Tag Archives: tom cruise

Stand Up for Pain in the Oblivion of Pines

Posted on September 15, 2013 by rorydean

I watch so many movies I often get swept up in the effort to write about all of them in an effective and coherent way. Monday to Wednesday and I’m already behind, by Friday I’ll be right back here scrambling. This time I’m micro-reviewing, a handful of celluloid with the films Oblivion, Pain & Gain, Stand Up Guys and The Place Beyond The Pines. Continue reading →

Posted in Blu-ray, Movie I've Seen, Movies You Should or Should Not See, My Review of Their Review:, On DVD, Online, philosophy and film, Rants & Raves | Tagged above the line, al pacino, Alan Arkin, blue valentine, Bradley Cooper, Brian De Palma, bucket list, christopher walken, crazy stupid love, Derek Cianfrance, Die Hard, Joseph Ruben, Le Mecanisme de cineaste du jour, limitless, made for TV forgettable, michael bay, Mikael Salomon, miss it, moon, Movie Mechanic, oblivion, Pain & Gain, Paul Verhoeven, practical movie reviews, rory dean, ryan gosling, see it, silent running, stand up guys, the place beyond the pines, tom cruise, Wolfgang Petersen | 3 Comments

Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

Posted on August 3, 2013 by rorydean

Oliver Stone’s films live and breathe in the aether of happenstance and catastrophe, hand-wrung spaghetti noodles on the wall of Americana in Technicolor pasticcio, washed in controversy and teeming causticity. Driven by Stone’s familiar and articulate camera, his branded editing techniques and his signature bravado that makes heroes of all his criminal souls, Born on the 4th is quite easily among his best films. Continue reading →

Posted in Blu-ray, Essays on art, Essays on Film, Movie I've Seen, Movie Makers & Shakers, philosophy and film | Tagged 4th of July is about community and the celebration of togetherness, above the line, aether of happenstance and catastrophe, born on the fourth of july, Character actor, condemnation and awe, everyday Americana of the 1960s, Film, hollywood, Independence Day (United States), oliver stone, practical movie reviews, rory dean, savages, specter of curiosity, Stone, Stone's driving passion and ability to weave together history and fantasy, Stone's most salient talent is to empower his broken characters with gut-level verisimilitude, tom cruise, war movies | 3 Comments

Rock of Ages (2012)

Posted on November 4, 2012 by rorydean

Rock of Ages is like a bad rock set to pantomime…small town girl living in her small town world meets big stage falling star, broken people in a broken bar, small town boy joins in the dreaming, together they’ve got a shot at being uptown together but first everywhere success turns falling stars around.. I’m writing about this film to excise it from memory, to cauterize the wound, to get it out of my head and maybe in the process prevent others from the harm I experienced. I’m writing this in blood and tears. Continue reading →

Posted in Movie I've Seen, Movies You Should or Should Not See, My Review of Their Review:, On DVD, Rants & Raves | Tagged Adam Shankman, alec baldwin, Allan Loeb, Chris D'Arienzo, Def Leppard, Diego Boneta, hollywood, Julianne Hough, Justin Theroux, Musical theatre, Rock of Ages, Rottentomatoes, Russell Brand, tom cruise | 3 Comments

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011)

Posted on October 21, 2012 by rorydean

Ghost Protocol reminds us that action films don’t have to reinvent the wheel in order to entertain us at the movies. The best films meet us somewhere inside of new and familiar, between expectation and surprise. Action films rely on our willingness to let go of the railings of our lives, to seek adventure in the spectacle of the imagined and the possible. Mission Impossible is exciting and thoughtful, well acted and well written with clever scenarios and engaging characters, enlivened by expansive cinematography and special effects that put you in the world of the story. Continue reading →