Welcome to The Morning After, where I share with you what I've seen over the past week either in film or television. On the film side, if I have written a full length review already, I will post a link to that review. Otherwise, I'll give a brief snippet of my thoughts on the film with a full review to follow at some point later. For television shows, seasons and what not, I'll post individual comments here about each of them as I see fit.

So, here is what I watched this past week:

The Cabin in the Woods

If you know too much going in, you won't have nearly as much fun as going in blind. The premise is that of five college students going to a small, isolated cabin in the woods where their wills and mettle is tested against a surprise villain conjured by their own actions. There are frequent twists in the story that leave you constantly guessing what is going on behind the scenes that it keeps you interested in its very clever and sometimes too-clever storytelling devices.

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Welcome to The Morning After, where I share with you what I've seen over the past week either in film or television. On the film side, if I have written a full length review already, I will post a link to that review. Otherwise, I'll give a brief snippet of my thoughts on the film with a full review to follow at some point later. For television shows, seasons and what not, I'll post individual comments here about each of them as I see fit.

So, here is what I watched this past week:

Judgment at Nuremberg

Spencer Tracy has appeared in a number of socially responsible films in the course of his vast career, but few films could hold a candle to Judgment at Nuremberg in terms of quality, signification and emotional investment. The film centers around one particular trial of four judges in the days following World War II and leading up to the start of the Cold War. A noble, electorally-defeated judge (Tracy) is joined by two other high minded jurists to hear testimony and determine the guilt or innocence of these German nationals.

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Welcome to The Morning After, where I share with you what I've seen over the past week either in film or television. On the film side, if I have written a full length review already, I will post a link to that review. Otherwise, I'll give a brief snippet of my thoughts on the film with a full review to follow at some point later. For television shows, seasons and what not, I'll post individual comments here about each of them as I see fit.

So, here is what I watched this past week:

Aliens

It's hard to compare the original Alien and its sequel Aliens. Both films take a slightly different view of science fiction. While the first film focuses more on the horror elements, the second concerns itself with technology and its use as a destroyer and savior. As the Cold War pressed on towards its final days, films representing the perceived Communist threat, the concept of nuclear annihilation and foreign interference play heavily in Aliens, giving it a more relevant thematic thrust. It even takes an early standing on government, big business influence where money is more important than survival. That's not to say this film can't stand on its own without these important elements, it can.

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Welcome to The Morning After, where I share with you what I've seen over the past week either in film or television. On the film side, if I have written a full length review already, I will post a link to that review. Otherwise, I'll give a brief snippet of my thoughts on the film with a full review to follow at some point later. For television shows, seasons and what not, I'll post individual comments here about each of them as I see fit.

So, here is what I watched this past week:

The Hunger Games

I will admit first off that I struggled to find faults with the film. I didn't want to come off as some fanboy whose admiration of the book transferred to the movie where obvious issues were found. I did find some minor inconveniences, but for the most part, I think this is a fine, well crafted film that has the potential to last in peoples' minds and hearts for decades.

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Welcome to The Morning After, where I share with you what I've seen over the past week either in film or television. On the film side, if I have written a full length review already, I will post a link to that review. Otherwise, I'll give a brief snippet of my thoughts on the film with a full review to follow at some point later. For television shows, seasons and what not, I'll post individual comments here about each of them as I see fit.

So, here is what I watched this past week:

Red Hill

Sometimes the most engaging films are the ones that twist genre stereotypes to fit their own ends. Take for instance, Red Hill, which seemed to be advertised as a fairly straight forward thriller. The story of an escaped killer come back to the small town he lived in before being shipped off to prison. As he arrives and slowly begins killing off the townfolk, the new constable of the town, a gun shy father-to-be (True Blood's Ryan Kwanten) must make the tough decisions that will mean the difference between life and death.

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Welcome to The Morning After, where I share with you what I've seen over the past week either in film or television. On the film side, if I have written a full length review already, I will post a link to that review. Otherwise, I'll give a brief snippet of my thoughts on the film with a full review to follow at some point later. For television shows, seasons and what not, I'll post individual comments here about each of them as I see fit.

So, here is what I watched this past week:

JFK

I haven't seen nearly as many Oliver Stone films as I probably should have, but of the four I've seen (Platoon, Nixon, Natural Born Killers and now JFK), I would place JFK in an unequivocal second place behind Platoon. His exploration of the assassination of John F. Kennedy was an instantly famous film, quoted endlessly and exposing what had mostly been seen as a fringe theory into the conspiracy to kill Kennedy. And the film does an excellent job assembling facts and creating a tableau that sets his theory up nicely. That he gets a bit wingnut in the middle with a purported encounter with a high ranking military official exposing the details he's been trying to uncover, the film begins to feel a bit more off kilter and perhaps unwieldy.

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I was fairly busy most of the weekend and the few times I sat down that I could have watched something new, I had commentary or posts to write and I can't concentrate on a movie when I'm writing, so nothing goes up this week, but next weekend should be different as my only super busy day will be Saturday.

But, I did manage to turn on one film that I could listen to while working: Over the Hedge, so I guess it's as good a film as any to highlight this week, so here goes:

Over the Hedge

When you look back at 2006, you start to realize that computer animation wasn't as prevalent or as seemingly experienced as it is today. Over the Hedge wasn't a groundbreaking design and while all of the voice actors are having fun, Garry Shandling and Bruce Willis seem to struggle to create genuine emotion with their characters. I still maintain that Steve Carell is the funniest part of the film and Wanda Sykes' aggressive skunk has diminished some in my estimation. Yet, I still found the film to be fun and entertaining and a fantastic diversion. While kids might not get some of the humor in the film, it's the kind of movie I would have little problem letting them watch. So, while I can't really upgrade the star rating by one-half as I might have had I written this a couple of nights ago, I still think it's a high-end three-stars.

Click here to read my original review of the film posted in 2006.

Welcome to The Morning After, where I share with you what I've seen over the past week either in film or television. On the film side, if I have written a full length review already, I will post a link to that review. Otherwise, I'll give a brief snippet of my thoughts on the film with a full review to follow at some point later. For television shows, seasons and what not, I'll post individual comments here about each of them as I see fit.

So, here is what I watched this past week:

Kind Hearts and Coronets

Great comedians rarely get as much respect from the Academy as they deserve. Alec Guinness inhabits several characters infusing each with a distinct and entertaining identity. And while his isn't the only performance in the film, it's the only one worth cherishing. The others are good, but nowhere near the pinnacle that Guinness sets. The film tells the story of a man on death row for murder as he explains the various crimes for which he was guilty, killing the wealthy noblemen whose rejection of his and his mothers' bid to become part of the family in an effort to retain the Dukedom he feels he was entitled to. It's a clever and fun comedy that doesn't go for the out-loud laughs, which is much to its benefit.

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Welcome to The Morning After, where I share with you what I've seen over the past week either in film or television. On the film side, if I have written a full length review already, I will post a link to that review. Otherwise, I'll give a brief snippet of my thoughts on the film with a full review to follow at some point later. For television shows, seasons and what not, I'll post individual comments here about each of them as I see fit.

So, here is what I watched this past week:

Yankee Doodle Dandy

James Cagney's Oscar win for Yankee Doodle Dandy always seemed to me to be as a strange reward, perhaps honoring his strong career as a character actor. Yet, watching Yankee, I'm surprised at just how good he is. Although his dance routines are rather stiff, he more than makes up for it with passion, verve and talent. Playing the moments for laughs and tears with equal capability. The film itself, were it not for Cagney, would be a far lesser achievement. It's hopelessly patriotic, but at a time when the U.S. was trying to recruit young soldiers for World War II, it acts as a fairly strong tool for such purposes. It's a joyous celebration of the life of George M. Cohan, an artist whose work has never appealed to me. And this film doesn't really change my opinion of the music, but there's no denying his influence and importance in the history of music, not just that which he composed for the Broadway stage.

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Welcome to The Morning After, where I share with you what I've seen over the past week either in film or television. On the film side, if I have written a full length review already, I will post a link to that review. Otherwise, I'll give a brief snippet of my thoughts on the film with a full review to follow at some point later. For television shows, seasons and what not, I'll post individual comments here about each of them as I see fit.

So, here is what I watched this past week:

Nothing

It was a busy weekend with no time to accomplish everything I wanted, which included watching a couple of backlogged Feed the Queue entries. Instead, in half an hour, I'll provide you our predictions for the Visual Effects Society Awards.

Welcome to The Morning After, where I share with you what I've seen over the past week either in film or television. On the film side, if I have written a full length review already, I will post a link to that review. Otherwise, I'll give a brief snippet of my thoughts on the film with a full review to follow at some point later. For television shows, seasons and what not, I'll post individual comments here about each of them as I see fit.

So, here is what I watched this past week:

Beauty and the Beast 3D

(Original Film Version)
(3D Conversion Version)
Watching the 3D re-issue of Beauty and the Beast, I'm struck by just how little the film has aged in terms of story quality, excitement and musical aptitude. Sure the animation feels a bit dated now despite being rather revolutionary at the time (it was one of the first hand-drawn animated features to employ computer animation), but the film itself is almost timeless.

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Welcome to The Morning After, where I share with you what I've seen over the past week either in film or television. On the film side, if I have written a full length review already, I will post a link to that review. Otherwise, I'll give a brief snippet of my thoughts on the film with a full review to follow at some point later. For television shows, seasons and what not, I'll post individual comments here about each of them as I see fit.

So, here is what I watched this past week:

Haywire

There's nothing wrong with Steven Soderbergh's sense of direction. With Haywire, he's created a tightly wound narrative around an ex-Marine whose freelance espionage work has put her on the wrong side of the gun. Gina Carano is fantastic as the operative whose capabilities threaten to get her killed. Soderbergh's eclectic but well suited cast gives the film a nice jolt and Soderbergh's reliance on naturalistic sound and fight sequences is refreshing for a genre hell bent on getting as fancy and exotic as possible. The film drags a bit, feeling a lot longer than an hour and a half. And unlike Joe Wright's Hanna and Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive, the film tries too hard to find an inventive style different from everything else around it.

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