FilmMattic

Lucky Number 13 Image courtesy of ScreenRant       Forget the Super Bowl. When your team's not represented, it's a tawdry affair. A massive marketing bonanza. Lest we forget that all the so-called "great" commercials can be viewed online on our time, at our convenience. Forget football. Let's talk movies.        2013's movie schedule is truly astonishing to behold. How foolish I must have been to think 2012 was the anomaly, an indicator of how conditioned our myopic thought-processes have become. How we're taught to believe that bearing witness to such excellence month after month is an elusive desire. But the outlier I thought I discovered may in fact have been the primal markings of an exciting new trend in which first-rate craftsmanship is the standard currency. 2013 promises a cornucopia of original stories, science fiction forays, major superhero films, unexpected sequels, classic adaptations, exciting prequels, and so, so much mor...

The Best of the Worst       Part I of my "Top 10 Least Favorite Movie CHARACTERS"  can be found by clicking the above link.         I suppose I'll have to choose my words carefully. Chuck Norris is watching. I'll oblige only because Bruce Lee's reincarnated-self is not here to protect me.        These characters are the vermin of cinema. But they are the best vermin, contaminating the world, charmingly, one evil at a time. They are simply too good at being bad. While their actions, behavior, and generally their outlook on life is morally objectionable and admittedly terrifying, their determination and affinity for destruction is captivating.         Evil is not the prerequisite, but its very existence is crucial to my ultimate aversion to these characters.  So, I urge you to tread cautiously. Trading glances with individuals so miserably appalling is known to ...

Love to Hate       Let's face it. We are wired to dislike certain people. Human nature assures us there's a line to be crossed between that which we deem admirable and that which we deride gleefully. Movies are no different. The characters who inhabit these tantalizing worlds solidify our diametric ideological curiosities. And I'm most curious about the disreputable. Therefore, in this post, I will identify my "Top 10 Least Favorite Movie Characters."        Common themes you may discover are the false representation of power, the willful subjugation of powerless figures, betrayal, cowardice, fraudulent ethics, deception, malfeasance, and of no less importance, obnoxious personalities.        These characters are despicable. The actors are not. In no way is it my objective to denigrate the work of these performers. In fact only great performances qualify for my list. It's not the performance...

Top 10 Films of 2010       If you're like me, then it is always a good practice to quantify things by developing top ten lists.  Maybe ten is an arbitrary number, but for most, it is a uniformly agreed upon starting point for valuing highly competent works.  Realizing that standards may inevitably differ across the overwrought cyberspace of film critiques, I am preparing to field off an onslaught of contentious debate regarding my selections.  The staunch lines of sensibility have been irrevocably drawn.  Opinions have been readying for my impending execution.  Target acquired.  Unleash the vitriol.       Before any formal attacks can be mounted though, I must provide a little more insight into the formation of my list.  Quite frankly, the first ... really two-thirds of 2010 have offered up a fairly sobering array of movies—which unrequited film fans like myself forcibly and painfully must endure befo...

MVP of Sports Acting        I was recently watching the Knicks/Celtics game on ESPN and the camera panned across the arena highlighting a Murderer' Row of celebrity actors attending the game.  I got to thinking.  What happens when celebrity actors and sports collide?  Generally, a simple premise for a sports film.  And no, I'm not going to drop a Kardashian Sister's name here because none of them can act.  So other than an inane premise, where am I going with this? I asked the question and started furiously pondering in my head for answers: Who is the best sports movie actor of all time? Here are my nominees, in no particular order: 1).  Mark Wahlberg 2).  Dennis Quaid 3).  Wesley Snipes 4).  Kevin Costner 5).  Denzel Washington 6).  Paul Newman 7).  Chelcie Ross 8).  Robert De Niro 9).  Sylvester "Sly" Stallone 10).  Woody Harrelson *Just missed the cut: Robert Redford ( The...