The Movie Guy

I found myself surprisingly moved by the overall message of “The Walk,” Hollywood’s retelling of the “incredible true story” of Philippe Petit’s high wire walk across the 140-foot span between New York City’s World Trade Center towers on Aug. 6, 1974. Rising above cliché and avoiding disastrous results like Petit himself, director Robert Zemeckis manages to craft a modern-day fairy tale using amazing special effects to tell the story of Petit’s absolutely true and incredible feat. Continue reading →

If there are no original story ideas and new stories evolve from combining old storylines, Ridley Scott’s “The Martian” is the perfect example- its story of abandoned astronaut/botanist Mark Watney (Matt Damon) trying to survive on the surface of Mars while NASA attempts to save him through a daring space mission is really just a major mash-up of two Tom Hanks films: “Cast Away” and “Apollo 13.” The most impressive thing about “The Martian” is that Scott and Damon almost make you forget the familiar material through good directing and likable acting. It’s fantastical finale, however, test the limits of your credulity. Continue reading →