Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

REVIEW: Beverly Hills Cop [1984]

2014/11/222014/11/23 Jared Mobarak

“We got cocaine and coffee here. We’re gonna get wired and have a big party.” It isn’t difficult to believe why Beverly Hills Cop received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. The laughs are huge, the characters more complex than simply facilitators of plot progression, and the central mystery a solid criminal investigation despite being relegated to the background as a MacGuffin used to evolve relationships and build trust between Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) and the cops he messes with along the way. The surprise comes from reading about…

Stanley Kubrick: The Exhibition preview

2014/10/312020/03/26 Jared Mobarak

TIFF may be known for the film festival that makes up its name’s acronym, but they offer so much more ever since the TIFF Bell Lightbox opened a few years back. Along with an extensive screening schedule of new releases we in Buffalo may never see on the big screen, the organization has set itself apart as an East Coast venue for cinema-centric exhibits we had to previously enjoy from afar via internet recaps and photo galleries. Stanley Kubrick: The Exhibition was the latest of these, debuting at LACMA last…

REVIEW: Canadian Bacon [1995]

2014/03/212019/01/08 Jared Mobarak

“We have ways of making you pronounce the letter ‘o’” Can you fathom a world where Michael Moore didn’t make documentaries? How would the liberal slant be passed on from generation to generation without his exploitation of poor Americans caught inside scripted “exposés” of corrupt governments and every Constitutional Right besides the one giving him freedom to make a living? Yes, I know I’m being hyperbolic—although also pretty much spot-on—but such a world was a possibility had his second film Canadian Bacon been a success. Fresh off the acclaim garnered…

REVIEW: Le roi de coeur [King of Hearts] [1966]

2011/02/112014/07/24 Jared Mobarak

“The mackerel likes frying” When you have a war film that doesn’t actually show battle or that makes light of the whole concept altogether, it generally means the filmmakers have some underlying commentary to report. The best way to push such motives is through comedy/satire, playing on the tropes of morality and mortality with humor. Philippe de Broca’s Le roi de coeur [King of Hearts], written by Daniel Boulanger from an idea of Maurice Bessy, definitely has enough laughs to go around, but I’m not quite certain there is much…