And you thought Jurassic Park was just about dino scares. In a half-hour presentation - akin to a fascinating TEDTalk (see below) - designer Mike Hill makes a detailed breakdown of the symbols, metaphors and meaning that runs throughout Jurassic Park, ones that serve as an emotionally complex foundation for this visceral "monster movie" adventure. And by comparing this to the [...]
A "Oner" is a lengthy single-take shot. Famous examples include classic shots from movies like Goodfellas, Touch Of Evil and, more recently, Atonement. Impressively mounted, choreographed, and captured, Oners generally draw attention to themselves (for good reason). Then there's The Spielberg Oner. It's different in nature than the traditional Oner because of how deceptive it is. The whole intent for [...]
(To read my ranking of the Spielberg Canon, click here.) On Monday May 30, 2016 – Memorial Day – I invite you to join me here at the I Can’t Unsee That movie blog to kick off a “30 Days Of Spielberg” celebration. In anticipation of his upcoming children’s fantasy The BFG, I will be looking at the entire [...]
Weren't able to do any re-watch prep for Captain America: Civil War? No problem. Freelance editor Clark Zhu has got you covered. With an edit that feels like it came straight out of Marvel's savvy marketing department, Zhu's 5-minute MCU recap "Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 2 Retrospective" (below) condenses all of the "need to know" elements into a compelling debrief. The [...]
This screen grab is from the debut teaser for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (click here to watch...again). My question is this: That black-cloaked figure doesn't look or move like Darth Vader...so who is it? The Emperor? Maybe...but the person seems too tall, and is moving too fast. Plus, it looks like he's beginning [...]
I may be one of the few critics to write up a positive notice for Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, but even my good experience was marred primarily by one problem: Superman. Or, more to the point, director Zack Snyder's take on Superman. It was a continuation of the problematic Man Of Steel, which was weighed down by some [...]
"I understand why people are skeptical, and why many of them bring their theological checklists.” - director Cyrus Nowrasteh, on reactions by Christians to recent Hollywood Bible movies The Young Messiah, the new film about Jesus at the age of 7 (based on Anne Rice's novel "Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt"), opens in theaters on Friday March [...]
Surprises were expected at this year's Oscars. The Academy did not disappoint. Billed as the most unpredictable race in memory, there were upsets aplenty at the 88th Annual Academy Awards - which honored the best of film from 2015 - capped off by the gasp-inducing blindside of Spotlight winning Best Picture. How did that even happen? Here's the most logical theory. Spotlight was [...]
Below are my predictions for the 2015 Academy Awards, in all 24 categories. The list is virtually free of commentary except for some thoughts in the Best Picture and Director categories, but does include “Will Win” and “Should Win” options throughout. According to how I see it, the night’s big winner will be The Revenant with [...]
Part 1 was posted last week. And now for the conclusion. As the Oscar ceremony nears, Nashville-based musician and podcaster Nick Flora invited me to continue our annual tradition of talking about our favorite films of the year on his podcast Who Writes This Stuff. Here’s Part 2 of our “Films of 2015” discussion, in which we countdown in ascending [...]
I Can't Unsee That Movie: film news and reviews by Jeff Huston 