Film

So here’s my great idea for a horror film: Two teenagers are at summer camp, sneaking off to have sex—OF COURSE. Just when they’re about to take a ride on the wild baloney pony, they hear a rustling in the dark.

At least five actors playing in Seven Psychopaths have played one before. At least one.

Behold the PSYCHOS.
 
Seven Psychopaths
Starring Colin Farrell, Christopher Walken, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, Olga Kurylenko, Tom Waits, Abbie Cornish
Written and directed by Martin McDonagh
Rated R
 
This movie is much better than its previews; in fact Seven Psychopaths might be the best movie I’ve seen all year.

Cheers, Ben. Here’s to your beard.
It seems absurd to those who still associate him with Daredevil, J-Lo and Gigli, but when our backs were all turned, Ben Affleck became a serious filmmaker.
That’s not the same as saying he just decided to make serious films; it’s easy enough to jump on board projects that seem pre-packaged with prestige. Instead, he launched his career as a director with low-key, character-based, tense, crime-fiction narratives that were also smart, efficient and restrained.

Winners of bendfilm awards go home happy.
Last weekend, the annual BendFilm festival transformed downtown into an independent film Mecca, bringing a slew of great flicks to big and little screens.
Documentaries about everything from quilts to comic books, action narratives, dramas and dance flicks all made their Central Oregon premieres. The festival winners were announced at the Oxford Hotel Saturday with cash prizes going to more than half of the winners.

Did anyone ever tell you that you look like a young and more gay dennis leary?
When I started watching this flick my first thought was, something really bad is going to happen—everything is going too well for this gay couple and their son. Sure enough, In the Family tells the tale of incredible loss and the personal strength it takes to get through the hard times.
The plot starts with two dads, Cody (Trevor St. John) and Joey (Patrick Wang), who are happily raising a six-year-old son, Chip (Sebastian Banes), in a seemingly constant state of bliss. Then one day their world is shattered when Cody is killed in a car accident and the battle between the deceased’s family and Joey over custody of Chip begins.

Films that deal with tragic death and loss are not what you’d call pleasant. But, if you’re in the mood for quality films that dig deep into emotional turmoil, this collection is a great place to start. Audiences and critics alike went for and garnered Academy Award nominations and wins by the dozen.
Don’t Look Now (1973)
Donald Sutherland, Julie Christie
People cope with loss in many fashions as do writers. Daphne Du Maurier wrote the story and helped on the screenplay in this Nicolas Roeg film. A couple moves to Venice, Italy to forget about the loss of their daughter and get mixed up with a serial killer on the loose in the dark streets of Venice. Now that’s what I call therapy to get one’s mind off their problems. Very cool and creepy.

Right off the bat, you can tell Looper is going to be different. Its edgy approach reinvents and, for the most part, rejects standard Hollywood formula. Director Rian Johnson is the guy who brought us new lingo and changed the face of noir with Brick, followed up with the con-man tale The Brothers Bloom which was only mildly entertaining. Third time’s a charm as Looper delivers on all possible levels while its gaffes are few and forgivable. It’s an exciting science fiction action yarn with a dose of tongue-in-cheek drama, an engaging script and a down right wacky idea overall.

There have been movies about indulgence, such as Barfly, Lost Weekend and Le Grande Bouffe, but to me the ultimate sign of indulgence is either spending a ton of money on a film or creating a dud that nobody wants to watch. If you Google “the most expensive movies ever made” and “worst movies ever,” there’s a lot of overlap between these two categories. Here’s our short list of
Hollywood at its most excessive.