As someone who regularly rides the subways of New York City, I am intrigued by a new movie montage video by Jonathan Hertzberg. Hertzberg put together a collection of film clips that feature the New York City subway system of the 1970s and 1980s.
Featured films include The French Connection (1971), Little Murders (1971), Nighthawks (1981), Saturday Night Fever (1977), The Warriors (1979), The Last Detail (1973), Serpico (1973), Bananas (1971), Death Wish (1974), Night Shift (1982), The Brother From Another Planet (1984), and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (the 1974 original, not the 2009 remake). Hertzberg does a great job of putting together the clips in the way that makes it seem like one movie with Charles Bronson and Woody Allen on the same subway car. Check it out.
Slate writes a little more about the video, noting that it is a work in progress and Hertzberg will be adding other films.
What is your favorite New York Subway scene in a movie? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Although Help! (1965) never gets the same attention as A Hard Day’s Night (1964), the 1965 film from the Beatles is getting a special restored Blu-ray release. To celebrate, the company is giving viewers some outtakes and behind-the-scenes video on the making of the Beatles’ second film.
Help! was directed by Richard Lester, and of course it starred John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. The plot involves a cult seeking a ring stuck on Ringo’s finger, and, well, there is a lot of Beatles music.
What is your favorite Beatles movie? Leave your two cents in the comments.
There are various legends about things going on in movies that go by too fast at normal speed to verify, like the legend that there is a hanging munchkin in the background of a scene of The Wizard of Oz (1939). And what about that Stormtrooper banging his head in Star Wars (1977)? The advent of VCRs and DVDs helped add to the myths, as people paused the scenes to see them in more detail. Sometimes the pausing confirms the legends, sometimes it rebuts the legends, and sometimes the pausing just gives us more to argue about. WatchMojo recently compiled some of the most famous paused movie moments and put them together in this interesting video. Check it out.
What is your favorite paused movie moment? Leave your two cents in the comments.
World War Z(2013), starring Brad Pitt and directed by Marc Forster, is about what you expect from the preview. And that may be a good or a bad thing, depending on what you expect. I found it to be a fun ride with some high-tension scary scenes (without long shots of gore). Just make sure you are not holding your soda during one of the many times something jumps out at you, especially if you see the movie in 3-D like I did.
The movie follows the beginning of an outbreak of zombies attacking people around the world, as Brad Pitt tries to get his family in Philadelphia to safety. Then, Pitt is called upon by his former employer at the U.N to go on a global journey to try to track down how the zombie outbreak started and to find a way to stop it from spreading.
If you are a fan of the book by Max Brooks, World War Z, which I have not read, my understanding from others is that the movie only has one thing in common with the book. While the movie has made me interested in delving into the book’s deeper subtext, the superficiality of the movie is not necessarily a bad thing if your expectations are adjusted.
Conclusion? I will not go into greater detail to ruin what happens in the movie, but if you are looking for a summer popcorn movie with some excitement that does not require too much thinking, check out World War Z. Maybe I even will watch the sequel.
Other Reviews Because Why Should You Trust Me? According to Rotten Tomatoes, critics do not especially love World War Z (with a 67% rating), but audiences like it better (with an 86% rating). Peter Travers at Rolling Stone finds the movie is a “pleasant, suspenseful surprise.” Mark Kermode at The Observer, though, finds that the movie lacks a sustainable pulse.
What did you think of World War Z? Leave your two cents in the comments.
In the new trailer for Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, the sequel to 2004’s Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, we see that the famous San Diego news team led by Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) goes to New York City in the era of 24-hour news. The change in setting offers some promise that the new film will come up with some new laughs.
The trailer reveals that key characters Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), Champ Kind (David Koechner) and Brick Tamland (Steve Carell) return to the screen with Burgundy. Slate, which critiques the trailer, notes that reported cameos in the film include Kanye West, Tina Fey, Harrison Ford, Will Smith, and Nicole Kidman. Such an esteemed group ensures the movie will stay classy.
Do you think Anchorman 2 can match Anchorman’s laughs? Leave your two cents in the comments.
