The 2013 RopeofSilicon Movie Awards I was hesitant to actually do a sixth year of the RopeofSilicon Awards for a variety of reasons, but most of all due to the deluge of awards handed out for movies at this point in our culture. As it turns out, I'm glad I waited and I'm glad I decided to go forward with the Awards. As we've moved into 2014 it became clear there were not only films and performances from 2013 that were still resonating with audiences, but there were some that hadn't gotten the attention I felt they deserved. Therefore, these awards afforded me the opportunity to highlight some of those films and performances. Looking back, 2013 was something of a strange year for movies. It was a year dominated by big budget features, but while many of those blockbusters made lots of money, they fell quite flat in terms of overall audience reception. Films...
- 1/29/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Captain Phillips The wave of love and appreciation for movies today is interesting. When Captain Phillips was released you would have thought Tom Hanks was the greatest living actor and now today most everyone has dialed it back to "well, it was a pretty good final 15 minutes." Perhaps maybe once people watch it again at home they'll finally come around to agreeing with me that Danielle Albert also delivers a great performance. Maybe, but I'm not holding my breath.
It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (Criterion Collection) I've never seen Stanley Kramer's It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and Criterion calls it "the most grandly harebrained movie ever made" and a "sobering investigation of American greed". This Criterion release includes a new 197-minute extended version of the film making it sound like anyone that has yet to see it finally has a reason to do so along...
It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (Criterion Collection) I've never seen Stanley Kramer's It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and Criterion calls it "the most grandly harebrained movie ever made" and a "sobering investigation of American greed". This Criterion release includes a new 197-minute extended version of the film making it sound like anyone that has yet to see it finally has a reason to do so along...
- 1/21/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Tom Hanks has never been as emotionally naked as in the final five minutes of "Captain Phillips." It's a powerful catharsis after the harrowing ordeal with the Somali pirates, made all the more remarkable by the fact that it was unscripted and improvised with the actual medic on duty in the infirmary (Danielle Albert). I dissected the memorable scene with Hanks and director Paul Greengrass (watch below). Despite a very competitive race, it's generating buzz about a potential third Oscar for the popular actor. Turns out they shot the initial ending in which Phillips is alone for the first time after the rescue and gathers himself. But it didn't deliver the emotional impact they were seeking."The actual captain of the Bainbridge, Frank Castellano, was there observing us," Hanks recalls, "and we asked when he met Phillips and he said [that it wasn't until] after he came out of the infirmary. And we said,...
- 12/20/2013
- by Bill Desowitz
- Thompson on Hollywood
Captain Phillips hit theaters this past weekend and I would bet you could read any one of the positive reviews and they'll make reference to Tom Hanks' performance for his work as the real life captain of the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama, which was hijacked by a crew of Somali pirates in 2009. The performance is one that builds, much like the narrative, to the crowning final moments and a scene where Hanks completely knocks it out of the park, but he's not the only one. Warning: The rest of this post contains spoilers for the final moments of the film. Read on with caution if you haven not yet scene it. The scene I'm referencing arrives as a bloodied Captain Phillips boards one of the Navy ships trailing the scene. He's in complete and utter shock and is soon attended to by a Naval Hospital Corpsman. She...
- 10/14/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Paul Greengrass' Captain Phillips runs approximately 134 minutes long and as an audience member you feel pretty much every minute of that running time. However, it's the final 10-15 minutes where you stop being aware you're actually watching a movie and are thoroughly entrenched in the ordeal at hand. Based on the true story of the titular commander of the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama, which was hijacked in 2009 by a crew of Somali pirates, there is an ebb and flow to Captain Phillips that does result in some down moments. The plot occasionally seems to be spinning in circles and small portions could have been snipped, but by the time the credits roll you'll only be left thinking of the devastating state you were left in with everything else just a blur. While the two films don't bear an immediate resemblance, Captain Phillips finds kinship with Zero Dark Thirty,...
- 10/11/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
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