IT’S A DISASTER: Movie Reviews of The Magnificent Seven and Deepwater Horizon by Howard Casner
Posted: October 4, 2016 | Author: Donald | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Akira Kurosawa, Antoine Fuqua, Battle Beyond The Stars, Byung-hun Lee, Chris Pratt, Colby Parker, Deepwater Horizon, Ethan Hawke, Gabriel Fleming, John Malcovich, Jr., Kurt Russell, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sensmeier, Matthew Michael Carnahan, Matthew Sand, Nic Pizzolatto, Peter Berg, Peter Sarsgaard, Richard Wenk, Steve Jablonsky, The Magnificent Seven, The Seven Samurai, Vincent D’Onofrio, Washington | 9 Comments »For questions: hcasner@aol.com
First, a word from our sponsors: I wanted to say thank you to everyone who contributed to our Indiegogo campaign for 15 Conversations in 10 Minutes. We did very well due to you folks. For those who weren’t able to give, keep us in your thoughts. And if you are able to contribute in the future, contact me and I’ll tell you how. I will even honor the perks on the original campaign.
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? FosCheck 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
Two films have opened as of late which have disaster in common. One falls into that genre and one almost is one.
There is one transcendent moment in the most recent version of The Magnificent Seven. It comes at the end as the credits begin by showing each of the characters. At this point, behind them, one can here the incredibly epic score by Elmer Bernstein from the 1960 version. It’s stirring, splendid, glorious, stunning…
Unfortunately, this tiny fraction of the movie only really ended up serving one purpose: it clearly reminded the audience of the earlier version, and not to the benefit of the present one, and only went to show how bland and uninteresting the music is when it comes to James Horner and Simon Franklin’s score for this Western remake of a remake (yes, it apparently took two people to come up with something so dull). Read the rest of this entry »
STAR TURNS: Movie reviews of Southpaw and Mr. Holmes by Howard Casner
Posted: August 6, 2015 | Author: Donald | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 50 Cent, Antoine Fuqua, Bill Condon, Forest Whitaker, Gods and Monsters, Ian McKellen, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jeffrey Hatcher, John Sessions, Kurt Sutter, Laura Linney, Milo Parker, Mr. Holmes, Oona Lawrence, Rachel McAdams, Southpaw | 1,142 Comments »First, a word from 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
and check out my Script Consultation Services: http://ow.ly/HPxKE
Warning: SPOILERS
I’m not about to say that director Antoine Fuqua is a great filmmaker by any means. But he is a solid craftsman of pieces of entertainment, perhaps one of the best around today. His films are technically impressive, satisfactorily written and they deliver the goods.
And Southpaw is no exception. It’s a movie that doesn’t take you anyplace new (in fact, it takes you to a myriad of places you’ve been before). And when it comes to, say, boxing movies, I don’t think it’s an insult to say he’s no Martin Scorsese (Raging Bull) or John Huston (Fat City).
At the same time, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed if all you want to do is spend a couple of hours being amused, diverted and distracted. And actually, if truth be told, Southpaw is probably a bit better than that.
I do think the main reason for this, as if I have to tell you, is the performance of Jake Gyllenhaal as the lead character Billy Hope (Hope?, really? Okay, sure why not). Striving very hard to be taken seriously as an actor since his Oscar nominated performance in Brokeback Mountain, he has pushed the boundaries of the types of character he plays in movies from Jarhead to Zodiac to his magnificent tour de force last year in the creepy, creepy Nightcrawler. Read the rest of this entry »
THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING, THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING: Movie review of The Equalizer by Howard Casner
Posted: October 11, 2014 | Author: Donald | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Antoine Fuqua, Bill Pullman, Chloȅ Grace Moretz, David Harbour, Denzel Washington, Edward Woodward, Marton Czokas, Melissa Leo, Michael Sloan, Richard Lindheim, Richard Wenk, The Equalizer | 1 Comment »First, a word from our sponsors. 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