Today:
I've been writing movie reviews and and compiling the At Home section for INtake since early 2004. I'm a Hoosier by birth, but I grew up an Army brat and got an education on the road, stopping for school and culture in Hawaii, Germany, Colorado, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Maryland (where I attended high school). I'm a marginally-successful editor and freelance writer by trade.
I entered into the suffocating bonds of marriage with the best possible candidate, and the fruits of that union are a son (Riley), who you might recognize as the kid running up and down the darkened aisles of random screenings of "Cars" and "Transformers" being followed by a large man yelling for him to stop, and a daughter (Jenna), who likes burping, slobbering and pooping her pants, soon to be following her brother down darkened corridors.
The Wachowski Brothers -- they of the "Matrix" trilogy -- again look to revolutionize film in "Speed Racer," a 129-minute sugar rush that blends dazzling ...
We've got a first-look, courtesy of Entertainment Weekly of Oliver Stone's "W," a George W. Bush biopic. Josh Brolin ("No Country For Old Men") is ...
With "Cloverfield" coming out on DVD today, I want to direct everyone to an excellent source of Cloverfield details, spoilers, and other translatory materials. IMDB's ...
Oh my dear sweet Jesus. I'm tempted to leave my review of the dark comedy "Teeth" (out today on DVD) at that, because that pretty ...
The big trailer for "The Dark Knight" is out, and I'll be darned if it doesn't look to me like the greatest movie of all ...
Summer is here, and things are definitely looking up from last year. Comparing the Repulsor blast of fresh air that is "Iron Man" to "Spider-Man ...
If you stuck around after the credits on "Iron Man" you saw that there are strong hints of moving toward an "Avengers" movie. Yahoo! Finance ...
Sure, all of us fanboys are wetting ourselves over this spate of comic book movies that have been coming out over the past several years. ...
A group of singing old people is out to prove rock never dies in "Young @ Heart,"is a marvelous, funny and touching documentary. This film ...
AbomiNoel made an interesting comment regarding the film "Sin City" and its use of child molestation as a plot device (http://www.indy.com/posts/7627), and I thought it ...
Welcome to Indy.com Joe! Judging from how quickly you've been able to catch mistakes I've made when putting your reviews online, I have a feeling you'll be a very good moderator. Cheers!
Jazz flute is for little fairy boys.
Alright, Joe, how about "I Am Legend" in December---looking forward to it, or not so much?
Regarding your appraisal of Will Smith sci-fi: agreed. I hadn't heard about a re-release of "I Am Legend." Is it Vincent Price's "Last Man on Earth," or Heston's "Omega Man"? (As far as following Matheson's novel, Price's film clung on a bit closer. Although "Omega" would have been more tolerable with the addition of a "get your hands off me you damn dirty, genetically mutated, nocturnally-active bloodsucker.")
I am defender of Indy.com.....Zombieguy is hungry.
(Michael Moore) Concerning your comment about Michael Moore of October 21, 2007, I again acknowledge that in many ways Michael Moore has been his own worst enemy. However, I couldn't disagree more concerning your statement that "He long ago sold it out in favor of a little face time."
Do you really believe for a moment that if he took himself out of his films that they would be attacked by the rabid conservative elements of the Republican Party any less? Think about if for a second.
Cheney admittedly dodged the draft; Bush used influence to avoid Vietnam; yet Kerry was swift-boated despite the fact that he voluntarily went to Vietnam and was wounded.
Michael Fox goes on TV to urge funding for stem cell research, and he is vilified by Rush Limbaugh for play acting concerning the symptoms of his disease.
Terry Schiavo's poor husband was viciously attacked by every right wing commentator from Glen Beck to Sean Hannity simply because he wanted his poor, brain dead wife to die peacefully.
Cindy Sheehan, whose only crime was the fact that her son died in Iraq, continues to be savagely attacked by the same people because she decided to exercise her American right to protest. Here is an otherwise average, decent woman in complete anguish over the senseless death of her son, as she's castigated by these right wing bullies as if she is the daughter of some terrorist!
What do you think happened to the Dixie Chicks for simply making an innocuous comment in London concerning the prospects of war in Iraq? Would you suggest that the Dixie Chicks sold out because they agreed to participate in the extraordinary documentary Just Shut Up and Sing? Despite their stature, it took incredible persistence on their part to survive in the music industry, as this documentary so splendidly reveals.
Look at what these vicious attack dogs did to that twelve-year-old boy who dared to speak out against Bush's veto of the SCHIP Program.
In the words of Richard Boone when confronting Paul Newman in the old western Hombre, "Mister, you got a lot of hard bark on you." Do you think for a second that anyone could take on the power structure of this country as Moore has done and not have a "lot of hard bark on him?"
Let me ask one further question. Would you equally criticize Al Gore for personally appearing in An Inconvenient Truth? Do you criticize Errol Morris for injecting himself into his Oscar award-winning documentary The Fog of War?
Finally, I take great issue with your finding fault with Moore personally confronting congressmen in Washington over the fact that while they supported the war, none of their children were fighting in it. Nothing points out the hypocrisy of fighting this so called "Battle for civilization" than the fact that it is being fought largely by a small group of volunteers and hired mercenaries. I applaud Moore's gonzo style journalism in this case in confronting our leaders in Washington over their rank hypocrisy.
On the other hand, I absolutely agree that Moore's public persona, right or wrong, frequently kills his message. But without him, would there be any message at all?
Joe: Right on, man. (I'm grinning like an idiot!) "Fright Night"? Of course: Peter Vincent!
you're a traitor! haha... thanks joe! (and yes, i have no pride. I'm totally fine with begging for fans.)
Joe, if I'd have started chatting with you earlier this fall, I'd have invited you to my Friday night horror movie fests (from which Jim Walker has been curiously absent). We've done "House of Wax" (the original, of course), several old Universal flicks (Whale's "Old Dark House" and "The Bride of Frankenstein", among others), and tonight---the season finale, as it were---we're doing "Something Wicked This Way Comes" (PG nostalgia, and what not), the Masters of Horror episode of "The Black Cat," and the low budget adaptation (made to emulate a silent film) of Lovecraft's short story, "The Call of Cthulhu." (Regarding the latter: I own it, but I've yet to watch it. Check it out on line. Filmed in "Mythoscope"...pretty wacky.)
Thanks for your comments, Joe. I appreciate getting connected with a mutual Jumping Bomb Angels fan and movie buff.
Alright, Joe, (with kid-like glee) I feel the need to share with you the following: I'm now the proud owner of the "Hammer Horror Series." For years I've been iffy on what set to buy, but yesterday I picked "The Franchise Collection" for under $20! The two-disc set is eight films, which include "Curse of the Werewolf," "Brides of Dracula," and "Phantom of the Opera." Check it out here:
http://www.amazon.com/Werewolf-Paranoiac-Nightmare-Creatures-Frankenstein/dp/B0009X770O/ref=pdbbs1/103-2292207-1111011?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1193616437&sr=8-1
(In my best, Cyrus from "The Warriors" voice): "Can you dig it?"
Joe: quick disclosure: living in the country as a young lad, we didn't get "the cable" until the early 90s (although, I made my 80s Cinemax, Showtime, MTV, WGN, and HBO bones at my aunt and uncle's house); and, I must admit, the USA gig is lost on me. However, I'm 100% in league with you, and wholly subscribed to the employment of both "Nightmarable," and "Elviriffic." Let the lingo begin!
As I recall batman was a ninja.......he was just the badass of the ninja's...
There was a ceremony, however Batman refused to kill the peasant as a rite of passage. Then he kicked the asses of all of us ninja's......It was an eye opening for me, which is why I left to come here. To Indy.com
You don't get it son. This isn't a mudhole. It's an operating table. And I'm the surgeon.
I wanted to come up with a new name that nobody knew I guess it worked!
I couldn't get past the fact that Wicker Park was filmed somewhere other than Wicker Park. That little thing made it difficult for me to 'suspend my disbelief.' That being said, critics were too harsh.
You can learn a great deal about by a person by carefully observing their movie collection.
Holy moly! I had no idea! Surely this new-found popularity will not last.
Hey Joe. I was wondering what your take was on "Enchanted". Let us know, I think there might be some good comments to go with your review...
Clearly, no one could ever trump you on the popularity scale ~ no matter what happens in a silly cyber world...
Enough, you guys, enough! The first half of "Ladykillers" was admittedly wonderful. However, the second half totally fell apart. In that sense, it was very much like Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.
P.S. - Did I say that I love the Coen brothers!
Joe... how long ago did you do the drive-in feature? I'd love to see it. Is it archieved anywhere?
Joe, Thanks for the update on the drive in story. Hope I get a chance to read it.
Thanks for the add, Joe! I'm enjoying reading your reviews and you have my full sympathy on having 2 little kids - aren't they just a joy! ;-)
I couldn't disagree more concerning your criticism of the ending of "The Mist." When all hope is gone, and a horrific death awaits as suffered by many others previously in the film, what is more humane? Letting your son be drug from your clutching arms only to be horribly devoured, or ending his life peacefully while he is in your arms? This ending was no more a disservice to the overall story than the horrific scene in "Sophie's Choice" where Streep has to choose which of her children lives and dies.
If you want a cheap ending that reflects a director's exhaustion of ideas where he simply inexplicably kills everyone off, then take another look at "The Departed." That movie won an Oscar for Best Picture, and the last third of the movie devolves into a mindless mass killing spree. The ending of "The Mist" reflected at its heart the loss of hope in the face of overwhelming terror. For me, Darabont seemed to be showing the audience just how extreme society can become when we become convinced that monsters are at the door.
As for "Dan in Real Life," this movie was "for adults" only if one enjoys seeing the great Juliette Binoche reduced to an emotional and intellectual lightweight. How could she possibly go on a family outing with Dane Cook of all people after meeting him a gym? More to the point, how could she compound this madness by being attracted to the emotionally crippled Carell?
While I have said that I found the overall movie tolerable, and some moments genuinely enjoyable, the Kennedyesque touch football game and the pathetic barroom dance scene