Movie Monday: Dredd Life

How far can you possibly run from a Sylvester Stallone movie? Dredd has used excellent acting, a well-told story and major contributions from the character's creator in distancing itself from the horrible 1995 flick Judge Dredd. With screenwriter Alex Garland directly behind this reboot, we have a Dredd who doesn't enter romantic relations and never EVER removes his helmet. Thank you, Hollywood!

In the nuclear wasteland that is North America, one light of life is Mega-City One, stretching from Boston to Washington, populated by over 800 million people. With so much humanity crammed together, chaos and criminal activity run the streets, with innocents often trapped in their hellish nets. The city's response to the overwhelming violence? The Judges, granted the combined powers of judge, jury and - when necessary - executioner. Judge Dredd is one of the best, but even he knows that there's only so much the Judges can do in such a large city. While tasked with assessing the potential of psychic, rookie Judge Anderson, they find themselves on the bad side of drug kingpin Ma-Ma, who traps them in a slum complex and sends her men in to wipe them out. The only way out is up, and without backup Dredd and Anderson must scale 200 floors to shut down Ma-Ma's criminal enterprise if they want any chance at survival.

Dredd is written by Alex Garland and directed by Pete Travis and stars Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby and Lena Headey.

Click here to read the full review at Open Letters Monthly.

Movie Monday: The Apparition

This week Todd wanted to see a scary movie, and so with three weak-looking wide releases hitting theaters, we decided to gamble on The Apparition, the season's first horror film. We've seen some interesting ghost stories in the past couple of years, from the excellent Insidious to well-done fare like The Woman in Black. Can this new title live up to it's scary brethren?

When an experiment designed to "create" a spirit from pure belief goes awry, young couple Kelly and Ben discover strange things happening in their new home, from open doors that had been locked shut to moved furniture to a strange-looking mold in the walls and ceiling. Soon they discover that this is the effect of the ghost that Ben helped summon to their world, a malevolent spirit with murder on its agenda. The couple pair up with Ben's former classmate Patrick to try and eradicate the spirit, but it already may be too late to send the creature back to where it came from.

The Apparition was written and directed by Todd Lincoln and stars Ashley Greene, Sebastian Stan and Tom Felton.

Click here for the whole review at Open Letters Monthly.

Movie Monday: Wild Thing

Film festivals can be a great source of information. News from these shows can illuminate the hot new films that will be coming out soon. And if a title gains major favor and awards, you know that it is a movie you should look forward to seeing. This isn't a guaranteed sure thing, however; there are huge differences between Little Miss Sunshine and The Tree of Life, after all. Beasts of the Southern Wild certainly looks interesting, and it won Sundance's Grand Jury Prize and Cannes' Camera d'Or (their award for best film by a first time director). But can it possibly live up to that level of expectation?

 Hushpuppy, a six year-old girl, lives in the "Bathtub", a southern delta community, with her daddy. The folk of the Bathtub happy live apart from modern society, even as they know that eventually their homes will soon be permanently underwater. When tragedy befalls the community, Hushpuppy must undergo a journey from where she needs her father's help and guidance to a place where she can care for herself, and discover her place in the universe.

Beasts of the Southern Wild is directed by Benh Zeitlin and stars Quevenzhane Wallis and Dwight Henry.

Click here for the full review at Open Letters Monthly.

Movie Monday: A 'Savage' Review

This past weekend was all about The Amazing Spider-Man, but what if you've already seen the latest superhero film twice over between its Wednesday release and Saturday morning? What do you do then? As Todd and I discovered, the answer is certainly not to see Savages, the latest film by Wall Street and Platoon director Oliver Stone.

When Ben and Chon, co-owners of Los Angeles' best-run and least crime-ridden marijuana business, feel the pressure from Mexican Cartels who want to partner with their methods, they decide that they want to get out of the illegal drugs business. But the Cartel wants their expertise, and their leader, Elena Sanchez, has the pair's shared girlfriend O kidnapped as collateral to make sure the young men fall in line. When Ben and Chon instead decide to fight back and rescue their girl, the result is an orgy of violence and double crossing that involves rival cartels, Navy SEALS, and the Drug Enforcement Agency. Nothing will get between the pair and O, not even a well-armed militia intent on taking their heads.

Savages is directed by Oliver Stone and stars Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Johnson, Blake Lively, Salma Hayek, John Travolta, Demian Bichir and Benicio del Toro.

Click here for the full review on Open Letters Monthly.

Movie Monday: Ted

I had a choice this week (what a concept, Hollywood) and had been leaning towards the Steven Soderbergh male stripper flick Magic Mike to cover this Movie Monday. Todd diverted me elsewhere, however, and together we went to see Ted, the Boston-based comedy directed by and starring Seth MacFarlane, the creator of TV's Family Guy and American Dad! I do owe Todd thanks for that, as both she and I enjoyed some of our best laughs since March's 21 Jump Street opening.

Twenty-seven years after successfully wishing that his teddy bear could come to life and become his best friend, John Bennett and Ted have become inseparable. This is not only a problem for John, who seems to have trouble accepting his responsibility for the trouble Ted gets him into, but for John's girlfriend Lori, who believes Ted is keeping John from becoming all he can be in their relationship. John eventually agrees, and he helps Ted move out and get on his feet so that they can live their separate lives. But things do not go smoothly, and soon John may have to choose between his lifetime friend and the love of his life.

Ted is directed by Seth MacFarlane and stars Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel McHale and Sam J. Jones, and features the voices of MacFarlane and
Patrick Stewart.

Click here for the whole review at Open Letters Monthly.

Movie Monday: Prometheus

On this Movie Monday, we look at what is one of the most anticipated films of 2012. Can Prometheus possibly live up to the hype it's been getting since the trailers first aired?

When archaeologists Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) discover evidence that life on Earth was manufactured by a race of alien "Engineers", the powerful Weyland Corporation funds an expedition to what they believe to be the Engineer's home, a distant moon known only as LV-233. When their ship arrives, however, they find only a lifeless planetoid and an abandoned installation as the only signs of their previous tenants. While exploring the ruins, the team inadvertently makes a discovery that is not only the greatest find in the history of mankind, but on that could lead to its extinction should it ever return to Earth.

Prometheus is directed by Ridley Scott and also stars Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Charlize Theron, Rafe Spall and Sean Harris.

Click here for the full review at Open Letters Monthly.

Movie Monday: Snow White and the Huntsman

It's the first weekend in June, and after a dull May (minus The Avengers, of course!) I'm ready to see if this summer has anything left in the tank that doesn't reek of desperation and lowest common denominator.

Snow White and the Huntsman is the second adaptation of the Grimm Fairy Tale we all grew up learning. After Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron) marries and then murders her way to become the ruler of the realm, she rules with an iron fist, draining the life from the land and the vitality of young women to keep her own features fair and beautiful. When her captive stepdaughter Snow White (Kristen Stewart) threatens to surpass her own beauty, Ravenna decides to consume her heart, therefore living forever. Before she can do this, Snow White manages to escape, and with the help of allies threatens to end the evil reign of her cruel stepmother.

Snow White and the Huntsman is directed by Rupert Sanders and stars Theron, Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Sam Claflin, Bob Hoskins, Ian McShane and Toby Jones.

Click here for the full review at Open Letters Monthly.

Introducing Movie Monday!

Yes, I know what you're thinking: "But Mr. Anderson, EVERY day is a movie day!" Well, that would be true if we were talking about Hello, Mr. Anderson. I'm very happy to announce that I will be guest-blogging every Monday on the literary review site Open Letters Monthly. For years, my friends at OLM have been posting some of the best reviews in the realm of literature, and it's an honor to be asked to bring my voice and perspective on the cinematic set to their site. My Monday posts will set up shop there (This week is the review for the Tim Burton/Johnny Depp team-up Dark Shadows), while my regular Wednesday and Friday posts will still be found right here. I would just like to say thanks to the good folks at OLM for this opportunity, and to my readers who have helped me keep this whole thing going for so long.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REVIEW OF DARK SHADOWS ON OPEN LETTERS MONTHLY