Before the Devil Knows You’re Awake
This Week’s DVD Releases / The Pajiba Staff
DVD Releases |
March 5, 2008 | Comments (134)
Awake: Unbelievably, Dustin has absolutely no memory of this film and had to refer back to his original review, written just three months ago. It had Jessica Alba in it, and either Hayden Christianson was in it, or it was about some guy falling asleep during a surgery, or both. All that he can remember, really, is a burning desire not to do a play on words with the title. Also, that you shouldn’t watch Awake because it will not keep you in that state (doh!).
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead: This movie was one of John’s favorites in 2007, and his review suggests as much: “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead is a hard-boiled, full-throttle New York joyride that revels in seamy characters, bad intentions, and sweaty palms. Think your family is dysfunctional? Well, let’s see. Are you having sex with your brother’s wife on a weekly basis? Are you and that same brother botching an armed robbery … of your own parents’ jewelry store? No? Then get in line, pal.” John then concluded that the film “is the kind of entertainment that Hollywood should produce more often — human-scaled but fantastical, slick but not nihilistic.”
Into the Wild: There was a lot of controversy in the comments to this review, both over the movie itself and what kind of person the lead character, played by Emile Hirsch, was — a spoiled brat or a “genuine pilgrim.” John writes, nevertheless, that the film was “not flawless. Like most stories about spiritual searchers, it sometimes flirts with New Ageism, and it has to sneak in a heavy-handed reference or two to Jesus. It also hops around in time, a successful way to flash forward to (and back from) the bus in Alaska, but a much less satisfying (if necessary) method of learning about Chris’ life before he disappeared.” In the end, however, John concluded that Into the Wild, ” blemishes and all, was in the running for the best of” 2007.
Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium: No, it wasn’t that good, but if you’ve got kids, and Natalie Portman makes your head swim, you could do a lot worse, though it’d be damn near impossible to do worse than the performance Dustin Hoffman turned in as ” part Willy Wonka, party Nutty Professor (the Jerry Lewis version) and part Rain Man.” But Dustin, who watched it shortly after having a child, completely punked out, writing “I went in determined to see the film as a kid might, and while the little boy in me was disappointed with the movie, he was able to put aside his critical faculties so that the adult in me could appreciate the wonder and magic that I think Helm intended.” What does that even mean? What a fucking putz. Own up, Rowles: It sucked. Stop being a limp dick.
My Kid Could Paint That: Director Amir Bar-Lev explores a fascinating subject: Controversy over a four-year-old child prodigy and her abstract paintings, which gained national notoriety and sold for thousands of dollars, but which later had their authenticity called into question after many suspected that her father had contributed significantly to the works. The documentary never seems to resolve the mystery satisfactorily, and while John seemed to like the movie well enough, he was disappointed that no one bothered to explore why it even mattered on an artistic level.
←
Pajiba Love 03/04/08 |
WhiskeyBabyNinjaStar!
→
Posted by: BarbadoSlim at March 5, 2008 9:16 AM
Posted by: tt_marie at March 5, 2008 9:17 AM
Posted by: tt_marie at March 5, 2008 9:22 AM
Posted by: Shadows of Dakaron at March 5, 2008 9:23 AM
Posted by: BarbadoSlim at March 5, 2008 9:26 AM
Posted by: Adere at March 5, 2008 9:38 AM
Posted by: Shadows of Dakaron at March 5, 2008 9:45 AM
Posted by: Shadows of Dakaron at March 5, 2008 9:48 AM
Posted by: BWeaves at March 5, 2008 9:50 AM
Posted by: Stew at March 5, 2008 9:57 AM
Posted by: Alex the Odd at March 5, 2008 10:04 AM
Posted by: katy at March 5, 2008 10:07 AM
Posted by: TK at March 5, 2008 10:09 AM
Posted by: Shadows of Dakaron at March 5, 2008 10:09 AM
Posted by: TK at March 5, 2008 10:11 AM
Posted by: tt_marie at March 5, 2008 10:13 AM
Posted by: Adere at March 5, 2008 10:13 AM
Posted by: TK at March 5, 2008 10:15 AM
Posted by: Alex the Odd at March 5, 2008 10:18 AM
Posted by: BarbadoSlim at March 5, 2008 10:20 AM
Posted by: katy at March 5, 2008 10:26 AM
Posted by: Shadows of Dakaron at March 5, 2008 10:29 AM
Posted by: TK at March 5, 2008 10:34 AM
Posted by: Three-nineteen at March 5, 2008 10:41 AM
Posted by: BarbadoSlim at March 5, 2008 10:42 AM
Posted by: BarbadoSlim at March 5, 2008 10:43 AM
Posted by: tt_marie at March 5, 2008 10:43 AM
Posted by: Kolby at March 5, 2008 10:43 AM
Posted by: Patrick C at March 5, 2008 10:44 AM
Posted by: BarbadoSlim at March 5, 2008 10:45 AM
Posted by: TK at March 5, 2008 10:47 AM
Posted by: tt_marie at March 5, 2008 10:47 AM
Posted by: BarbadoSlim at March 5, 2008 10:49 AM
Posted by: boo at March 5, 2008 10:51 AM
Posted by: Julie at March 5, 2008 10:52 AM
Posted by: twig at March 5, 2008 10:53 AM
Posted by: Julie at March 5, 2008 10:55 AM
Posted by: boo at March 5, 2008 10:56 AM
Posted by: boo at March 5, 2008 10:56 AM
Posted by: Julie at March 5, 2008 10:57 AM
Posted by: TK at March 5, 2008 10:58 AM
Posted by: Nicole at March 5, 2008 10:59 AM
Posted by: BarbadoSlim at March 5, 2008 11:00 AM
Posted by: Kolby at March 5, 2008 11:02 AM
Posted by: Julie at March 5, 2008 11:03 AM
Posted by: Shadows of Dakaron at March 5, 2008 11:03 AM
Posted by: Alex the Odd at March 5, 2008 11:04 AM
Posted by: boo at March 5, 2008 11:04 AM
Posted by: Shadows of Dakaron at March 5, 2008 11:07 AM
Posted by: Julie at March 5, 2008 11:09 AM
Posted by: TK at March 5, 2008 11:13 AM
Posted by: Shadows of Dakaron at March 5, 2008 11:15 AM
Posted by: tt_marie at March 5, 2008 11:16 AM
Posted by: boo at March 5, 2008 11:17 AM
Posted by: Shadows of Dakaron at March 5, 2008 11:17 AM
Posted by: Brian at March 5, 2008 11:20 AM
Posted by: Kolby at March 5, 2008 11:22 AM
Posted by: boo at March 5, 2008 11:28 AM
Posted by: Smithy at March 5, 2008 11:29 AM
Posted by: Kolby at March 5, 2008 11:33 AM
Posted by: Smithy at March 5, 2008 11:35 AM
Posted by: Julie at March 5, 2008 11:38 AM
Posted by: Shadows of Dakaron at March 5, 2008 11:39 AM
Posted by: Julie at March 5, 2008 11:40 AM
Posted by: Julie at March 5, 2008 11:42 AM
Posted by: Smithy at March 5, 2008 11:43 AM
Posted by: Alex the Odd at March 5, 2008 11:48 AM
Posted by: boo at March 5, 2008 11:50 AM
Posted by: tt_marie at March 5, 2008 11:51 AM
Posted by: Smithy at March 5, 2008 11:54 AM
Posted by: Shadows of Dakaron at March 5, 2008 11:54 AM
Posted by: Julie at March 5, 2008 11:55 AM
Posted by: katy at March 5, 2008 11:56 AM
Posted by: tt_marie at March 5, 2008 11:57 AM
Posted by: Smithy at March 5, 2008 11:57 AM
Posted by: Shadows of Dakaron at March 5, 2008 12:02 PM
Posted by: Smithy at March 5, 2008 12:04 PM
Posted by: Nicole at March 5, 2008 12:05 PM
Posted by: Shadows of Dakaron at March 5, 2008 12:08 PM
Posted by: tt_marie at March 5, 2008 12:13 PM
Posted by: Julie at March 5, 2008 12:19 PM
Posted by: Brie at March 5, 2008 12:20 PM
Posted by: Skittimus Maximus at March 5, 2008 12:32 PM
Posted by: Shadows of Dakaron at March 5, 2008 12:32 PM
Posted by: TK at March 5, 2008 12:34 PM
Posted by: Shadows of Dakaron at March 5, 2008 12:34 PM
Posted by: TK at March 5, 2008 12:37 PM
Posted by: Shadows of Dakaron at March 5, 2008 12:41 PM
Posted by: Julie at March 5, 2008 12:46 PM
Posted by: TK at March 5, 2008 12:48 PM
Posted by: Smithy at March 5, 2008 12:50 PM
Posted by: Skittimus Maximus at March 5, 2008 12:52 PM
Posted by: Kolby at March 5, 2008 12:54 PM
Posted by: Shadows of Dakaron at March 5, 2008 12:59 PM
Posted by: boo at March 5, 2008 1:00 PM
Posted by: Dill The Devil at March 5, 2008 1:01 PM
Posted by: Julie at March 5, 2008 1:04 PM
Posted by: Skittimus Maximus at March 5, 2008 1:04 PM
Posted by: TK at March 5, 2008 1:08 PM
Posted by: tamatha at March 5, 2008 1:08 PM
Posted by: boo at March 5, 2008 1:24 PM
Posted by: Shadows of Dakaron at March 5, 2008 1:34 PM
Posted by: mini_tt_marie at March 5, 2008 1:40 PM
Posted by: tamatha at March 5, 2008 1:42 PM
Posted by: TK at March 5, 2008 1:45 PM
Posted by: boo at March 5, 2008 1:46 PM
Posted by: Shadows of Dakaron at March 5, 2008 1:48 PM
Posted by: Vermillion at March 5, 2008 2:11 PM
Posted by: replica at March 5, 2008 2:15 PM
Posted by: Shadows of Dakaron at March 5, 2008 2:16 PM
Posted by: Julie at March 5, 2008 2:17 PM
Posted by: Cady at March 5, 2008 2:59 PM
Posted by: Nicole at March 5, 2008 3:58 PM
Posted by: boo at March 5, 2008 4:47 PM
Posted by: Shadows of Dakaron at March 5, 2008 4:51 PM
Posted by: that bees chick at March 5, 2008 5:10 PM
Posted by: Shadows of Dakaron at March 5, 2008 5:28 PM
Posted by: Dill The Devil at March 5, 2008 6:09 PM
Posted by: Nicole at March 5, 2008 7:03 PM
Posted by: Jo 'Mama' Besser at March 5, 2008 7:08 PM
Posted by: _cG at March 5, 2008 9:29 PM
Posted by: OhRosieMyGirl at March 5, 2008 9:52 PM
Posted by: Shadows of Dakaron at March 5, 2008 9:58 PM
Posted by: general rhubarb at March 5, 2008 11:00 PM
Posted by: Irina at March 6, 2008 4:54 AM
Posted by: lilianna28 at March 6, 2008 10:36 AM
Posted by: Shadows of Dakaron at March 6, 2008 10:40 AM
Posted by: Melody at March 6, 2008 10:44 AM
Posted by: tamatha at March 6, 2008 3:33 PM
Posted by: TK at March 6, 2008 6:40 PM
Posted by: tamatha at March 6, 2008 9:09 PM
Posted by: Popsi_zen at March 7, 2008 6:34 PM
Posted by: Some Guy at March 10, 2008 11:53 PM
"...Unbelievably, Dustin has absolutely no memory of this film..."
That makes two of us...buuuut, since Rowles is a "movie critic" I'm gonna go ahead and blame him AND all you clowns, for not keeping me up to date.