Monday, August 19, 2013

The World's End Review: Finale to Cornetto Trilogy

Throughout his career, director Edgar Wright has established himself as a pop culture auteur in the vein of Danny Boyle and Quentin Tarantino. His films are rife with pop culture nostalgia as well as tremendous amounts of energetic style and fun. His latest film "The World's End" not only concludes the famed Cornetto trilogy, but continues to establish Wright as one of the most unique voices in modern movies.

For the uninitiated, the Cornetto trilogy (based on the three colors of Cornetto ice cream) was initiated by the hilarious zombie film "Shaun of the Dead" and was followed up by the equally sensational "Hot Fuzz." Leading the charge in both films is the terrific duo of Simon Pegg and Nicholas Frost and they return for a third part that is arguably the most unpredictable of the three films. Continue Reading

Short Term 12 review: One of the Best Films of the Year

"Short Term 12" is proving to be one of 2013's biggest cinematic revelations and features star-turning performances by Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr. and Kaitlyn Dever. The movie was the winner of the SXSW Film Festival and is certain to garner a following when it is released.

Directed by Destin Cretton, the film explores abuse and the search for identity in a foster home. Grace (Larson), a 20-something year old supervising staff member of a foster care facility, takes care of foster children with her co-worker and longtime boyfriend, Mason (Gallagher). At the beginning of the film Grace is a positive, well-tempered young woman who seems to be in control of the foster children and herself. She guides a new worker Nate (Rami Malek) through his first day at work and even tells her boss Jack, "I take good care of everyone." However, when Jayden (Dever), a sexually abused girl, is brought to the foster home, Grace's life starts to unravel and her deepest secrets return to haunt her. Continue reading