Written Review: Looper (2012)

by Jason Pyles
Movie Podcast Weekly.com

Premise: In the year 2044, hitmen called “loopers” are hired to execute any unwanted individuals who cross the criminal organizations of 30 years into the future. Time travel exists circa 2074, so victims are sent back in time to present-day 2044, to be disposed of by loopers.

Review: I have known about (and have been mildly anticipating) “Looper” since writer-director Rian Johnson described it during a guest appearance on The /Filmcast a couple of years ago. “Looper” is Johnson’s third feature film — and though I’m in the minority of people who didn’t love “Brick” (2005) or “The Brothers Bloom” (2008), I appreciated the craft evident in those movies. I suspected this talented filmmaker would one day make a film that dazzled me, and I’m happy to report that the day has come. Continue reading

Reconsidering Jody Hill’s “Observe and Report”: Is It Transgressive Cinema?

by Andy and Jason Pyles
Movie Podcast Weekly.com

Andy and Jason Pyles, the authors of this essay, are two of the hosts of Movie Podcast Weekly, a new movie podcast that launches on October 1, 2012. Andy and Jason revisited Jody Hill’s dark comedy “Observe and Report” (2009), and then had the following discussion via e-mail. Here is Jason’s perspective:

The Flawed Defense of Transgressive Cinema. There’s a phenomenon called “transgressive cinema.” It’s not new. I believe that term was originally coined in the ’80s, but transgressive cinema has been around since the birth of the medium. Indeed, Georges Méliès (“A Trip to the Moon”) used to make nudie films, Continue reading

Written Review: End of Watch (2012)

by Jason Pyles
Movie Podcast Weekly.com

Premise: While going about their daily duties, two LAPD officers keep stumbling onto a ferocious drug cartel with zero tolerance for ambitious cops.

Review: “End of Watch” may be the first found footage, shaky-cam, docu-drama, pseudo-documentary cop movie that also doubles as a feature-length PR commercial for the Los Angeles Police Department. (Seriously, this whole movie could be an advertisement for the LAPD. Perhaps it is.)

Actually, “End of Watch” is quite a number of things: It’s also a love story between two men played by Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña, not too far off from Gyllenhaal’s most famous role in “Brokeback Mountain” (2005). Continue reading

THE FILM CRITIC

Jason CloseMovie Podcast Weekly Producer / Host, Jason Pyles, is the only member of the group that is an honest-to-goodness film critic, but you’d hardly know it from his taste in movies. In fact, Jason’s movie tastes reflect his dietary tastes: pure junk food. Jason is also the main man on MPW to turn to for crime film and horror flick recommendations, which deeply concerns all of those closest to him. Years later, they will be quoted in police reports as saying, “He always seemed like such a nice guy. Quiet, kept to himself.”

Jason began writing film criticism in 2005. From 2006 to 2008, he wrote movie reviews for The College Times newspaper at Utah Valley University, where he completed a book-length thesis entitled “Achieving Genuine Movie Criticism: The Motive of an Artist.” He also wrote movie reviews in 2007 for a local video store in Orem, Utah. In 2008 Jason wrote movie reviews on political films for Scoop08.com. Jason and Andy began the Considering the Cinema discussion blog in July 2008. Later in ’08, Jason began writing mini and full-length movie reviews for The Intelligencer and the Wheeling News-Register newspapers in his hometown of Wheeling, West Virginia. He did so until 2010, when he returned to Salt Lake City and began podcasting. It was all downhill from there.

Jason’s former podcasts include Considering the Sequels (which ran for 22 episodes), The Weekly Horror Movie Podcast (26 episodes), The Best Picture Podcast (3 episodes), Horror Metropolis (10 episodes), Podcasting Revolution (10 episodes), and Movie Stream Cast (26 episodes). His current podcasts include Horror Movie Podcast and Movie Podcast Weekly. Bets are now being taken as to how long they will last. Contact your local bookie. The odds are fantastic!

Jason’s latest gig is over the radio airwaves. He appears every other Wednesday as the film critic for The Dave Bowman Show — Power Talk 1360 and 1280 Modesto / Stockton.

Jason is widely known as: The Nicest Guy in Podcasting. Although there is no evidence that he gave himself that title, there is also none to the contrary. Jason names Roger Ebert and Stanley Kauffmann as his film criticism heroes and his favorite woodland creatures as bunnies. And despite relentless abuse and martyr-like persecution, he still says his all-time favorite film is M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Village” (2004).

Written Review: Being Flynn (2012)

by Jason Pyles
Movie Podcast Weekly.com

Premise: A delusional, dead-beat dad (Robert De Niro) resurfaces in the life of his son (Paul Dano), who works at a homeless shelter where he finds it especially difficult to serve his father as a patron.

Review: Unless you have an affinity for dramas or Robert De Niro, the trailer for “Being Flynn” doesn’t look like anything to write home about. It appears to be just another little indie drama with a big star, some clever dialogue, and a few poignant moments, something along the lines of another “Smart People” (2008) or the like. Continue reading