Month: May 2013

REVIEW: Missed Connections [2013]

Jared Mobarak

“When I think about the soft bigotry of low expectations, I think of dating in New York” Sometimes we must look past formulaic cliché and an overreaching desire to transform a less than trustworthy internet dating tool on Craigslist into a phenomenon used with overwhelming success before realizing entertainment can be enjoyed on levels above or below intellectual stimulation. First-time feature director Martin Snyder and co-writer Marnie Hanel may fall victim to glamorizing a gimmick in order to construct the framework underneath their story, but they don’t skimp on catching…

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REVIEW: An Oversimplification of Her Beauty [2013]

Jared Mobarak

“You have an extraordinary amount of faith in the fidelity of your expectations” It’s not hard to view an experimental art film as little more than a pretentious, self-indulgent exercise in futility when you aren’t willing to give it a chance. In a world overpopulated by faux-witty banter between uninteresting caricatures of people engaged in clichéd situations, the mere act of taking the time to watch a personal tale about the meaning of love in a universal context is a victory. Whether or not the viewer likes the piece almost…

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REVIEW: Tillman [2011]

Jared Mobarak

“Dad, can we talk about Mom?” Some short films suffer due to their brevity and Tillman is one of them. A fifteen-minute piece depicting a sad-sack car dealership owner named Richard Tillman (Wayne Joseph), the film creates a mood very different from what its synopsis hopes to cultivate. Explained as a portrayal of a father-of-three’s seemingly idyllic life soon unraveling into the depressive reality he’s kept hidden beneath the surface, it’s never shown to possess anything other than ambivalence. Richard is obviously unhappy from frame one and our entry into…

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REVIEW: Star Trek Into Darkness [2013]

Jared Mobarak

“Bones, get that thing off my face” Director J.J. Abrams’ reboot of Star Trek four years ago was a refreshing, original take on a world possessed by countless offshoots because screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman used its science fiction genre to both retain and destroy existing mythology. A red matter black hole sending the Romulan Captain Nero back through time allowed their new universe to stand on its own as a parallel reality to the original show’s rather than forever remaining in its shadow. Orci and Kurtzman impossibly crafted…

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REVIEW: State 194 [2013]

Jared Mobarak

“Only free people can negotiate” I don’t generally keep up on current affairs because there’s just too much going on outside my comfy little bubble with no immediate concern to me. Yes, I’m one of those Americans. However, even if I were to have grown up under a rock without internet connection I still think a cursory knowledge of the struggle in the Middle East between Palestine and Israel would be had. A holy land with legitimate ties to both people, it was always easy to blindly side with the…

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REVIEW: The 10 Commandments of Chloe [2012]

Jared Mobarak

“See the transient beauty of the dairy freeze queen” One of the great things about independent cinema is how filmmakers on a small budget can find themselves taking audiences to places studio projects have no interest in visiting. While Nashville, TN isn’t some hole-in-the-wall dump no one knows about—Robert Altman did make a movie there in the 70s and current pop culture seems to enjoy “Nashville” on TV after all—glimpsing the city through soundstages and glamour shots doesn’t equate to the street level personality endearing it to the common man.…

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REVIEW: 33 Postcards [2012]

Jared Mobarak

“In China only a parent can give name” A culturally significant film marking the first official cinematic co-production between Australia and China, Pauline Chan‘s 33 Postcards also provides a moving tale about what it means to care for somebody. Selected to partake in the Tribeca Film Institute program as a screenplay in 2009, its future has always been bright from inception straight through its numerous festival screenings these past three years. A promising start for what’s potentially a lucrative financial partnership, Chan’s access to both countries adds a level of…

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REVIEW: Pain & Gain [2013]

Jared Mobarak

“I gotta get a pump” I like when actors not only play to their strengths, but also make a concerted effort to do so. Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson saw an opportunity to have fun playing a couple of bumbling amateur criminals—waiving their salaries along with director Michael Bay for backend deals—and had faith audiences would come to see them make light of their physiques and act the fools. Pain & Gain is a perfect venue for their somewhat limited skill sets as its true to life tale of greed…

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REVIEW: And Now a Word from Our Sponsor [2013]

Jared Mobarak

“Can you hear me now?” Points for ingenuity to screenwriter Michael Hamilton-Wright for crafting a feature length script that makes sense around a character only speaking in commercial slogans. Sadly, though, And Now a Word from Our Sponsor possesses little else besides this gimmick. The publicity description overreaches in its comparison to Peter Sellers’ brilliant Being There, somewhat missing the point of the classic. While Bruce Greenwood’s Adan Kundle does find himself fatefully assisting in the reconciliation of his caretakers’ familial strife, his accidental profundity isn’t the incoherent ramblings of…

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REVIEW: The Great Gatsby [2013]

Jared Mobarak

“Once again I was within and without” Visionary filmmaker Baz Luhrmann returns with a big screen adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s magnum opus The Great Gatsby, filmed in the ostentatious aesthetic that made his jukebox musical Moulin Rouge! such a divisively stunning work. Love him or hate him, no one can deny the man has style or the ego necessary to transform iconic literature and historical eras into contemporary art-infused visual epics that overwhelm our senses. No one does excess better—over-cranked and pulsing to music intentionally subverting the subject matter…

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REVIEW: Blackbird [2013]

Jared Mobarak

“Appearance is everything” Co-winner of the award for Best Canadian First Feature Film at the Toronto International Film Festival, Jason Buxton’s debut Blackbird peers into the sort of guilty until proven innocent mentality our world has gravitated towards after a slew of school shootings post-Columbine. Such an atrocity used to be a nightmare we would never believe could happen in our neighborhoods or with our kids and now it’s become so common that each new media report numbs us to the horror and makes such events almost appear normal. So,…

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