Ralph Fiennes

ON THE SILVER SCREEN: FOLLYWOOD (HAIL, CAESAR!)

 

By Brian Lafferty

February 5, 2016 (San Diego) – Hail, Caesar! (Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, 2016) falls under a category I like to call a “Love Letter Movie.” Defining the term is hard. However, I can easily point to a classic example, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (John Hughes, 1986), which was the beloved director’s love letter to Chicago. It showcased Wrigley Field, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Von Steuben Day parade, and Chicago’s other fine attractions with affection and pride. Hail, Caesar! is the Coens’ love letter to classic Hollywood in much the same way.


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: LICENSE TO THRILL (SKYFALL)

By Brian Lafferty

November 9, 2012 (San Diego) – Practically every commercial I saw for Skyfall emphasized the action sequences.  Not surprising, since studios throw all the best parts in the trailers and ads.  Here's some irony for you: MGM and Columbia only thought they included the best parts.  Audiences who watch the official trailer and the TV spots think they're getting a dark action movie.  Wrong.  Unlike such recent spy films as Salt - which are ninety-percent action and ten-percent espionage - Skyfall is ninety-percent spy film and ten-percent action…as a James Bond movie should be.


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: "TITANS" BENEFITS FROM EQUAL BALANCE OF ACTION AND STORY

 

By Brian Lafferty

April 2, 2010 (San Diego's East County)--Clash of the Titans is the newest in a seemingly neverending long line of Hollywood remakes. Directed by Louis Leterrier (director of The Incredible Hulk two years ago) it is a splendid remake of the 1981 classic of the same name. That movie starred future L.A. Law actor Harry Hamlin and was the last to feature special effects master Ray Harryhausen’s famous stop-motion animation. This time Perseus is played by Sam Worthington, coming off of last year’s megahit Avatar.  The stop-motion has been replaced with CGI.

 


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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.