselves, Hollywood has gone to the children. I’ve never seen Cats & Dogs, so I don’t know if that was a real film or not, however, its sequel,…

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REVIEW: Coyote Falls [2010]

“Beep, Beep!” The Looney Tunes are back in action—no pun intended Brendan Fraser—with a new series of short films to debut before theatrical children’s releases. It may be a ploy to put those zany characters back into the collective consciousness and expose the new generation in hopes a new television show will become feasible or perhaps it’s just time to revisit some old friends. Either way, the company knows what its audience likes and gives it to them with the first installment Coyote Falls, aptly name for that dastardly Wile…

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REVIEW: House of Strangers [1949]

“The name we hope to live down” I never expected to be as entertained as I was after watching Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s very well-acted House of Strangers. It is a story of familial bonds and the blood, sweat, and tears that go into raising a family; how money and power can easily usurp the intrinsic necessity of love. Patriarch Gino Monetti (Edward G. Robinson in a fantastic role toeing the line of Italian caricature, but never going over) came to America with his wife and lived in a one-bedroom flat…

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REVIEW: Salt [2010]

“Are you selling secrets for chemo?” The question is, who is Salt? Two years ago she was a falsely imprisoned utilities corporation worker being water-boarded by the North Koreans; an unspecified amount of time after she is a CIA operative who has been saved and traded back to the US, not by her bosses, but by the cover boyfriend who fell for her and started making waves in political circles; and, in the present day, she is accused of being a Russian covert plant—a part of the Soviet Union’s insane…

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Limited Edition Posters

My collection of Limited Edition Posters. Most commissioned runs by Mondo Tees and/or The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. Magnolia (Paul Thomas Anderson Director’s Series) by Joao Ruas 24″ x 36″ screen print for Mondo Tees. Hand numbered. Edition of 285. Nega Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (variant) by Martin Ansin 24″ x 36″ screen print w/ metallic inks for Mondo Tees. Hand numbered. Edition of 140. Invisible Monsters by Kevin Tong 18″ x 24″ 4 color screen print. Hand signed & numbered. Edition of 200. Moon designed by All City Media;…

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DVDS: Criterion Collection

My collection of DVDs from the venerable Criterion Collection, in order by spine number. (the package art is almost better than the films themselves) [fb-like-button]

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REVIEW: Inception [2010]

“True inspiration is impossible to fake” Say what you will about Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, while both may be great, they simply show Christopher Nolan’s skill at telling a good story with emotion, action, and drama. What sets the auteur on another level of genius than pretty much anyone working in or out of Hollywood today is the imagination let loose in his other films. The ingenuity of storytelling, the intellectual gravitas, and the visionary worlds he leads us through are, quite simply, without compare. But, no matter…

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Sunshine Cleaning … Entrepreneurship as catharsis

Written as a guest post for my friend Leah MacVie’s blog, the original post is located here. The 2008 Sundance favorite Sunshine Cleaning, written by Megan Holley and directed by Christine Jeffs, is a phenomenal look into the emotional fragility of two young women trying to find their way in life. Rose and Norah Lorkowski are at the age where adulthood should be in full force, dependent lifestyles at home with school grades a top priority long gone. But these two haven’t had the most idyllic childhood; in fact, some…

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PHOTOGRAPHY: FC Buffalo/FC Reading

With tonight’s win, the FC Buffalo side completed its inaugural season in the NPSL. Finishing third place in the Northeast, Keystone Conference, the Blitzers ended the year with an impressive 6-2-4 record, having been the only team to defeat first place FC Sonic. Personally, my own record was 3-0, each match a clean sheet for the team—so I know I did my part. The finale had a little of everything from great goal scoring (Rich Wilson earning the Golden Boot with his 6th goal of the season); a little 7v7…

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REVIEW: Predators [2010]

“Certainly there is no hunting like the hunting of man” Sometimes you have to be dropped on an alien planet with a bunch of amoral killers to finally discover what it means to be human. The sentiment may be cheesy, but for some reason it works in the reboot/sequel hybrid Predators. I haven’t seen the first two installments, knowing only that Predator is supposedly a classic of the genre and Predator 2 good for a laugh at Danny Glover. After watching both Alien vs. Predator flicks, however, I wouldn’t say…

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