To make a successful crime thriller, you need a certain amount of ingredients to ensure its cinematic power. Said ingredients include a gifted director, a strong cast, and most importantly, a story that is gripping, full of twists, and will constantly keep you guessing. Triple 9 attempts to be one such film and while its story feels familiar, its direction and ensemble cast make it shine here and there. Code for “officer down”, 999 is obviously a very serious call that police dread every time they go to work. This film blurs the line between cop and criminal and with gritty action and some occasionally effective acting, it is a cinematic thrill ride that will suck you in occasionally and dazzle you with some really tense shoot ‘em up sequences. Sadly these scenes don’t make up for a rather dull actioner.
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Katsucon 2016 – Recap
The world of anime is a vast and interesting place. Every year, Japanese culture and art explode into National Harbor, Maryland with Katsucon, an annual convention that celebrates all things anime and the people that enjoy this powerful art form. Like most cons, Katsucon plays host to panels, screenings, and of course, cosplaying. A plethora of the attendees dress up as their favorite anime characters, strut their stuff, and pose for plenty of pictures. There are even those who dress up in non-anime attire (this particular writer walked the convention halls as a Ghostbuster and the response from fellow con-goers was a truly positive one). All in all, it is an event that anyone and everyone can take in and thoroughly enjoy.
Zoolander No. 2
When it comes to comedy sequels, they rarely, if ever, surpass the original. One simply cannot reinvent the wheel, one can merely add a few new jokes and some colorful characters to it. Truer words have never been spoken when it comes to Zoolander No. 2, a sequel that took 15 years to make. Paramount Pictures and writer/director/producer and star Ben Stiller seriously couldn’t come up with a better followup to the adventures of a dimwitted male model which was a very clever satire on the fashion world. 15 years and they came up with a slightly amusing yet contrived and forced spy adventure with plenty of broad humor and corny zingers. Sure, it works (here and there) but the only saving graces are the interactions between some of the characters, most notably scenes with Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig, two seasoned comedians and former SNL cast mates. The moments between Stiller and Owen Wilson are okay but it just feels like we’ve gone down this runway before.
Soundtrack Review: 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
Remote Control Productions is a company run by film music genius Hans Zimmer and employed there, are some of the greatest musical minds working today. This group of composers and musicians currently supplies Hollywood productions with many of their scores. Lorne Balfe is one such individual and in recent years, he has contributed a good amount of said scores. He has worked on Batman Begins, the Kung Fu Panda films, and Sherlock Holmes, just to name a few. His latest effort is 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, a gritty actioner based on real events and directed by action “auteur” Michael Bay. The score is not only hard-hitting at times for a militaristic thriller but it contains tender moments that perfectly capture the effect war has on one’s mental wellbeing.
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Deadpool
When a superhero film is rated R, you know you’re in for quite a ride. For the past decade, Marvel and DC have churned out their products with the PG-13 rating firmly stamped on them. This is to ensure that parents will take their kids to the theater, thus spending more and feeding the Hollywood blockbuster machine a little more every couple of months. The new Marvel action spectacle Deadpool shifts this way of marketing in a way never seen before. Rated R, it is a violent, profane, and occasionally sexual rollercoaster ride that will leave audiences breathless, ADULT audiences. Yes, Deadpool is a superhero/crimefighter but he is not your friendly neighborhood superhero. Created by Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza and played brilliantly by Ryan Reynolds, he is an antihero who, with a bizarre yet thoroughly enjoyable sense of humor, will slice and shoot his way throughout the film’s brisk 108-minute runtime and will leave you with a big grin well after the end credits.
Interview: Composer Lorne Balfe talks ’13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi’
The film music industry today is pretty much dominated by Hans Zimmer and his disciples over at Remote Control Productions. This stellar group of artists compose scores for many popular blockbusters today. One of their most recent projects is the Michael Bay-directed true story 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi. Lorne Balfe wrote the music and it is yet another example of Remote Control’s amazing works. I had the privilege of speaking with Lorne about the film and his association with Hans and Remote Control. Here’s how that conversation went:
Continue reading Interview: Composer Lorne Balfe talks ’13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi’
Interview: Actor Stefan Kapicic Talks ‘Deadpool’
The new antihero action/comedy Deadpool is out now and it is a rare exercise in satirical fun. The script is as sharp as the titular character’s swords and the cast is absolutely perfect. Croatian-Serbian actor Stefan Kapicic is included in that perfect cast and he plays X-Man Colossus in the film. Through the use of motion capture technology, the gifted actor relies mostly on his voice and his performance is without a doubt, one the film’s strongest aspects. I was able to sit down with Stefan and it was truly illuminating chat. Here’s how it went:
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Touched with Fire
There is a significant link between mental illness and creativity. The human brain is a fascinating machine and can generate works of art that are profound and utterly beautiful. Vincent van Gogh is one such artist who possessed bipolar disorder and his creative works are some of the most well-known and appreciated today. The new film Touched with Fire explores this relationship and does so in a way that is not only smart but unique and simply out of this world. Katie Holmes and Luke Kirby star here and their chemistry onscreen is really something to marvel at. Few films this day and age delve into something so sensitive as mental illness but this film does so in a way that audiences will not only enjoy and walk away having learned a little something.
Hail Caesar!
Joel and Ethan Coen (collectively known as the Coen Brothers) are two of the finest living filmmakers working today. Since the 1980s, these auteurs have made their mark on cinema history by supplying audiences with dark comedies and dramas that are not only entertaining but thought-provoking and very smart. Their style is unmatched by any other writer or director and they almost always hit the mark with expert detail and exquisite precision. From 1984’s Blood Simple up until 2013’s Inside Llewyn Davis, they definitely know what they’re doing and each film is brilliant evidence of that. Unfortunately however, their latest effort, the tongue-in-cheek period comedy Hail Caesar! doesn’t live up to the hype and is one of the Coen Brothers’ weaker efforts. It tries hard and does contain very humorous bits of comedy sprinkled throughout but is a lackluster film at best and not one the Coen Brothers’ better entries.
Interview: Actor Sean Maher Talks ‘Batman: Bad Blood’
The world of animated superhero films is a vast and interesting machine. Batman, especially, has seen a lot of action in recent years and the new film Batman: Bad Blood is certainly no exception. It is a high octane and intense crime actioner, animated and presented in a way that will probably attract more adults than kids. I caught actor Sean Maher (Nightwing) on the red carpet at the premiere of the film and he dished on working on the project. Here’s how that conversation went:
Continue reading Interview: Actor Sean Maher Talks ‘Batman: Bad Blood’
Unger the Radar 