REVIEW: The Sessions [2012]

“Cleansed and victorious” Already the subject of an Oscar-winning documentary short depicting his journalistic career entitled Breathing Lessions: The Life and Work of Mark O’Brien, it appears the now deceased polio survivor had a salacious moment in his life yet to be told. Author of the 1990 magazine article “On Seeing a Sex Surrogate”, O’Brien had done just that. Saddled with feelings of embarrassment whenever thoughts about his sexuality or inability to control his body cropped up, there came an opportunity to do what he never dreamed possible. Propositioned to…

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REVIEW: Hitchcock [2012]

“All men are potential murderers” Based on a book called Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho by Stephen Rebello, it’s easy to assume Sacha Gervasi‘s Hitchcock will do just that and little else. And while fans of the horror classic clamoring for this exact insight will fill the seats opening weekend, more needs to happen to ensure broader success. So it’s no surprise that John J. McLaughlin‘s script delves deeper into the iconic auteur’s psyche at a time when the world believed him to be over-the-hill and ready for…

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REVIEW: Queen City [2013]

“You have any hot water left, Mr. Bubbles?” The second film in writer/director Peter McGennis‘ Buffalo trilogy, Queen City is a very different beast than his first. Where Buffalo Bushido utilized the locale as a backdrop to the personal story of loss at hand, his newest appears to have been written around its inside jokes dripping nostalgia. With photographs by famed artist Milton Rogovin spliced throughout, a never ending slew of name drops, and one of the best utilizations of the city’s underrated architecture, one can’t help but wonder whether…

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REVIEW: B.O.Y.D. [2012]

“It’s the McKinley Mall, dude—not LA” The concept of localized indie film carries with it the caveat of losing audience members who can’t understand references sprinkled throughout because they’ve never been to the locale. It’s a fine line filmmakers must toe when dealing outside the big city mentality of an NYC or LA and could potentially make or break a work’s chances to exist anywhere besides the Christmas stockings of families and friends. The story and characters need to be universal in order to transport viewers to its setting rather…

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REVIEW: The Perks of Being a Wallflower [2012]

“We are infinite” Adolescent tomes depicting the trials and tribulations of high school are many; the ones infused with psychological trauma and bouts of depression their majority. But while most find the need to talk down to audiences by over saturating themselves in comedic anecdotes rather than humanity, it’s the rare instance of authenticity that speaks to you. It’s not because you too were damaged and friendless, but merely because you understand. We’ve all coped with the struggle of starting fresh at a new school with a foreign curriculum, acquaintances…

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REVIEW: Over Coffee [2010]

“Prove it. I need a dozen manila folders. Now! Go!” Borrowing from many office-based romantic comedies that came before it, Sean Meehan‘s short Over Coffee adds a bit of fun, quick paced action to the mix. Andrew (Erik Potempa) has been pining over Carla (Jocelyn DeBoer) for a while now, refusing to do more than awkwardly stand by her desk until the opportunity to prove his affection presents itself. Confronted with the choice to either go back to work and let her reap the consequences of her forgetful mind or…

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REVIEW: Socks and Cakes [2010]

“I thought we were going to be six for dinner?” Writer/director Antonio Padovan‘s short film Socks and Cakes plays like an intriguing treatment for a piece much grander in scope. Shades of early Woody Allen come through from the stark white on black opening credits and Greenwich Village setting while the loquacious dinner settings of The Big Chill mix in with similar character breakdowns waxing on about their first world problems through quasi-pithy insight. There is past history and unavoidable neuroses existing between them all with varying degrees of like…

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REVIEW: Citadel [2012]

“Feel the fear and let it pass” Writer/director Ciaran Foy found the perfect way to distract his audience from questioning the often clichéd actions of horror film protagonists. Instead of making Tommy (Aneurin Barnard) naive or stupid like so many of the genre’s heroes walking headlong into danger or hiding in plain sight, a diagnosis of agoraphobia keeps him perpetually on edge and thus easily forgiven for lapses in judgment. Crippled by the vastness of the world outside his door and the tragedy it holds, this young man is naturally…

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REVIEW: Lincoln [2012]

“This isn’t usual, Mr. Pendleton. This is history.” Images of brother fighting brother, President Lincoln orating the Emancipation Proclamation, and his tragic demise at the end of John Wilkes Booth’s gun are conjured when most think about the Civil War. For many the abolition of slavery was merely one of the resulting terms of surrender on behalf of the Confederates, the goal of the Union and the Republican Party from the start finally becoming reality. But the details of this historic event are never really explained save a couple dates,…

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Starting and ending in doubt … Babel’s Nuruddin Farah

Deliberately enunciating his words, novelist Nuruddin Farah used a calculated cadence to talk about his tireless ability to find trouble. The second speaker in Just Buffalo Literary Center‘s 2012-2013 Babel series, his Somali roots provide a very interesting connection to Buffalo considering the nation’s past two prime ministers came from here. His own history with the country isn’t quite as auspicious, however, as the subject of his work actually provoked the dictatorship to sentence him to death in absentia after fleeing to England in self-exile years ago. Farah chose his…

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REVIEW: Skyfall [2012]

“He’s keen to get home” With Paul Haggis relinquishing co-writing duties opposite duo Neal Purvis and Robert Wade to John Logan, the newest iteration of James Bond finds itself an autonomous entity. More attuned to the legacy that came before Daniel Craig donned the suit, we no longer need to worry about Mr. White or the loss of Vesper Lynd because their tale has run its course. Instead, Skyfall deals with a new chapter in the aging hero’s life as his and his employer’s loyalty is questioned against the changing…

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