By Nick Maylor Kevin Smith took a brief sabbatical from filmmaking after the perceived failure of Zack & Miri Make a Porno (2008), a film that saw the worst box office opening for star Seth Rogen. With Zack & Miri, Smith was clearly trying to make a film that would play to a certain type…
By Nick Maylor Since Ridley Scott’s original Alien (1979), “synthetic” characters (androids/robots) have been a tradition in the franchise, starting with Ian Holm’s character Ash. In Aliens (1986), it was Bishop (Lance Henriksen) and so on. These characters are seen as virtually (if not totally) indistinguishable from humans. In Prometheus (2012), Ridley Scott sought to…
By Nick Maylor This Halloween, we here at Foote & Friends on Film will each be taking a look at a specific horror sub-genre, highlighting films that exemplify the best each genre has to offer. Alan’s article came first where he took a look at movies featuring witches. John then explored werewolves. For my piece,…
By Nick Maylor Bill Murray is a comedic legend that has firmly cemented himself as a great dramatic actor. With his appearance in Lost in Translation (2003), Murray showed that he had serious skill for the dramatic in addition to his omnipresent, unrivaled mastery of being one of the funniest people in the world. I…
By Nick Maylor (***1/2) Bryan Cranston’s portrayal of high school teacher turned drug kingpin Walter White/Heisenberg on the series Breaking Bad has been heralded as one of the finest pieces of acting this century, if not of all time. For those of you who haven’t watch Breaking Bad, a SPOILER ALERT is now in effect.…
By Nick Maylor It’s good for an actor’s image if they’re seen as willing to poke fun at themselves. Robert De Niro helped define a character archetype by appearing in some of the most important crime films of the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Winning an Oscar for his role as Don Vito Corleone in The…
By Nick Maylor Many Americans were not living the dream during the 1930’s, aside from the massive economic hardships suffered due to the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl forced countless American families living in the Plain states to relocate, many of them to California. It was a mass exodus that saw nearly 3.5 million people…
By Nick Maylor This fantasy-comedy starring and co-directed by Warren Beatty was adapted from Harry Segall’s play of the same name, which had already been made into a film once with Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941). The story involves life, death, second chances and the fallibility of guardian Angels (particularly ones new on the job).…
By Nick Maylor I have never seen a single episode of Downtown Abbey. I’m not sure of this disqualifies me from going to see the film, and having any expectations that I should be able to follow the plot adequately enough to justify the experience. Anyone looking for an insightful review of the new film…
By Nick Maylor Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) has left quite a legacy since its release. Referred to (affectionately) by the cast during filming as “Death of a fucking salesman” (due to the prevalent profanity) Glengarry Glenn Ross is responsible for a long-running character on The Simpsons. Gil Gunderson Is a constantly down on his luck,…