Three And Above

The Fast & The Furious Franchise  (2001-2015) A Retrospective & Review by Grant Kanigan Vin Diesel & Paul Walker cross the finish line in The Fast and the Furious     As Owen Shaw, (Luke Evans), explains to Dominic Toretto in Furious 6 , it's inspiring to see "A street kid, start[ing] out stealing DVD players in East L.A., [and] end[ing] up heisting $100 million in Rio," years later. It's also ridiculous, absolutely illogical and completely insane. Yet, with a diverse cast led by a capable Vin Diesel, The Fast & The Furious has also become one of the most successful franchises in cinematic history. Before I review the brilliantly entertaining seventh entry, I'd like to take a few paragraphs to walk through the films leading up to the latest instalment, and explore how a simple racing flick released in 2001 spawned a multi- billion dollar franchise: The Fast & the Furious, (2001) Directed by: Rob Cohen Written by: Gary Sco...

City of Angels  (1998) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by: Brad Silberling Written by:  Dana Stevens, based on Wim Wenders,                  Peter Handke & Richard Reitinger's                  "Wings of Desire" Starring: Nicholas Cage, Meg Ryan, Denniz Franz Rating: PG Release Date: April 10th 1998 Nicolas Cage & Meg Ryan in City of Angels       City of Angels  is unabashedly sentimental, dead serious and epic in scope. For a mainstream slice of cinema, it's a daring move. In a world becoming increasingly ironic, cynical and sarcastic, City of Angels  is a revitalizing breath of fresh air. Although it's over a decade old, it's philosophy and presentation remains fresh.      Brad Siberling's film, based on Wim Wender's 1988 German-language film Wings of Desire , follows the inquisitive, intellectual and solem...

Just a quick update: There won't be as many reviews as usual in the coming week or so, but we've got an extensive Charlie Chaplin retrospective on the horizon, as well as reviews of the Fast and Furious franchise! Stay tuned!

Beyond the Lights  (2014) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by: Gina Prince-Bythewood Written by:  Gina Prince-Bythewood Starring: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Nate Parker,                       Danny Glover, Minnie Driver Rating: 14A Release Date: November 14th, 2014 Danny Glover & Nate Parker in Beyond the Lights  Photo by Suzanne Tenner - © 2013 Blackbird Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved      At first glance, Beyond the Lights  seems like just another one of your average, dime a dozen adult melodramas pumped out a couple times a year by the studios behind the multitude of identical Nicholas Sparks or Tyler Perry movies. A misunderstood star, a plucky cop, and the less than ideal lives than surround them. Yet, much like the main character of Beyond the Lights,  there is so much more at stake than what's seen at face value. While Beyond the Lights may seem like your av...

The 400 Blows ( Les quatre cents coups)  (1959) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by: Francois Truffaut Written by: Francois Truffaut & Marcel Moussy Starring: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Claire Maurier,               Albert Rémy Rating: No Rating Release Date: November 16th, 1959* Jean-Pierre Léaud in The 400 Blows Image Source      Rebellion has always been at the core of what it means to become a young man. Unsure of one's future, their feelings, and their opinions of the world, most young men rebel against the world of their fathers, or conversely, fall into it without question. For young Antoine Doinel, his father is virtually nonexistent. It's no surprise, then, that he rebels against absolutely everything.     Living in a microscopic apartment in downtown Paris with his mother Gilberte, (Claire Maurier), and stepfather Julien, (Albert Rémy), Antoine is often left alone, to fend for himself,...

Tim's Vermeer  (2015) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by: Raymond Teller Written by: Raymond Teller, Penn JIllette Starring: Tim Jenison, Penn Jillette,                Martin Mull Rating: G Release Date: February 21st, 2014 Martin Mull & Tim Jenison watch paint dry in Tim's Vermeer © 2013 - Sony Pictures Classics      How can we define art? In a globalized world, the subjectivity of what defines art is ever increasing. Like Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam famously remarked at the 1996 Grammy's ""I don't know what this means ... I don't think it means anything." Art is what you make it, and what moves you. Conversely, like music, there are a certain set of notes, tempo, keys and the like which make a song work well together, or else it falls out of place and just becomes static noise. So true art is a middle ground between the subjective and prescriptive schools of artistic thought. Analyzing and dis...

Chappie  (2015) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by: Neill Blomkamp Written by:  Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell Starring: Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, Hugh Jackman, Sigourney Weaver, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Ninja, Yo-Landi Visser Rating: 14A Release Date: March 6th, 2015 Sharlto Copley & Dev Patel in Chappie © 2015 CTMG, Inc. All rights reserved. Courtesy of Columbia Pictures     As cinema mastermind Martin Scorsese once remarked , "I don’t think I’m being pessimistic when I say that the art of cinema and the movie business are now at a crossroads. Audio-visual entertainment and what we know as cinema – moving pictures conceived by individuals – appear to be headed in different directions."For the most part, Scorsese is right on. The top grossing films of 2014 were all big budget sequels, adaptations, and remakes. Even the exception, American Sniper , had a substantial budget of 58 million dollars. Conversely, the best picture nominees...