MONDOmagazine

Hamlet
Directed by Kenneth Branagh
Castle Rock Entertainment, 1996

Hamlet is probably William Shakespeare’s most revered play and has been the basis for the most film adaptations of all his work. This version, directed by Kenneth Branagh, is one of three such film adaptations to be released in my lifetime, the other two being the 1990 Franco Zeffirelli version staring Mel Gibson and the modernized 2000 version staring Ethan Hawke. With the Blu-Ray release of Branagh’s version, I thought that I would like to spend some time to talk about what makes this is my preferred adaptation of the play. Read the rest of this entry »

Caesar Martini, Sean Kelly and Isaac Mills

Summer heat scorching? Chill out with the cool crew as they, um, freeze-dry the summer preview season with a look at The Expendables, Scott Pilgrim vs The World, Pirahna 3D and more variety than an ice cream vending cart! Plus Caesar totally goes there with Chris Brown and Rihanna. Now that’s really cold.

AUGUST 7th
Get Low

Sean
I saw this film at the Toronto Film Festival and it highlighted by a great performance by Robert Duvall. Definitely worth seeing if you can.

Isaac
It has Bill Murray in it, what more do you need to know?! Robert Duvall stars as a crazy hermit who comes out to hold his own funeral, wanting everyone there to hear his story, so that sounds a bit like Big Fish except there weren’t any crazy visuals or circuses in the trailer that I noticed. Still – Bill Murray!

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By: Caesar Martini, Rachel West, Sean Kelly and Isaac Mills

The crew is back, finding reasons for hope (Inception) and doubt (Salt) and plenty to gawk or gander at in the ever-changing landscape of late July.

JULY 16th
Inception

Caesar
I barely have any idea what this is about but I am so fucking stoked to see it. Leo Dicaprio, Ellen Page, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are, like, dream thieves or something? Most of the movie seems to take place inside a dream world where city blocks fold in on themselves and gravity barely exists and shit is blowing up everywhere in slow motion. Hell, yes. Also, it’s directed and written by Christopher Nolan and that dude has an awesome track record; and not just with Batman. Read the rest of this entry »

By: Caesar Martini, Rachel West, Sean Kelly and Isaac Mills

The crew is back at it with the welcome first appearance of comics-section heavyweight Isaac Mills. The gang punches in on The Last Airbender, Predators, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and piles more. Check in shortly for more expert speculation and conflict galore when we size up the releases of latter July.
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By Caesar Martini, Sean Kelly and Leo K. Moncel

Woof! Woof! It’s Marmaduke season! Psych. We’re not even approaching that beast. Instead we’ve got the shakedown on The A Team, Grown Ups, Toy Story 3 and like, a dozen more. And, if you can believe me, we may even have a potential, that is, possible, now it’s too early to call it, but a disagreement over a Twilight film? Remember we write these separately and no one’s calling any names. But a fight to the death in the comments section is always a welcome option.

JUNE 4th
Get Him to The Greek

Caesar
Made by the same team who did Forgetting Sarah Marshall, one of that year’s best comedies, and starring the best character from that movie, British hedonist rocker Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), how could I not want to see this?
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The correct pluralization would be "two iron men."

By Shane McNeil, Sean Kelly, Leo K. Moncel and Caesar Martini

From the writers of last year’s smash hit series Summer Movie MegaCalendar, prepare to be blown away by the thrilling sequel! More punch-out prose, more dastardly disagreements and more sarcastic humour. We size up this May’s sequels to Iron Man, Shrek and Gladiator (well, for all intents and purposes), and still make time for MacGruber and some curveballs. Join your old favourites as they take on all new challenges in Summer Movie Megacalendar: May 2010. This time, it’s personal.

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By Sean Kelly

The end of an era is coming as At the Movies, the review show originally known as Siskel and Ebert, will be going off the air at the end of the current season in August. I have never been a regular watcher of the show, and the program has certainly had its bumps in the last few years, but you have to give them full credit; in its 24 years on the air, the show, and the phrase “two thumbs up,” have become engraved in pop culture.

One of the reasons given for the cancellation is that the format of two critics giving their opinions on a film is considered outdated. The last decade or so saw the rise of aggregate sites such as Rotten Tomatoes. These sites pool together reviews from many sources and give a rating based on how many of the reviews were positive. Sites like these have made it easier for people to find a knowledgeable opinion about movies and there’s seen to be no more room for a television show about two guys and their thumbs.

The news of the show’s cancellation comes at a time when I felt the show was getting back on its feet. The show has had a tough few years and I have to argue that the beginning of the end for the show began when Roger Ebert was forced to leave the show in 2006 due to his battle with thyroid cancer, which has since left him unable to speak. Co-host Richard Roeper, who became the permanent replacement for the late Gene Siskel in 2000, continued on with a series of guest hosts, most frequently A.O. Scott of the New York Times and Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune. Read the rest of this entry »

The Hurt Locker. A triumph for film?

By Shane McNeil

The Oscars are a fickle, fickle business. Whichever picture emerges at the end of the night is gauged not only as the preference of the select few voting Academy members (and, somehow, the Three-6 Mafia) but, as the years pass, the picture that best defined an encapsulated the year that was.

It’s not always about picking the best film, as other factors contribute to which film ends up as the last one standing. The social and political mood of the voters comes into play as sometimes does the track record of the filmmakers and where it stands within the canon of their work.

Sometimes it’s a matter of a film that just struck at the right time (American Beauty, Ordinary People), sometimes it’s about giving someone their due (The Departed, Unforgiven) and sometimes, it’s just a film that’s too big to ignore (Titanic, Return of the King).

It’s what makes the Oscars a tricky barometer of cinematic history and what makes Oscar prediction a slippery science. When it goes wrong, the idiocy of an aging group of voters gets heinously exposed (Rocky, Crash) however, when it goes right, you get the lasting films and smart choices that at the very least make a lot of sense in hindsight… like picking The Hurt Locker over Avatar!

With that in mind; I give you the 10 best choices of the last 40 years.

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Neil Patrick Harris steals the show.

By Sean Kelly

It is no secret that the biggest problem with the Oscars has always been its length. It is by far the longest of the award shows and I remember a time, not so long ago, that the ceremony would end at nearly 1am (or 10pm if you are going by the local time of Oscar’s LA location). The Academy has tried many methods in the past to cut down on the show’s length, one of the most infamous being the year they either had all the nominees on stage or presented awards in the crowd.

This year, the Academy had the added trouble of having to show highlights from ten nominated films. As such, there were some stricter time-saving rules. After being compressed last year into a single performance, the best song performances were axed altogether. In addition, the Academy vowed to be more strict on the 45 second acceptance speech limit – though based on what I saw, the major winners seemed exempt.

After watching this year’s show, I have to say that some of those time-saving choices seemed questionable when one takes into consideration what actually turned up in the program. So let me go through some of the Oscars’ filler segments that may or may not have been a waste of time – dependingly mainly on whether or not you enjoyed them.

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By Rachel West, Sean Kelly and Shane McNeil

Best Adapted Screenplay
District 9 – Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell
An Education – Nick Hornby
In the Loop – Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
Precious – Geoffrey Fletcher
Up in the Air – Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner

Rachel: It would be great to see Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell win for District 9. And Nick Hornby delivered a witty and insightful screenplay for An Education. But the award will likely go to Jason Reitman for Up in the Air. Up in the Air was an all-around enjoyable film, a little unremarkable, but still an intelligent script.
Will win: Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Should win: Nick Hornby, An Education

Sean: If Up in the Air wins any Oscars, it will be this one. I also wouldn’t mind if the screenplay for District 9 wins.
Will win: Up in the Air
Should win: District 9

Shane: Up in the Air was the early frontrunner and the AMPAS just seems to love Jason Reitman. This is their chance to do it despite my personal vendetta against the guy and my stance that Nick Hornby’s script was far superior and lasting.
Will win: Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Should Win: Nick Hornby, An Education

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By Rachel West, Sean Kelly and Shane McNeil

Best Actress in a Supporting Role:
Penélope Cruz for Nine
Vera Farmiga for Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal for Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick for Up in the Air
Mo’Nique for Precious

Rachel: Mo’Nique should win and will win this award. She’s picked up pretty much every trophy this awards season, each one well-deserved for her role as the abusive mother in Precious. She’s terrifying on screen, and often hard to watch. Look for her to collect the gold.
Will win: Mo’Nique, Precious
Should win: Mo’Nique, Precious

Sean: This is another Oscar that was essentially pre-picked. I have no immediate plans to see Precious, but based on the clips I’ve seen, Mo’Nique is definitely the most deserving.
Will Win: Mo’Nique, Precious
Should Win: Mo’Nique, Precious

Shane: While I’d love to whine about the Julianne Moore, Melanie Laurent and Diane Kruger snubs, Mo’Nique was clearly the standout performance among the group. It doesn’t hurt that the AMPAS loooooves when comedians go very, very dark.
Will Win: Mo’Nique, Precious
Should Win: Mo’Nique, Precious
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By Sean Kelly

It is amazing what can happen in a year.

Last year I wrote an article about the past and future of 3D films and whether or not they could escape the stigma of being a gimmick with “in your face” sight gags. Since then, a few 3D films came out that have used the technology more for adding depth to the film, rather than said sight gags. This includes Pixar’s Up, Joe Dante’s The Hole (which I saw at TIFF and has yet to receive its wide release), and, of course, James Cameron’s Avatar.

The success of Avatar resulted in a big revelation for Hollywood — 3D is in. In typical Hollywood fashion, other films started jumping on the bandwagon. Films that were originally going to be 2D, such as the upcoming Clash of the Titans remake, started being delayed in order to be converted into 3D. In addition, there were rumours and announcements stating that pretty much everything from Harry Potter to Jackass were being made in 3D. This is all on top of previously announced 3D films, such as Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and Tron: Legacy. Let’s not forget the 3D-compatible TVs and Blu-Ray players that recently debuted at CES.

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