William Goss
Orlando, FL - http://www.cinematical.com/blogger-william-goss/
Lives in Orlando, and bows down for no man. Unless, of course, that man is Mandy Patinkin.
The Basics: New Beginnings and 'Duck Soup'
Often, and not without good reason, people question how anyone qualifies to be a film critic. Some argue in favor of a formal education. Others will settle for competent syntax and a fair knowledge of movies. (And yet others settle for even less than either.)It's a fair question. I, for example, am still in school and must confess to not really digging into movies until my teens, whereas most of my colleagues not only grew up with countless tapes at their disposal and a likely job at a movie theater or video store, and then proceeded to write about film with the fundamentals well-watched and fondly remembered.
Me? Not so much. I'm frequently lambasted for not having seen Film X or Movie Y; I even attempted to harness the shame with a Twitter hashtag (#fessupfriday) that always seems to get the conversation going. And that's what this is really about -- having a conversation about movies.
So why leap into covering movies now, at such a young and arguably inexperienced age? Because I want to be a part of the conversation now, because opportunities arose and because others -- first editors and then readers -- trusted me to be knowledgeable. And so I owe to myself, my editors and my readers to catch up with the classics, the essentials, The Basics if you will, and while that "New to Me" series was an attempt to lend some structure to my relentless game of catch-up, I feel that volleying opinions back and forth with Hitfix's Drew McWeeny (read his entry here) would make it feel like more of, well, a conversation.
I want to be a part of this conversation, a better one anyway. And I want you to be a part of it too. So, before we begin, just let me ask one simple question...
Who the f**k is Rufus T. Firefly?
Release Date Shuffle: 'Titans' Clash Cusses Everything Up
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Disney, Universal, Warner Brothers, RumorMonger, Distribution, 20th Century Fox, Family Films, Remakes and Sequels
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Damn the Gods"? Nah, more like "Damn the Suits" who opted to give Clash of the Titans a 3-D upgrade in the wake of Avatar's popularity, unaware or unfazed by the fact that A) that film was actually shot for 3-D, not just given layers in post-production, and B) that film didn't succeed massively because of star Sam Worthington (no offense, fella).
So Warner Bros. has bought themselves a week, moving Clash back from March 26th to April 2nd in order to capitalize on Easter weekend and give How to Train Your Dragon a whopping week before squeezing in on its 3-D screens. This move has left other studios to scramble to avoid competition (or fill the gap left behind), and so far as B.O.M. is concerned, here's how things have settled at the moment:
Damn the Gods"? Nah, more like "Damn the Suits" who opted to give Clash of the Titans a 3-D upgrade in the wake of Avatar's popularity, unaware or unfazed by the fact that A) that film was actually shot for 3-D, not just given layers in post-production, and B) that film didn't succeed massively because of star Sam Worthington (no offense, fella).So Warner Bros. has bought themselves a week, moving Clash back from March 26th to April 2nd in order to capitalize on Easter weekend and give How to Train Your Dragon a whopping week before squeezing in on its 3-D screens. This move has left other studios to scramble to avoid competition (or fill the gap left behind), and so far as B.O.M. is concerned, here's how things have settled at the moment:
- Fox's family-friendly Diary of a Wimpy Kid has moved to March 19th from 4/2
- Universal's sci-fi actioner, Repo Men, has moved to March 19th from 4/2
- MGM's raunchy romp, Hot Tub Time Machine, has moved to March 26th from 3/19
- Disney's Nicholas Sparks/Miley Cyrus vehicle, The Last Song, opens on March 31 instead of 4/2
- Summit's kiddie comedy, Furry Vengeance, has moved to April 30th from 4/2
Review: Dear John
Filed under: Drama, Romance, Sony, Theatrical Reviews, War
In the world of romantic novels and their film adaptations, it's hard not to know the name of Nicholas Sparks. The best-selling author has a knack for enduring romance, kisses in the rain and North Carolina shorelines, and Hollywood tends to translate his tearjerkers with an effortless emphasis on those most swoon-worthy moments ... which means that certain cynics rarely take well to his particular brand of saccharine whether it's on the page or the screen.
As luck would have it, Dear John isn't nearly as saccharine or heavy-handed as any movie about autism, cancer and a love divided by duty inherently threatens to be. In fact, in director Lasse Hallstrom's hands, the material comes off with some measure of grace and restraint, as do the performances of Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried, and it's all enough to have even us certain cynics rooting for their eventual reunion.
The Geek-Off Tournament: Showdown!
Filed under: Comedy, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Polls
Well, we've run the gamut from Rushmore to Revenge of the Nerds in this On-Screen Geek-Off Tournament of ours, and after your votes ruled out countless other endearing dweebs, dorks and dynamos, the final match-up seems as inevitable as it is personal. Why, it's a choice every bit as impossible and trying as Sophie choosing... whatever she did. (It's in the Queue!)
So, just before we jump into this, let me first thank our readers for making this a lively bit of fun, and a hearty thanks to Peter Hall for all of his help in keeping this thing alive.
And now, with no further ado or delay...
(After the jump...)
The Geek-Off Tournament: Round #5!
Filed under: Comedy, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Polls
So it's the penultimate round of this On-Screen Geek-Off Tournament of ours, and we're down to two inevitable nail-biters after a series of increasingly close calls last week. We've got Ghostbusters, The Goonies, Back to the Future and Ferris Bueller's Day Off represented, but at the cost of beloved characters from Real Genius, Wayne's World, The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Office Space.
Alas, there can only be one, so let's get this fiendish round of voting underway and bring us all one step closer to having a crucial bit of closure in our lives.
Their Best Role: Mel Gibson in 'Ransom'
Filed under: Action, Drama, Thrillers, Mystery & Suspense, Fandom, Remakes and Sequels
I was initially fearful for selecting Mel Gibson for Their Best Role; as we all well know, if there's an opinion to be had on the Internet, there's someone else perfectly willing to be unhappy about it. But in this particular case, the fact that there are several worthy performances to choose from speaks to this actor's popularity and range. Despite his notorious off-screen behavior, or at least prior to it, Mel has been the go-to guy for roguish charm for over thirty years and forty films.
So, try not to hold it against me when I decide that his vengeful side (as seen in the Mad Max films, Payback, The Patriot and this weekend's Edge of Darkness), his charm (What Women Want, Chicken Run) and his vulnerability (the first Lethal Weapon, Signs) meshed best in Ron Howard's 1996 thriller, Ransom.
(Besides, he's got two Oscars to comfort him for Braveheart's absence here.)
The Inaugural On-Screen Geek-Off Tournament: Round #2!
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Polls
Well, we got a hearty turn-out for the first round of our Geek-Off Tournament, and today, as promised, we present the other half of the slate for your picking pleasure.
Again, to prevent any sort of monopoly, we've only selected one character per movie -- the only pick this really seems to have any bearing on is Revenge of the Nerds (and, from the look of things, maybe The Goonies too), but your vote counts whether it's for the ensemble or just for that one character. (We honestly wouldn't know which one you're voting for anyway.)
So run down these match-ups, free free to link to this showdown on the social network of your choosing, and in a few days, Peter Hall will be bringing you the first of our elimination rounds based on the results. Let's get clicking!
Louis Skolnick (Robert Carradine), Revenge of the Nerds vs. Prof. Julius Kelp (Jerry Lewis), The Nutty Professor
Review: Creation
Filed under: Drama, Newmarket, Theatrical Reviews, Toronto International Film Festival, Religious
When the Charles Darwin biopic, Creation, failed to find Stateside distribution after opening last fall's Toronto International Film Festival, a producer chalked it up to its controversial subject matter. Now that the film has in fact found its way to a limited release here, the content speaks for itself as a muddled tale of both a grief-stricken parent and an anguished genius. Generally, it is more concerned with Darwin dwelling on the past instead of dealing with the future, and only controversial in the sense that it nearly marginalizes the 1859 publication of his On the Origin of Species with so much surrounding melodrama.
The Inaugural On-Screen Geek-Off Tournament: Round #1!
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Fandom, James Bond, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Polls
In the time-honored tradition of last summer's Superhero Movie Tournament, Cinematical humbly presents its first ever Geek-Off, pitting the most endearingly nerdy characters of the silver screen against one another, armed with nothing but their wits and their pocket protectors.
As we mentioned yesterday, we've excluded the likes of Peter Parker because of his involvement with the above-mentioned superhero showdown, and after much discussion, we've decided to also leave out C-3PO on the grounds that he was programmed to be geeky as no other characters here have. Also, to prevent any sort of monopoly, we've only selected one character per movie -- the only pick this really seems to have any bearing on is Revenge of the Nerds, but your vote counts whether it's for the ensemble or just for that one character. (We honestly wouldn't know the difference.)
The first pairing out of sixteen characters is listed below, with more after the jump and even more coming over the weekend (so don't lose it if you don't see a fave -- there are sixteen more to come). Ready? Set... Vote!
Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), Jurassic Park vs. Erwin "Whistler" Emory (David Strathairn), Sneakers
Discuss: Your Most Beloved On-Screen Geeks
Filed under: Comedy, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek
This lovely lot here at the 'matical (editorial note: we don't call it that) is in the middle of cooking up an extensive feature involving our favorite geeky and nerdy characters of filmdom, and although we've already got a considerable list assembled, we'd like your help in suggesting some characters that we may have overlooked.Now, the only flat-out exception we've come up with so far is Peter Parker, because he turns into Spider-Man, which in turn trumps all of his dweebier qualities (besides, we already gave superheroes their due). He's not a hero for embracing his nerdiness, which is exactly what we are looking for in a character of this caliber.
But beyond your Anthony Michael Halls and your Napoleon Dynamites, your Max Fischers and George McFlys, which bully magnets are you most partial to? Help a brother or two out on this, please, or else... the wedgie terrorists win.
Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams Reunite for 'Mission Impossible 4'
'Big Top Pee-Wee': The Original Benicio Del Toro Wolfman
Spin-ematical: New on DVD and Blu-ray for 2/9
Watch This: Brilliant Oscar-Nominated Short 'Logorama'
Chris Nolan to Lead 'Superman' Reboot!?
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