The Small Town Critic » melodrama

Why negative movie reviews really don’t matter

admin — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 15:00:04 +0000

Why negative movie reviews really don't matter

Article by: Coop Cooper

Energized by the power and fantastic performances of “The Help,” this weekend I ventured online to see what my fellow American movie critics thought. The website Rottentomatoes.com averages the positive and negative reviews from critics of major print publications and assigns a percentage value. Anything under 60% is considered “rotten” and anything over that number is deemed “fresh.” While “The Help” gained a respectable 73% average, compared to the averages of “Crazy, Stupid, Love.” (76%), Captain America: The First Avenger” (79%) and “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” (82%), its average seemed rather low. Considering the film's box office and awards potential, I wondered where most of the negativity was coming from...

“The Help” will win Oscars and prestige for Mississippi

admin — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 22:01:29 +0000

by Coop Cooper There is so much to talk about regarding the film adaptation of the bestselling book “The Help,” I won't waste time reminding everyone of the setup or plot. In full disclosure, I helped the director and producers secure locations within Clarksdale, Mississippi in order to make sure the production filmed here. Although I helped “The Help,” I always intended on writing a non-partial review of the finished product. The short: It's a glowing review. The long: My (possibly biased) opinions will be vindicated on the day of the 2012 Academy Awards nominations. I believe “The Help” will emerge as one of the most important and highly decorated films of the year. Director Tate Taylor (a Mississippi native) and the rest of the principle crew have a lot to celebrate. They took an unpublished novel and elevated it to A-list standards in a matter of months. Secondly, they succeeded far beyond the expectations of myself and fans of the book...

MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter!): MOTHER, MONSTERS, THE KILLER INSIDE ME, INTRUDER, DRILLBIT TAYLOR, THE TOWN, CENTURION…

admin — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 21:11:12 +0000

Got a slew of them here. MONSTERS is currently available as a $10.oo rent on iTunes and THE KILLER INSIDE ME will be available on DVD/Blu-Ray tomorrow (Sept. 28)... MOTHER - Poor Korean mom turns detective in an attempt to free her alleged murdering, simple-minded son. Powerful cinema. 5 out of 5 stars. MONSTERS - Immigration statement thinly disguised as arthouse sci-fi. Watchable for critics, unsatisfying for mainstream. 3 out of 5 stars THE KILLER INSIDE ME - C. Affleck plays a psycho lawman in 1960's TX. Brilliant, brutal and one of the best of the year. 5 out of 5 stars INTRUDER - Sam Raimi & crew try to survive a slasher attack in a supermarket. Nice camerawork but lame considering the talent. 2 - 5 stars DRILLBIT TAYLOR - Innocuous comedy where 3 nerds hire a homeless buffoon to protect them from a bully. Cute but hollow. 2&1/2 out of 5 stars THE TOWN - A guilt-ridden Boston bank robber falls in love with a former hostage. Affleck remakes HEAT with kick-ass results. 4 out of 5 stars CENTURION - Spec fiction about what may have happened to the 9th Roman Legion. Sloppy pacing/high watchability. Bloody brutal! 3 out of 5 Thy Twitter has spoken... -Coop

MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter!): The best of the FEEL GOOD FILM FESTIVAL by COOP

admin — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 02:24:43 +0000

Coop’s most recent MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter): I got to conduct some great Q & A's for some terrific films at the FEEL GOOD FILM FESTIVAL this past weekend. I met some truly gifted filmmakers and inspirational people. I'd like to thank these special guests for affecting me the most: Cheryl Hines for her big intro, Shirley Jones for classing up the joint with her presence, Marty Ingles for reminding us what this festival is really about, Leeza Gibbons for singling me out with a nice compliment, writer/director Lexi Alexander for the lively discussion, producer/actor Googy Gress for his sincere enthusiasm, the League of S.T.E.A.M. for entertaining us all weekend and motivational speaker/actor Nick Vujicic for the sheer inspiration he gave to us all with his fantastic short film The Butterfly Circus (watch here!). I'd also like to give big high-fives to all of the coordinators and volunteers for making the festival such a fun and engaging experience. I had a great time bonding with you all. Finally a big congratulations to producer/actor Joe Russell and writer/actress Casey Strand from the short film "Strawberries" whose engagement I helped orchestrate during one of the more memorable Q & A's. I wish I had seen them all but of the ones I did see, here are the films that I felt were the best (in no particular order)...

PRECIOUS (2009) ***** movie review by COOP

admin — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 23:55:57 +0000

While many moviegoers enjoyed the inspiring, true-life story of Michael Oher in “The Blind Side” over the past few weekends, many skipped the similarly-themed “Precious.” Perhaps they thought it would be a bit of a downer… and they would be right. “Precious” is a melancholy tale in which the main character seems doomed from beginning to end, but this compelling tearjerker delivers some of the...

NEW MOON (2009) **1/2 movie review by COOP

admin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:12:49 +0000

I gave last year’s “Twilight” a fair pass because it pulled off some original and compelling storytelling despite the backlash by non-fans who found the whole phenomenon silly and far too juvenile for mainstream audiences. I went so far as to read the New Moon novel and while I found it uneven, soapy and poorly structured, I understood and enjoyed the way it made a cliché subject readable. I also respected the direction it was heading and was looking forward to seeing the film adaptation and the next sequel (“Eclipse”). That good will has expired because...

THE MUD DOG BLUES movie shoot at Ground Zero Blues Club, by COOP

admin — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:40:06 +0000

One very welcome side effect to blues music tourism in Clarksdale, Mississippi is that it attracts filmmakers to the area. Locals may have noticed an increasing amount of camera jockeys and boom mics wandering around downtown and the nearby tourist attractions. Get used to it, because if Tuesday night’s filming of “The Mud Dog Blues” feature promo trailer at Ground Zero Blues Club is any indication, Clarksdale may become one of the most filmed cities in the state.

Hollywood Green or “Everything Old is New Again” by JAY

admin — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 17:00:57 +0000

Recycling is all the rage these days. In my neighborhood up in the Pacific Northwest, it’s almost a religion. In Michigan it’s actually mandatory – but at 10¢ a can, who’s complaining? Yep, taking a discarded resource and reshaping it into a usable commodity for a fraction of the cost of producing new materials is nothing new. In fact Hollywood has been doing just that for decades...

THE BLIND SIDE movie trailer will bring tears to the eyes of Ole Miss fans and non-believers alike. by COOP

admin — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:00:25 +0000

Michael Oher, former star offensive lineman for the Ole Miss football team, could become a household name across America on November 20th. Less than a month after he begins his first regular season game in the NFL for the Baltimore Ravens, Oher’s life story will premiere in movie theaters across the country. For all of us Ole Miss fans who’ve been cheering for Oher since 2004, this film will mark yet another victorious event...

THE ROAD trailer looks different than I imagined… by COOP

admin — Fri, 15 May 2009 18:00:34 +0000

I read this book over a year ago and it still has an emotional resonance with me. It's a grim and depressing story about a father and son trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Sounds like the usual, gritty sci-fi fare but what you may not know is this work gained notoriety as a famed Oprah "Book of the Month" Club book. Shocking, I know. Written by Cormac McCarthy (of "No Country for Old Men" fame), this book is now considered the pinnacle of literature. Students are studying it at universities, critics are singing it's genius and people who hate sci-fi are loving it. Now the trailer for the film version is upon us. What shocks me is...

SEVEN POUNDS (2008) **** movie review by COOP

Coop — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 00:35:00 +0000

“Seven Pounds” isn’t the same feel good holiday movie like Will Smith’s previous melodrama “The Pursuit of Happyness.” Instead, he and “Happyness” director Gabriele Muccino deliver a dark, brooding think-piece that will probably divide critics and audiences alike. “Seven Pounds” qualifies as memorable cinema, even if no one considers it a great film. Smith stars as [...]

AUGUST RUSH (2007) *** ½ holiday movie review by COOP

Coop — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:44:00 +0000

One of the most satisfying feel-good movies of 2007, “August Rush” flew under the radar of most viewers and got no love from the critics last Thanksgiving. I’m going to blame all of that on mass cynicism and poor marketing because there is no reason this “happy tear-jerker” shouldn’t have been a hit. This modern fairy [...]

CHANGELING (2008) **1/2 movie review by COOP

Coop — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 21:58:00 +0000

If it hadn’t actually happened, many would dismiss this story as unbelievable. “Changling” is a California tragedy that turned into an epic battle for justice during the “Roaring 1920’s.” Few people remember the story that gave the Los Angeles Police Department one of the worst black eyes in its history, but director Clint Eastwood and [...]

THE FALL (2008) **** DVD review by SEBASTIAN

Coop — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 18:58:00 +0000

Perhaps “The Fall” is a film best enjoyed by photographers, painters, and most importantly surrealists. I think I may have some sort of favoritism towards a film like this just because it plays up these elements so very well. When director Tarsem Singh’s first movie “The Cell” hit screens in 2000, I was first in line. [...]

SYNECDOCHE, NY trailer… What the heck did I just see?? by COOP

Coop — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 18:22:00 +0000

“Synecdoche, NY” (apparently pronounced “si-nek-duk-ee”)is the directorial debut of Academy Award-winning screenwriter, Charlie Kaufman. This is the guy who assailed us with his genius by writing “Being John Malkovich,” then lapsed into a bunch of overrated independent films like “Adaptation” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” While his later efforts showed hints of genius, [...]

LIGHTNING BUG (2004) **1/2 DVD capsule by COOP

Coop — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 05:58:00 +0000

The creators of “Lightning Bug” seemed to have in mind a bittersweet, sentimental film designed to please the indie crowds at film festivals. They got the bitter part right. The film centers around a sweet teenager named Green (Bret Harrison) who grows up in an Alabama trailer with this single mom and little brother. His not-too-bright [...]

A.I. (2001) **** movie review by COOP

Coop — Wed, 14 May 2008 00:59:00 +0000

Very rarely does a movie come along that invokes such a strong reaction in viewers. Good or bad, it’s very hard to ignore a film that even its detractors can’t stop talking about, even days after seeing it. “A.I.” is certainly one of these films. Director Steven Spielberg resurrects the late Stanley Kubrick’s long-awaited project [...]

MY DOG SKIP (2000) ****1/2 movie review by COOP

Coop — Wed, 14 May 2008 00:22:00 +0000

Everyone remembers their childhood dogs and the impact they’ve had on their life. Perhaps one dog in particular sticks out in your mind… A special dog that was there for you in the toughest or best years of your life. That is what this screen adaptation of Willie Morris’ “My Dog Skip” conveys in a [...]