NO VACANCY: Movie reviews of 78/52 and The Florida Project by Howard Casner
Posted: November 10, 2017 | Author: Donald | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 78/52, Alexander O. Philippe, Alfred Hitchcock, Bria Vinaite, Brooklyn Prince, Chris Bergoch, Danny Elfman, Elijah Wood, Guillermo del Toro, Jamie Lee Curtis, Marli Renfro, Martin Scorsese, Peter Bogdanovich, Psycho, Sean Baker, The Florida Project, Willem Dafoe | 10,907 Comments »
For questions: hcasner@aol.com
First, a word iefrom our sponsors: I am now offering a new service: so much emphasis has been given lately to the importance of the opening of your screenplay, I now offer coverage for the first twenty pages at the cost of $20.00. For those who don’t want to have full coverage on their screenplay at this time, but want to know how well their script is working with the opening pages, this is perfect for you. I’ll help you not lose the reader on page one.
Ever wonder what a reader for a contest or agency thinks when he reads your screenplay? Check out my new e-book published on Amazon: Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader, including my series of essays, What I Learned Reading for Contests This Year, and my film reviews of 2013. Only $2.99. http://ow.ly/xN31r
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Warning: SPOILERS
Writer/director Alexander O. Philippe’s 78/52 is not only everything you wanted to know about the infamous scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s seminal film Psycho that did for showers what Jaws would later do for Fourth of July swimming in the seas, but everything you didn’t know you wanted to know (the name derives from the set piece requiring 78 camera set ups and 52 shots).
There has always been something perverse, not just about all of Hitchcock’s oeuvre, but especially in Psycho.
It’s not just that the movie is horrifying and scares the shit out of you.
It’s not just that it’s somewhat mean spirited (not just to the audience, but to the characters on screen).
It’s just that you can tell Hitchcock is having fun killing someone in such a way that both terrifies the audience while making them enjoy it and then feel guilty about it.
MIXED DOUBLES: Movie Reviews of The Trust and The Nice Guys by Howard Casner
Posted: May 27, 2016 | Author: Donald | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Adam Hirsch, Alan Sharp, Alex Brewer, Angourie Rice, Anthony Bagarozzi, Arthur Penn, Benjamin Brewer, Chinatown, Elijah Wood, Jerry Lewis, Kim Basinger, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, L.A. Confidential, Leigh Bracket, Lethal Weapon, Lois Smith, Los Angeles Plays Itself, Matt Bomer, Myrna Loy, Nicholas Cage, Night Moves, Rififi, Robert Altman, Robert Benton, Robert Towne, Roman Polanski, Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Shane Black, The King of Comedy, The Late Show, The Long Goodbye, The Nice Guys, The Trust, Who Framed Roger Rabbit | 483 Comments »First, a word from our sponsors: I have just launched the indiegogo campaign for my short film 14 Conversations in 10 Minutes. Check it out http://ow.ly/SblO3005HHu. Below is a video sample of the short. Think about contributing (the lowest contribution is only $5.00). Please view and share anywhere and everywhere.
https://youtu.be/1S0HyFTwqAI
I am now offering a new consultation service: so much emphasis has been given lately to the importance of the opening of your screenplay, I now offer coverage for the first twenty pages at the cost of $20.00. For those who don’t want to have full coverage on their screenplay at this time, but want to know how well their script is working with the opening pages, this is perfect for you. I’ll help you not lose the reader on page one.
Ever wonder what a reader for a contest or agency thinks when he reads your screenplay? Check out my new e-book published on Amazon: Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader, including my series of essays, What I Learned Reading for Contests This Year, and my film reviews of 2013. Only $2.99. http://ow.ly/xN31r
and check out my Script Consultation Services: http://ow.ly/HPxKE
Warning: SPOILERS
The Trust, the new semi-caper film from writers Benjamin Brewer and Adam Hirsch and directed by Alex and Benjamin Brewer, starts out somewhat as a shaggy dog story. Which works rather well since the two central characters, both Las Vegas PD police officers (Nicholas Cage and Elijah Wood), look and act like mutts one might find at an animal shelter, desperate to be adopted before they end up in the incinerator.
The two decide to rob a convenience store after they notice that said store receives regular deliveries, large bags, which disappear inside the premises. In return, nothing comes out; nada; zip; not a thing. So what exactly are the owners hiding inside in that new, state of the art, almost impossible to get into, concrete and steel freezer that is just simply too high end for a mom and pop operation such as it is?
The two decide to go after a pig in a poke and break in and take whatever they can find. And though each have their own personal motivations (Wood’s character Waters is bored and burnt out, and Cage’s character Stone has ideas for the force that go underappreciated), in many ways they really do it for the best of all reasons—they can. Read the rest of this entry »
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