The MacGuffin

Aron Ralston is an American hiker and mountain climber. In the summer of 2003, Ralston decided to take a trip by himself to the Blue John Canyon in Utah. Ralston did not tell anyone where he was going. He wanted to be alone, to test himself against the elements and against nature. Nature bestowed on him the opportunity, and on this particular occasion Ralston was the victim of a strange and tragic accident, getting his arm caught between a boulder and a crevice wall. His arm was so trapped that after five days of pushing and pulling his arm had not moved even a fraction. Aron Ralston was alone out in the deserts of Utah, too far away to hope for any passersby to come to his rescue. Aron Ralston resorted to cutting his own arm off in order to survive. Aron Ralston is a real human being and this really happened. This is 127 Hours.

opens with a gimmick: John is an out of work actor who decides to start recording his everyday activities using a button camera on his jacket. The entire film is shot with this button cam, giving us a semi-POV from John’s perspective. It’s a faux documentary where all of the participants are seemingly unaware that they are being filmed.

Craig is 16 years old, thin and impossibly shy. He’s pretty sure nobody understands him. He’s in love with his best friend’s girlfriend. He dreams of committing suicide. At one point in the movie Craig (played by Keir Gilchrist) sits in an art class, confined in a psychiatric ward at a city hospital. He’s surrounded by people with all kinds of problems, anti-social tendencies, suicidal tendencies, schizophrenia. Craig came to be here of his own volition and quickly regretted it. He’d be the first to tell you, he doesn’t belong here. But as he sits in this mock classroom with a blank piece of paper and a pile of art supplies before him the teacher urges him to draw something, anything. Finally he relents.

You may not have heard of The Killer Inside Me. Or maybe you have and don’t realize it. This is the film that caused an uproar at Sundance this year. People walked out of the theatre, and many people who wanted to walk out decided to stay just so they could call the director, Michael Winterbottom, a pig to his face. When you watch The Killer Inside Me, it’s best to prepare yourself.

You’re not supposed to know about Catfish. The tagline on the poster says, “Don’t let anyone tell you what it is.” The entire ad campaign wants you to know that Catfish is a secret not to be shared.

Have you heard the news? David Fincher’s jumping on the remake train. And why not? All the cool kids are doing it.

Inception is a film that prompts a lot of discussion. While most of the debate focuses on the ending, and the last shot in particular, there are plenty of other tidbits in the film that have generated their own enthusiastic opinions. While this definitely adds to the film’s overall enjoyment it’s also interesting in light of Nolan’s filmography. In reviewing this film many people have referenced his other “puzzle films” such as Memento or The Prestige. But in comparison Inception is actually fairly straightforward and possibly his most linear film to date (depending on whether you exclude Insomnia on the basis that it’s a remake). Inception is simply a standard, maybe even a cliche, heist film that, when given a unique sci-fi twist, turns the tropes of the genre upside down. Nolan shows here that the context is just as important as the execution.

Here’s a quick synopsis of Predators:  jungle, soldiers, bullets, gore, Predators, explosions, more Predators, more bullets, people die, the End. Not necessarily in that order but you get the idea. The plot really isn’t important, since that’s not what fans of the original are here for. The only thing a fan of this series wants is to see a suspenseful story told well. With Predators in it. That’s it. Is this the quintessential Predator film? Not really. Is it perfect? Definitely not. But to be fair, there hasn’t been a perfect Predator film. Predator 2 is generally hated by fans of the series. I personally think that film deserves more credit than what it’s given but I’m not going to get into that argument here. Suffice it to say, even if you like that film, it’s flaws are considerable. The original film is a bit trickier though. I LOVE Predator and have loved it since the first time I saw it at the tender age of 9. Even watching it now, I still think it holds up as a fun, sci-fi/ action/ horror film.

But is it perfect? No way!

I did not have high expectations walking into The Last Airbender. I wanted to see it. I was curious to see it. But I wasn’t expecting much. Everything I’ve been hearing about the movie told me that I was right in keeping my expectations in check. Reviewers have been calling this film an absolute travesty, that it just doesn’t work in any way, either creatively or technically. A further falling from grace by M. Night Shyamalan. And I knew that all of these things were possible. Because before I’d even seen the film I knew all of the ways that this project could fall apart.

In the early 80′s a college sophomore, Samantha (Jocelin Donahue), needs to make some quick cash. She decides to take a babysitting job that coincides with a full lunar eclipse. But the family that hires her harbors a dark secret.