Don’t Love Thy Neighbor Too Much

by Ryan Syrek

Beyond the Hills

There was a shot so slow and quiet in Beyond the Hills (or Dupa Dealuri if you’ve got Romanian skills) that it appeared to be accidentally freeze framed. Nope. Writer/director Cristian Mungiu did that on purpose. Ostensibly, the unfathomably slow pace is to heighten reality; practically, it reduces themes that are complicated but totally obvious to a snail’s pace…and the snail isn’t a fast...

Cutting Room for May 3

by Ryan Syrek

• What’s better than having a special event with Steve James, director of such classics as Hoop Dreams? Why, it would be having two events with Steve James! On May 13, Film Streams’ Ruth Sokolof Theater (filmstreams.org) will host James for a screening of Jean Renoir’s The Rules of the Game at 7 pm. Then, on May 14, James will be there for a screening of his film The Interrupters at 7 pm, with...

Up and Downey

by Ryan Syrek

Iron Man 3

Although traditionally necessary for filmmaking, the original Iron Man was rumored not to have had much of a real script, just an outline of key moments and the note “fill in gaps with Robert Downey Jr’s swag.” Much to the chagrin of the WGA, it worked. But writers’ karma is a harsh mistress, and Iron Man 2’s attempt to “wing it” soared like a penguin. Enter writer/director Shane Black, known...

Movieha! Your Favorite Movie Podcast

by Ryan Syrek

On Your Radar The Bling Ring

Netflix Roulette: Phase 7

Please sign up for our RSS feed HERE, download our podcasts and rave about us in the comments section of iTunes HERE, follow us on Twitter HERE, and become a fan of us on Facebook HERE! You can also listen to our bit we do for KVNO radio HERE. And as always, email any comments and concerns to movieha@gmail.com.

Cybersucks

by Ryan Syrek

Disconnect

Here’s one of the more damning comparisons to a Best Picture Oscar winner you can make: Disconnect is basically 2004’s Crash, only instead of solving racism, everybody just texts and Facebooks a lot. Quasi-poignancy frequently gives way to simplistic moralizing and preachy behavior-modification in this triptych of stories that show how the Internet is gonna getcha!

The interlocking tales are...

Movieha! Your Favorite Movie Podcast

by Ryan Syrek

On Your Radar: Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes

Netflix Roulette: Dirty Girl

Please sign up for our RSS feed HERE, download our podcasts and rave about us in the comments section of iTunes HERE, follow us on Twitter HERE, and become a fan of us on Facebook HERE! You can also listen to our bit we do for KVNO radio HERE. And as always, email any comments and concerns to ...

Cutting Room for April 26

by Ryan Syrek

• To completely misuse a profound quote: “First MTV came for ‘Carmen,’ and I didn’t speak out because I was curious what a ‘hip-hopera’ was. Then MTV came for Teen Wolf, and I didn’t speak out because nobody cares about Teen Wolf. Then MTV came for Scream and there was no one left watching MTV.” That’s right, Scream is going to be an ongoing series on “Music Television,” with Wes Craven...