And the Superhero Bracket Winner is……

After 30+ weeks and a crap ton of hard work… the 1st Annual Cinemit Superhero Bracket has come to a close.

We would like to thank the people responsible for the thousands of votes we received and we look forward to next years Superhero Bracket and a Mystery Bracket I’ve concocted that will be debuting in the coming weeks!!

But without further ado…

The 2013-2014 Cinemit Best Superhero Movie of All Time Winner is….

Earth’s Mightiest Heroes prevailed after an epic (and I mean epic) battle with The Dark Knight…

Congratulations to Marvel, Joss Whedon and the actors that made The Avengers the greatest superhero movie of all voted by YOU….the fans of Cinemit

Review: Hateship Loveship- Directed by Liza Johnson

MOVIE

Hateship Loveship

CAST

Kristen Wiig, Guy Pearce, Hailee Steinfeld, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Sami Gayle, Christine Lahti and Nick Nolte

RATING

R

RELEASE

April 11, 2014

DIRECTOR

Liza Johnson

STUDIO

IFC Films

RUNNING TIME

1 hour 44 minutes

REVIEW:

2013 has been quite a year for Kristen Wiig; artistically speaking. The once pronounced new “Queen of Comedy” after the release of her widely successful movie Bridesmaids, Wiig has transformed her career; electing to star in more Independent dramas and less slap stick comedies. Hateship Loveship continues that trend. Liza Johnson directs this adaptation of Alice Munro’s short story about a shy, unsophisticated housekeeper who falls victim to a cruel prank by some young high school girls which yields an unexpected outcome, one that will change her life forever.

Johanna Perry (Wiig) is a young quiet housemaid who moves to a new town after her current employer suddenly passes away. Johanna is offered a position as a housekeeper for Mr. McCauley (Nolte) and to be caretaker for McCauley’s granddaughter, Sabitha (Steinfeld), who is living with her grandfather after the passing of her mother and the incarceration of her father Ken (Pearce). Years have passed and Ken has been freed from prison, he is trying to build a relationship with his daughter and make peace with his father in law after being responsible for the death of Sabitha’s mother Marcel. Johanna becomes acquainted with Ken, Sabitha and Sabitha’s best friend Edith (Gayle) and begins her new life with the McCauley’s. Several day pass and a letter arrived from Ken to Johanna thanking her for taking care of his daughter; Johanna responds back to Ken’s letter.

After agreeing to mail Johanna’s letter, Edith decides that her and Sabitha play a joke and convince her that Sabitha’s father Ken is interested in her romantically.  The girls set up an email address for Ken and begin to correspondence with Johanna. After several emails, Johanna decides to visit Ken in Chicago and begin their life together. Johanna arrives and finds that her long distance romance was a farce and the reality about the man she’s fallen in love with is far from a fairy tale. But will this surprising circumstance help Ken and Johanna to find what has been missing in each others lives or will it create a deeper disconnect from the reality of their already uneventful lives?

Hateship Loveship is a melancholy film about lost souls and their need to find a resolution to their unusual lives. The performance by Kristen Wiig is adequate for the role she is portraying but she lacks an emotional presence to connect to her audience which is sorely needed. Guy Pearce is lackluster as the drug addict dad turned love interest. His journey to redemption is muted by uneven story telling and a lack of substance. The supporting cast of Hailee Steinfeld, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Sami Gayle, Christine Lahti and Nick Nolte is poorly underutilized and the character development is almost non-existent. The film’s pacing is sluggish and director Johnson’s execution of the script by Mark Poirier provides more low lights than highlights. A film with as much promise as Hateship Loveship deserves a much better fate.

Stars:

2 1/2 out of 5

Trailer:

Review: Grand Piano- Directed by Eugenio Mira

MOVIE

Grand Piano

CAST

Elijah Wood, John Cusack, Kerry Bishé, Don McManus, Allen Leech, Tamsin Egerton and Alex Winter

RATING

R

RELEASE

March 7, 2014

DIRECTOR

Eugenio Mira

STUDIO

Magnet Releasing

RUNNING TIME

1 hour 30 minutes

REVIEW:

Stage fright is given a new meaning in this Brian De Palma-esque thriller about a concert pianist and the gun man who is targeting him. Directed by Eugenio Mira, Grand Piano is surprisingly well written and even more surprisingly well executed film which creates an atmosphere of both anxiousness and desperation in both the actors portraying the roles and the audience watching the events unfold. Grand Piano hits enough right notes from the intro to the coda to excite and amaze.

Tom Selznick (Wood) is a world renowned concert pianist, who returns to the stage after five years absence. In his last notorious performance, Tom broke down during the performance of a piece by his late mentor, which lead to his fear of the stage and his subsequent retirement from the spotlight. Lead by long time friend and conductor Reisinger (McManus), Tom returns to the stage after some coaxing from his famous actress wife Emma (Bishé) to perform at a tribute for his late mentor by playing his gorgeous 97-key Bosendorfer grand piano. Once Tom begins to perform, an unexpected surprise lies on the pages of the sheet music. A warning in big bold red lettering threatening to murder him and his wife Emma is he does not perform the music flawlessly.

After receiving an earpiece to communicate with his tormentor, Clem (Cusack) reiterates his intentions to kill and his demand for a error free performance. Tom begins to search for any way out of his predicament. Clem informs Tom that if he contacts or signals anyone to tell them of his situation he will kill Emma. As the gun man begins to verbalize himself aggressively in order to agitate his victim, Tom becomes flustered and a sense of anxiety begins to set in. Will Tom be able to control his nerves just enough to delivering a performance that not only saves his career, but his very life?

At the center of this film are two spectacular actors who create a believability out of the unlikeliest of scenarios and immerse themselves into a battle of wills. Elijah Wood carries this film from beginning to end. His performance captures his characters emotional and physical limitations through his mountain of fears and his need to complete his journey to self redemption. John Cusack is menacing and manipulative as the antagonist of the film. His performance in mainly limited to his vocal work and less on his physicality but he creates a tone that every syllable spoken must be taken seriously for fear of the outcome. Director Eugenio Mira captured the essence of the Damien Chazelle script and created a film worthy of praise. But this is not to say this is a perfect movie. The film falls short of the mark in the third act, and the build up all but feels like a let down. But the reveal at the end adds a level on intrigue which will keep audiences wondering.  

Grand Piano doesn’t play as flawlessly as its protagonist, but it plays with a passion that demands to be taken seriously.

Stars:

3 out of 5

Trailer:

Review: The Railway Man- Directed by Jonathan Teplitzky

MOVIE

The Railway Man

CAST

Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Stellan Skarsgård, Jeremy Irvine, Tanroh Ishida, Sam Reid, Tom Stokes, Tom Hobbs, and Hiroyuki Sanada

RATING

R

RELEASE

April 11, 2014

DIRECTOR

Jonathan Teplitzky

STUDIO

The Weinstein Company

RUNNING TIME

1 hour 56 minutes

REVIEW:

I am sucker for movies about the greatest generation. I have so much respect and admiration for the thousands upon thousands of men and women who fought for freedom and resolved to stop evil during World War II. So many stories of loss and sacrifice, so many tales of bravery and courage. The Railway Man is the story of all of that and something seldomly seen when discussing this war; a story of forgiveness and redemption.

Eric Lomax (Firth) is a Railway enthusiast and former lieutenant in the British Army as a member of the Royal Corps of Signals. Lomax has suffered traumatic hardships during the war and has struggled through life for the past few decades trying to piece together a life worth living. During a train ride to Scotland, Eric meets Patti (Kidman), a pretty nurse who Lomax ultimately falls in love with and marries. Soon Patti is introduced to Eric’s nightmares of torture from the war. Trying to help Eric, Patti reaches out to former platoon mate and current friend Finlay (Skarsgård) to ask for help in understanding what is going on with Eric and help him cope with his traumas. Finlay begins to tell their tale as prisoners of war.

The platoon was captured by the Japanese following the surrender of Singapore in February 1942. Following their capture Lomax (now played by Irvine), Finlay (now played by Reid) along with platoon mates Withins (Stokes), and Thorlby (Hobbs) were taken to a POW camp in Kanchanaburi, Thailand and forced to work on the Thai-Burma Railway. After conspiring to make a receiver to hear radio reports about the progress of the war, the four of them are captured and forced to confess. Lomax is taken away from the group and tortured for weeks on end.

Understanding the pain her husband has endured, Patti vows to help him in any way possible. The elder Finlay, presents an opportunity to help Eric move past his trauma. Finlay has located Nagase (Sanada), the man who was responsible for torturing Eric almost 40 years prior. The choice is to tell Eric that the man that ruined his life is alive and allow him to seek his revenge or simply dismiss the information and attempt to help in another way. Once presented to Eric the decision is clear; there can be no peace without confrontation, but will he seek revenge or allow for redemption to prevail.

Director Jonathan Teplitzky brings Lomax’s autobiography to the screen with care and without allowing sentimentality to dictate the telling of the story. Colin Firth is phenomenal as the ailing Lomax in his finest performance since The King’s Speech. Nicole Kidman is warm and endearing as the woman who will stop at nothing to aid the man she loves. Hiroyuki Sanada‘s performance as a man seeking redemption for past atrocities is captivating and his interactions with Firth are compelling. Jeremy Irvine is stupendous as the younger Lomax. His portrayal of torture and despair is as gripping as you’ll find in any war drama.

The Railway Man is a film filled with loss and regret that allows a glimmer of hope in an attempt let go of a lifetime of bitterness and hate. This movie is a must see.

Stars:

3 1/2 out of 5

Trailer:

Review: Joe- Directed by David Gordon Green

MOVIE

Joe

CAST

Nicolas Cage, Tye Sheridan, Gary Poulter, Ronnie Gene Blevins, Adriene Mishler and AJ Wilson McPhaul

RATING

R

RELEASE

April 11, 2014

DIRECTOR

David Gordon Green

STUDIO

Lionsgate

RUNNING TIME

1 hour 58 minutes

REVIEW:

To say Nicolas Cage had lost his creative way would be an understatement. The past several years have found the once Academy Award winning actor scraping the direct to video barrel and becoming somewhat of a laughing stock of the acting industry.  Joe offers Nicolas Cage and a chance to change that perception.  Directed by David Gordan Green, best known for his comedic film Pineapple Express and the hit HBO comedy Eastbound and Down, the last several years have been filled with poorly received feature films and box office failures.  Can actor and director find solace in a story of a man teetering between redemption and ruin?

Joe is the story of two lost souls crossing paths at the time when both needed the friendship. Joe (Cage) is a supervisor of a blue-collar tree clearing work crew in rural Mississippi. Joe is a mild mannered, no-nonsense man who expects a good days work for a good days pay. Inside, Joe is a man who struggles to control an issue with alcoholic fits of rage and lives with past mistakes which lead to a stint in prison. Joe has earned the respect of the workers he employs and the people for whom he surrounds himself.

Gary (Sheridan) is a child of domestic abuse. He lives his life to provide for his mother and sister while dealing with the continuous alcoholic rage of his abusive father Wade (Poulter). Gary is a boy who’s seen the worse in life and continues to make the best of what he has for the betterment of his family no matter what it costs him. He is a hard worker and a loyal employee to Joe and the two become friends. This friendship will leads both man and boy’s paths though life in a new direction. But not everyone wants to be friends with Joe. A local drunk named Willie (Blevins) has a beef with Joe which leads to a violent outburst and leaves Joe seeking revenge. Gary’s father, who can’t hold a job and whose alcoholic antics lead him resent Gary for the man he’s becoming, takes a turn to an even darker place which will change everyone’s life forever.

Working from Gary Hawkins’s adaptation of Larry Brown’s 1991 novel, director David Gordon Green does a superb job of bringing these characters to life. The landscape of this decaying rural town amplifies the severity of the this impoverished community which allows for the audience to become immersed into each characters development. Nicolas Cage is a tour de force as the ex-con struggling to survive this violent impulses. Cage’s performance rivals those which one him critical acclaim a decade ago. Tye Sheridan continues to show exceptional screen prowess following up his head turning performance in last years Mud with yet another stellar outing. But the real stand out performance of Joe comes from Gary Poulter, who before being given the role was a homeless alcoholic. You could feel Poulter’s performance was pulling from a dark reality from which he was obviously all too familiar. Poulter’s haunting performance stood toe to toe with the intensity of Cage’s and provided a realism to the film unmatched by anyone in the cast. Sadly, Poulter passed shortly after the filming was completed.

Joe is a movie that provides the audience a reality of alcoholism and poverty seldom seen. Its a picture of rural America that we forget exists because it’s too painful to remember. They say reality is always stranger than fiction, but when reality embodies that same fiction the way that Joe does, its as beautiful a creation as you’ll find.

Stars:

3 1/2 out of 5

Trailer:

Superhero Bracket- The Finals!

After many long weeks and lots of tallying the Superhero Bracket has reached its final leg. The battles have been epic and the finals will be no different..

DC vs Marvel….

One more time for Cinematic Supremacy!

The Avengers vs The Dark Knight

For all the marbles….

Vote!

Review: Last Passenger- Directed by Omid Nooshin

 

MOVIE

Last Passenger

CAST

Dougray Scott, Kara Tointon, Iddo Goldberg, David Schofield, Joshua Kaynama and Lindsay Duncan

RATING

R

RELEASE

April 25th, 2014

DIRECTOR

Omid Nooshin

STUDIO

Cohen Media Group

RUNNING TIME

1 hour 37 minutes

REVIEW:

Runaway train is not an overly original concept but that’s the premise from first time director Omid Nooshin. Despite the simplistic storyline, the film takes a non conventional approach to its execution offering more Hitchcockian and less Bruckheimer in this low budget thriller. The film follows a group of passengers on the night train who suddenly find themselves thrown together to stop a train barreling down the tracks towards uncertain doom. Is Last Passenger worth the trip?

The story begins with Lewis Shaler (Scott), doctor and single father, traveling home after a night out with his son Max (Kaynama) on the night train home from London. When Lewis leaves Max to take a call from his hospital, fellow passenger Sarah (Tointon) stops to see if Max is OK. Upon returning to his son, Lewis notices that Max has spilled Sarah’s coffee on her coat and offers to pay for the cleaning. The pair hit it off instantaneously but their budding romance is stalled when Shaler realizes that the train has sped past his stop. After finding the train conductor missing, Lewis tries to contact the trains driver to find that the trains engineer has been replaced by a mysterious man at the helm. Lewis meets Peter (Schofield) a businessman who’s irritated by the disturbance of Lewis’ actions and dismisses the notion of a runaway train. The two are joined by Jan (Goldberg), loud-mouthed Russian Underground worker and they begin to realize that Lewis is right and the train has been hijacked.  The passengers must find a way to stop the train and save their lives before time runs out.

Director Nooshin has created a surprisingly well made thriller which focuses more on the interactions of its cast and less on big action set pieces and visual effects. The addition of a certain level of intrigue adds to the execution of the film and leaves you wondering if everyone is who they say they are. Dougray Scott is a serviceable protagonist and holds the film together well. Kara Tointon does a sufficient job as the love interest, but the romantic overtones are meaningless and offer little to the film once it gets started. Veteran thespian David Schofield turns in a note worthy performance as does newcomer Joshua Kaynama as Scott’s son, but it is Goldberg who stands out in this film. Iddo Goldberg‘s portrayal of a Russian maintenance worker, while somewhat over the top, is enjoyable and adds a dimension of humor to the role of Jan. The mix of actors is the main reason why Last Passenger ultimately works.

Omid Nooshin has proven that he can create a well made movie on a shoe string budget and the future is very bright for this young director. Last Passenger will entertain you from beginning to end. Take this one to the last stop, you won’t regret it.

Stars:

3 out of 5

Trailer:

Review: Transcendence- Directed by Wally Pfister

MOVIE

Transcendence

CAST

Johnny Depp, Rebecca Hall, Paul Bettany, Cillian Murphy, Kate Mara, Clifton Collins Jr., Cole Hauser and Morgan Freeman,

RATING

PG-13

RELEASE

April 18th, 2014

DIRECTOR

Wally Pfister

STUDIO

Warner Bros

RUNNING TIME

1 hour 59 minutes

REVIEW:

Since strapping on the pirates outfit in 2003, eclectic actor Johnny Depp’s movies have gone on to gross billions of dollars making him the most marketable actor in Hollywood these days and rightfully so. The luxury afforded to such actors is the opportunity to do any movie that he chooses; the question that scratches many heads these days is why Mr. Depp chooses the movies he does. Transcendence, from first time director Wally Pfister, whom was Christopher Nolan’s cinematographer for the past twelve years, seems to be a great choice of roles for the 50 year old actor; but as with many things that involve Christopher Nolan, looks sometimes can be deceiving. Transcendence leaves a lot to be desired.

Dr. Will Caster (Depp) is an artificial intelligence researcher who, along with his wife Evelyn (Hall), are trying to create a machine which possesses technological singularity. To possess this would mean that the machine would have progressed to the point of a greater-than-human intelligence, radically changing civilization, and perhaps human nature. A radical terrorist group named RIFT lead by a woman named Bree (Mara) plan a series of attacks across the country on labs whose technological work threatens to unleash this type of A.I and threaten the future of the human race. After completing a speech on the topic of his research, Will is shot by a RIFT solider and hospitalized.

Upon his release from the hospital, Will, his wife and long time friend Max Waters (Bettany) are taken to Will’s office where an old colleague, Joseph Tagger (Freeman) and Agent Buchanan of the FBI (Murphy) are waiting to discuss the progress of Will’s research. After falling ill to what could be an infection from the gunshot wound, Will finds out that the bullet he was shot with with a radioactively-tainted bullets and only has weeks to live. Feeling that Will’s research has come so far and is right for experimentation, Evelyn, along with Max decide to convince Will to allow them to upload his brain into the hard drives of the same A.I that Will has already created. The plan proves to be successful and Will’s A.I becomes self aware. He seeks to change the world but he requires an exorbitant amount of power to achieve his goal. With Evelyn’s help, Will’s quest begins.

Transcendence plays similar to past Nolan pictures and you’d expect nothing less from a long time colleague. Director Wally Pfister shows all the signs of being able to sit in the big chair but without the experience. Written by another first timer, Jack Paglen, the script leaves the actors with more fluff and less substance in the dialogue. The story involves an ensemble cast left with little to do and no real reason to exist in the plot. The performances between Depp and Hall are played out with little emotional connection for the audience to latch onto. Depp’s portrayal of the A.I is also very lackluster and needing of a bit more direction that fails to exist from the rookie director. Paul Bettany’s performance is wooden in appearance and lethargic in execution. The supporting cast of Kate Mara, Morgan Freeman are incredibly underused and are clearly pivotal roles for the execution of this film, but each offers very little more than a few interactions with the lead roles and some filler screen time. Clifton Collins Jr. provides an ample performance which adds a little interesting twist to the story, but not enough to save this film. Someone told me Cole Hauser was in the film…I literally must’ve blinked and missed him.

Transcendence is a film that will leave you with a lot more questions than answers. Its a film that starts off with much promise but ultimately fails in its attempt to entertain. Another swing and miss for Mr. Depp. I hope his future is a lot brighter than this picture.

Stars:

2 out of 5

Trailer:

Superhero Bracket – The Final Four!

The votes have been counted and the Final Four combatants is complete…its been a hard road to the Final Four for these amazing films but now they will do battle to find out who is going to go toe to toe for the championship

In a battle of Marvel we have

The Avengers (starring Iron Man) vs Iron Man (also starring…Iron Man)

the winner of that matchup will face winner of

The Dark Knight (not starring Iron Man but starring Batman) vs X-Men: First Class (starring neither)

This weeks voting will be a little different…we will ask you to chose 2 winners (so a winner from each matchup for the slow people in the room)

Next week we will have our Final Battle…so check back April 20th to see who made the championship matchup

Best Sports Movies of All Time

Oh no! Another Best of List from Petrocs! Yes yes…its that time again..another subjective list to open the flood gates and allow for some spirited discussions on what is included, what was omitted, and what the hell was I thinking! This time we are going to tackle the sports movies and see if we can nail down a list that most people can “live with”. So without further ado…the best sports movies of all time.

10- Dogtown and Z-Boys- An all time favorite of mine and one nearest and dearest to my heart. A documentary about the creation of the Zephyr skate board team in the 1970’s. Directed by skate pioneer and Z-boy, Stacy Peralta, no film has captured the essence of the skate board community quite like this film. A must see for all skate enthusiasts

9- Remember The Titans- The story of Herman Boone, an American American football coach who was sent to T.C. Williams High School in 1971 and was tasked with making a group of white and black players and creating a team that will work together. This is the best football movie of all time in my humble opinion.

8- Bull Durham- The ONLY romantic comedy on the list. The story of Crash Davis, a veteran catcher who was tasked to teach a rookie pitcher the ropes. The movie is based on the experiences of minor leaguer Ron Shelton, who also wrote the movie. The movie is pure comedic gold and should be enjoyed by everyone at least once.

7- The Wrestler- Darren Aronofsky incredible story of an aged professional wrestler and his struggles to create a new life outside the ring. Mickey Rourke is nothing short of spectacular. The story is one of the most heartbreaking you may ever witness.

6- Slap Shot- A hilarious movie about an aging player, coach named Reggie Dunlop who tries to help his failing ice hockey team the Chiefs find success through the use of “goon” hockey. Still funny all these years later. Paul Newman is fantastic and the Hanson brothers will live forever in infamy!

5- Field of Dreams- If you build it, they will come. A come they did. The story of Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella who hears a voice in his corn field and decides to build a baseball field on his farm. Upon doing so, the ghosts of Shoeless Joe Jackson and the other seven Chicago White Sox players appear. But that’s no all who shows up. Starring Kevin Costner, the story that will make ever man cry and ever dad hug their son just a tiny bit harder.

4- Miracle- The story of the US men’s hockey team who, led by coach Herb Brooks, were victorious over the seemingly invincible Soviet team at the 1980 games in Lake Placid. They also went on to win the gold medal. Still the one movie that sends chills straight down by spine. One of the biggest moments in Olympic sports history.

3- Hoosiers- A movie about a small-town Indiana high school team who won the state championship in 1954. Starring Gene Hackman, Barbara Hershey and Dennis Hopper and widely regarded as the greatest basketball movie ever made. I tend to agree with this statement.

2- Raging Bull- The story of an Italian American prize fighter Jake La Motta, who’s rage inside the ring made him champ, but outside the ring ruined his family relationships. Directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro.

1- Rocky- The story of a struggling boxer trying to make the big time who is given an opportunity to fight the heavyweight champion of the world, Apollo Creed, and makes the best of his opportunity. The movie, written by Sylvester Stallone, went on to win the Best Picture and become an instant classic. Easily my favorite sports movie of all time.