Christopher Llewellyn Reed's Blog, page 73
July 14, 2015
Sixth Episode of “Reel Talk” (Final of the 2014-2015 Season) Is Now Available
The sixth episode of Reel Talk with Christopher Llewellyn Reed – the final of our 2014-2015 season – is now available on HCC-TV. My guest this time was Jack Gerbes, Director, Maryland Film Office. We reviewed three current films: Amy, Ted 2 and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. In Howard County, Maryland, you can watch the episode on Channel 41 (if you’re a Verizon customer) […]
Sixth Episode of “Reel Talk” (Final of the 2015-2016 Season) Is Now Available
The sixth episode of Reel Talk with Christopher Llewellyn Reed – the final of our 2015-2016 season – is now available on HCC-TV. My guest this time was Jack Gerbes, Director, Maryland Film Office. We reviewed three current films: Amy, Ted 2 and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. In Howard County, Maryland, you can watch the episode on Channel 41 (if you’re a Verizon customer) […]
July 10, 2015
The New Documentary “Amy” Is a Powerful Pop-Culture Nightmare for Our Time
Amy (Asif Kapadia, 2015) Amy is a brutal documentary about the initial triumphs and ultimate tragedy of the enormously talented British jazz singer Amy Winehouse, who died, in 2011, of alcohol poisoning at only 27 years of age. Blessed with a magnetically sultry voice and the ability to sing just about any kind of music – […]
The Despicable “Minions” Proffer a Chuckle and Occasional Laugh
Minions (Kyle Balda/Pierre Coffin, 2015) If you’re looking for a new family film to which to bring the little ones, look no further than Minions, a prequel (of sorts) to Despicable Me and Despicable Me 2. If you remember, the “minions” are those little yellow creatures – some one-eyed, some two-eyed, all with goggles – who serve the villain (of […]
“Self/less” Needs Less Stupid
Self/less (Tarsem Singh, 2015) Poor Ryan Reynolds. He’s a charming enough screen presence, yet so often chooses projects of such mediocrity that he just can’t quite rise into the Hollywood A-List. In big-budget flops like Green Lantern, RIPD and now (I predict) Self/less, the problem is not him. He’s fine. As always, he’s extremely likable and capable. It’s the script […]
July 9, 2015
Let the Geekz n the Hood Hook You on “Dope”
Dope (Rick Famuyiwa, 2015) American Graffiti meets Risky Business meets Boyz n the Hood meets Friday. That’s all I have to say. And then some. Director Rick Famuyiwa (Our Family Wedding) has fashioned a highly entertaining and extremely intelligent comedy about self-professed high-school geeks in the rough gang-infested neighborhood of Inglewood, California, who suddenly find themselves unwittingly involved in the very […]
July 8, 2015
“Infinitely Polar Bear” Shines through the Madness
Infinitely Polar Bear (Maya Forbes, 2014) [A quick and full disclosure: Maya Forbes and I not only share a college alma mater, but also graduated in the same year from that institution. That said, I never knew her, though we have at least one friend in common. Until this movie was released, I hadn’t heard her […]
July 7, 2015
Midday on Jurassic Summer: Blockbusters and Indies of Summer 2015
We’re back and ready to review the films of the summer blockbuster season – those in theaters, those that have come and might be gone soon, and those about to be released – and make our recommendations of what to see and what to avoid. From big studio offerings like Jurassic World (currently the #1 film of the year) and Inside Out – both in […]
July 5, 2015
Triumphs and Failures in Historical Cinefiction: “Love & Mercy” vs. “A Little Chaos”
“Qu’est-ce que le cinéma?” (“What is the cinema?”), asked the great French film theorist André Bazin. The simple act of posing the question is enough to force us to consider the idea that film – like all art forms – needs a raison d’être. There must be properties unique to the moving image that make us […]
July 3, 2015
Join “The Overnight” Party for Frivolous (NFSW) Fun
The Overnight (Patrick Brice, 2015) I saw this film back in March, at the annual SXSW Festival, and loved it. After two documentaries on Day 1 that left me cold, I finally hit the screening jackpot with this raunchy sex comedy from the director of Creep (which I had missed at the previous year’s festival). Starring Taylor Schilling (“Orange […]
