Hollywood has had a long love affair with the heist sub-genre. Dating as far back as the silent film era with 1928’s Alias Jimmy Valentine, and transcending various genres like westerns (The War Wagon), war (Kelly’s Heroes) and even animation (Toy Story 3), the heist has tantalized our fantasies and outsmarted our wits for decades. …
There’s nothing like the thrill of a chase. A bank robber pulls off an elaborate heist only to be pursued by a dogged detective on foot. A soldier escapes from enemy territory but must outrun the angry combatants on his tail. A man wrongly accused of murder has just his wits and his two legs …
The calls have been heard loud and clear, both on stage and off at the Oscars or in the annals of the web and at the box office: the world demands more movies with women, about women, by women and for women. Every week a movie seems to be failing the Bechdel test, and every …
1. Jaws We almost never lose site of the beach and the ocean in Steven Spielberg’s 1975 timeless film Jaws – over someone’s shoulder, outside the window, just beyond the swing set in the back yard, the threat of the great white is ever present. Far from their home in the Big Apple, Amity Island’s …
Recently, the intrepid co-hosts of Sound on Sight radio asked me to help host a podcast devoted to Keanu Reeves. I had been hoping for a long time that they would have just such a podcast, and I wanted to take this opportunity to explain a little bit more about why I find Reeves to …
For an actor so enigmatically blessed with sensitive leading man looks, Keanu Reeves has an uncanny dexterity within the action genre. Hampered by the effortlessness of his airhead turn as Ted in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Reeves spent years shedding his pretty boy persona in more arthouse and mainstream dramatic fare, only to find it right …
Point Break Written by W. Peter Iliff Directed by Kathryn Bigelow USA, 1991 Here’s the thing about Point Break, it’s not nearly as bad as you might have heard. For all of its ridiculous qualities like the presidential masks, a climax that involves skydiving, and Keanu Reeves playing a former college football star turned FBI …
Cinema, like most arts, exists beyond time and space. They are a medium of transportation, and for most of us, our only opportunity to fulfil our deepest desires and confront our darkest fears. That’s why it seems unfair to look back on a year in film and focus only on new releases. Our year end obsession with …
Not too long ago I asked the Sound On Sight staff to choose their ten favourite films of all time. The result led to mixed reactions (both by staff and readers), and some angry feedback. But how could any of us select only ten films from the thousands we’ve seen and walk away happy with …
Blockbuster – the one-time giant in the home video rental business which went bankrupt last September – was bought at auction this past week by Dish Network for $320 million. According to Dish, it intends to combine its wireless technology with Blockbuster’s brand name recognition, studio relationships and digital rights to re-establish Blockbuster as a player in …