Author: Peter M. Hargrove

TOP 10 FILMS OF 2011

I was not at all impressed this year by most of the fiction films that were released, documentaries on the other hand had plenty of contenders. In time, most of the “buzzed about” films will be forgotten. I did not like most of Hugo but thought Scorsese did a fantastic job on the 3D, that’s what I’ve been waiting for with the technology.

For those of you about to crucify me for choosing Mel Gibson for Best Actor, it was his acting I was looking at and not to his private life. There’s an impressive new generation of actresses starting to bubble under the surface, a few of them short-listed for Supporting Actress, one you will see is my choice for Best Actress.

DVDS FOR THE HOLIDAYS

When the holidays come around each year everyone gets frantic looking for the right gift for that certain someone. With the economy in shambles, entertainment is one gift that keeps giving throughout the year. Consider a dvd that the recipient will enjoying watching multiple times alone or with families and friends.

49TH NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL – 2011 EDITION

The 49th New York Film Festival will open this year on September 30th with Roman Polanski’s Carnage (Sony Classics) and close on October 16th Alexander Payne’s The Descendants (Fox Searchlight). As usual the festival will be a mix of international festival faves, pet directors (Almodovar, Cedar, Ferrara, the Dardennes, Bilge, Wenders and Panahi) and the odd handful of films that will never leave the festival circuit ghetto.

THE NON-METROSEXUAL’S GUIDE TO FASHION WEEK

New York, LA, Miami, Vegas and Nashville attract the most narcissistic individuals in the United States; I would hasten to guess that many of them came to town for Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2012. If one didn’t know better you’d think that some of the high priestesses of fashion were bag ladies that were out on a day pass from Bellevue. Schizophrenia is not restricted to mental health, but also to fashion — especially during two weeks during the year in New York, Paris and Milan.

SUMMERTIME SNACKING

School’s out and healthy eating goes out the window. Or does it? Getting your kids out of the house and away from the tv and video games is your number one priority.

THE IMPERIALISTS ARE STILL ALIVE!

THE IMPERIALISTS ARE STILL ALIVE! should be put up against a wall and shot. The creative team should be renditioned back to Filmmaking 101 for purgatory. It’s another film about the international trustfund set of artistes and bored offspring of business class elites who like to be play at being liberal and “freedom fighters” (see 1970s terrorist chic) while daddy pays their rent and bar tabs.

THERE REALLY IS GOLD IN THEM HILLS (AND STREAMS)

Gold! Gold! Gold! You would think Frank Norris’ 1899 novel McTeague was back in print (probably best remembered for today as the source material for the classic Erich von Stroheim silent film GREED). [Available for download: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/165] Instead, with the rise in the sp

SUPER

SUPER is super bad. A Troma film for the ComiCon socially stunted comic book geeks who haven’t yet grown up into graphic novels.

SUCKER PUNCH

The art of selling a film starts with the trailer; SUCKER PUNCH delivers in spades. The film however is atrocious.