Typically, when a movie gets labeled as one of the “feel-good movies of the summer”, there’s a set of expectations that accompany such a distinction. Gentle, breezy humor, romance, and an ending that ends well for our protagonists are, more or less, the order of the day. Less typical of the “feel-good” movie is, say,…
A few weeks ago I published a list of my top ten favorite films from 2015, and stressed in that opening paragraph, which I assume everyone skipped over, that last year saw the releases of well over ten great movies, making for a nice break from the norm. I gave a shout-out to some of…
Last year I struggled to make a top ten list because I had a hard time picking ten movies I actually liked. With the exception of a few irreplaceable gems, 2014 sucked. I had difficulty yet again compiling such a list, but this time because too many good movies came out in 2015. 2015 was…
When I first heard that Ryan Gosling was writing and directing (but not appearing in) his own feature-length film, I got pretty intrigued. When I saw the weird as hell trailer, I got reasonably excited. It seemed that this chiseled Canadian muse took a stylistic page from his greatest patron: the inconsistently attractive Danish oddball…
Remember when Drive came out and a bunch of stupid people got mad because it wasn’t a Fast & Furious movie? Well, when Only God Forgives came out, a different bunch of stupid people got mad because it wasn’t Drive. I guess it’s unfair to call those people stupid. I’m sure that the majority of…
While legitimate film critics are busy with their “Best Of” and “Oscar Prediction” lists, Rooster Illusion is looking inward, digging deep to find the source of his power. These are the films that speak to Rooster Illusion on a deep, spiritual level, infusing his blood with stardust and driving him to reach new creative heights.…
Man, did any of you read my review of The Place Beyond the Pines? It was a while back, a few months. I made a point in my opening paragraph about how that movie starred Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper, two men who are widely considered among the most attractive alive, and how that was…
Rooster Illusion 