The After Movie Diner Video Review 1 - Avengers 2: Age of Ultron
These were my initial thoughts on seeing the film. I hope to cover it in more depth on a podcast soon.
I am looking to do more video reviews so please suggestions suggestions. That would be great!
The Purge: Anarchy T-Shirt and Flashlight GIVEAWAY!
The New Founders of America invite you to celebrate your annual right to Purge.
The Purge: Anarchy follows an unlikely group of five citizens who, over the course of the night, are hunted across the city in a kill-or-be-killed series of survival scenarios during the annual Purge.
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We have ONE official The Purge: Anarchy Prize Pack to award to one lucky reader!
The Purge: Anarchy Prize Pack includes:
- The Purge: Anarchy Promo T-shirt (size L)
- The Purge: Anarchy Promo Flashlight
Giveaway ONLY open to people in the U.S.
Each household is only eligible to win One (1) Purge Prize Pack via blog reviews and giveaways. Only one entrant per mailing address per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you will not be eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.
HOW TO WIN:
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Bad Words
Jason Bateman makes his directorial debut with this R Rated indie comedy that sees him attempting to drop his Mr.Put-Upon-Nice-Guy persona while starring in a film that doesn't exactly work without it.
Bateman plays Guy Trilby a foul mouthed, negative, man-child with a savant way with words who has, through a loop-hole and with the support of reporter Kathryn Hahn, entered the Golden Quill spelling bee much to the chagrin of it's organisers Allison Janney and Philip Baker Hall and the parents of the children, the other participants.
The film is a short, well acted and competently directed, verbal, indie comedy. The humour is, at times, very rude, crude but pleasingly inventive and Bateman, especially, seems to be relishing the role. Good thing too as he holds the whole thing together.
Which is more than can be said for the script. The tagline to the film is 'the end justifies the mean' and the fact of the matter is, it really doesn't. Whether you find spelling competitions important or not, nothing really justifies the cruelty Guy Trilby unleashes on, not only, the people directly involved in the competition but just general people in the world, funny though a lot of it is. His personal vendetta effects way more people than the actual, solitary focus of it and I guess it's just down to Bateman's like-ability as an actor, the genuinely funny dialogue and the fact that we are stuck following him for the whole movie that keeps us, the audience, dubiously 'on his side'.
There is a sub-plot about his befriending a child, a fellow contestant, and 'tearing up' the town with him in the evenings which, I suppose, is intended to endear him to us a little and play to the rebel in all of us but some of the things they do, including causing a stolen lobster to lacerate a man's genitals, seem a tad cruel for no reason, as well.
Now before you think I am taking this all too seriously, let me explain. The film IS funny. Taken on face value, if you find vicious, dark, crude humour for the sake of it funny, then you are going to love it and there was much about it I did enjoy. Films, however, whether people like it or not, have to have characters, plots and motivations that make relative sense within their presented frame work and while "it's just a comedy" may excuse a lot of illogical or unforgivably cruel behaviour, the fact that the film, ultimately, asks us to give a hoot about this selfish, arrogant arse hole of a man means that we have to, at least, buy into the story and care a little, when it doesn't give us a lot of satisfactory reasons to.
Had he participated in the contest without cheating and eliminating some of his opponents in humiliating ways or had he befriended the kid, torn round the town but not hurt a man's penis with a large clawed sea creature then his character might have been a little more redeemable, while being no less funny.
There are echoes of Wes Anderson in the characters and the plot, especially Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums without, of course, it being anywhere nearly as charmingly presented or stylish.
A worthy debut, though, for Bateman as a director and interesting to see the R Rated comedy given the mumble core indie treatment.
7 out of 10
All Is Lost: 2 FREE MOVIE TICKETS & Interactive Movie Poster
Plot Synopsis: Academy Award® winner Robert Redford stars in All Is Lost, an open-water thriller about one man’s battle for survival against the elements after his sailboat is destroyed at sea. But with the sun unrelenting, sharks circling and his meager supplies dwindling, the ever-resourceful sailor soon finds himself staring his mortality in the face.
Written and directed by Academy Award nominee J.C. Chandor (Margin Call) with a musical score by Alex Ebert (Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros), All Is Lost is a gripping, visceral and powerfully moving tribute to ingenuity and resilience.
All Is Lost opens in NY and LA October 18, nationwide October 25th.
Reviewers say:
“OFF THE SCALE BRILLIANT” - Emma Pritchard Jones. THE HUFFINGTON POST
"ROBERT REDFORD DELIVERS A TOUR DE FORCE PERFORMANCE” - Pete Hammond. DEADLINE
Watch the Trailer:
ENTERING THE GIVEAWAY:
In order to be eligible to win you must do 1 of the following
1. Share your personal ALL IS LOST survival story! Has there ever been a time where you thought... All Is Lost? Please post your stories in our comments section for a giveaway entry.
2. Share the All Is Lost poster or your favourite Gif from above on your blog, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr or Facebook and include a link to www.aftermoviediner.com, then post us a link to it in the comments below.
3. Share your favourite After Movie Diner or Dr.Action and the Kick Ass Kid article, podcast, review or piece of news on your blog, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr or Facebook and let us know about it.
it's that simple!
Competition ends October 27th, 2013 and is only available in the U.S. & Canada.
Each household is only eligible to win 2 Free Movie Tickets via blog reviews and giveaways. Only one entrant per mailing address per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you will not be eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.