Cinema Kane Reviews

Saturday Night 11/9/24

I just saw Jason Reitmen’s Saturday Night. As someone who’s Father raised him on the not ready for prime time players I had the highest of expectations for this film. I’m happy to say it surpassed my expectation. Jason Reitmen and company have created the chaos that lead up to the first time Chevy Chase Said “live from New York it’s Saturday Night” this movie gets you into the comedy and drama that created the lightning in a bottle that was SNL in its early days. As a child I can remember the feeling watching sketches like the coneheads, Roseanne Rosanna Adanna, the thing that wouldn’t leave, and so many others. This movie made me smile from frame one. The ensemble cast gives outstandingly stellar performances all around. Each character feels fully realized by their performances. This movie might be my favorite movie of the year and one I’ll revisit for years to come. The show shaped my sense of humor and means so much to me. As my Dad introduced me to SNL I felt his presence with me throughout the film.

St. Elmo’s Fire 11/9/24

I didn’t read any reviews of this movie before writing this and this may in-fact be a hot take. I’m not just a film fan but an avid reader. One of my favorite classic authors is Earnest Hemingway. Hemingway wrote a book I love called The Sun Also Rises. The book is about a group of young British expatriates in the 1920s. This lost generation is searching for a purpose and a place in the world. This was a generation with lots of time on their hands wanting to find the thing that made them special or important. Well along those same lines St. Elmo’s Fire is also about a lost generation looking for the answers to these same questions right out of college in the early 1980s. This group of young people are like the characters in The Sun Also Rises because they have the pressures of society and each bearing down on them. They all crave the attention of each other as the approval of their peers means more than others. Anyway I enjoyed the movie but can understand why it’s not some peoples cup of tea. For me they my way into the movie was seeing the literary equivalent in one of my favorite books.

Snack Shack 11/9/24

One of the best coming of age movies I’ve seen in a while. The cast is charismatic and the story while not original is made it’s own by way of the characters interactions with the events. As a person who loves teen movies in general and especially ones that ground themselves more into reality this movie truly does stand out from the pack. I personally hope whoever is running Hollywood right now will take note of this enjoyable comedy/drama and find more filmmakers with unique characters and voices like this. The f&@k dogs may be vulgar but the heart of the movie is where the story shines. Definitely check it out.

The 4:30 Movie 11/9/24

I had my own issues with clerks 3 but it had more to do with my state of mind at that time than the movie itself. That aside, today I saw Kevin Smith’s best movie. An R rated coming of age comedy loosely based on a day of Kevin’s life theater hopping with his friends from high school. There are shades of who Kevin would become and hints to his future success in film. The quote that stands out in this movie is one that brings my own personal feelings of kinship with Kevin even more fully into perspective. 

“Most people go to movies to escape their lives, people like you and me use movies to make life make sense.”

Kevin as a fan since I was 16 years old you have made me a believer again. After killing off a gen X icon in clerks 3 you have come back even stronger. And made me a fan all over again. This movie is a gift to all of us who know the real world inspiration behind these characters and boy is that mid credits scene a beautiful moment. 

Welcome back Kevin and well done!!!

Longlegs 11/9/24

In the tradition of movies like silence of the lambs and seven, longlegs is a modern take on the cerebral psychological thriller with a supernatural twist that was quite frankly unsettling even for a long time horror fan. The director obviously influenced by Jonathan Demi and silence of the lambs as obvious nods to that film can be found throughout the movie. This movie also creates its own kind of atmosphere with a simultaneous feel of a late 70’s low budget horror movie as well as a mid 90s aesthetic. A new movie villain is introduced played to creepy perfection by Nicolas Cage looking the least like himself I’ve ever seen. Longlegs is sure to become a cult favorite for years to come but the last half hour is among the creepiest I’ve seen in many years. Great movie overall if this is your kind of thing check it out!!! 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Ghostbusters (1984) 11/9/24

My favorite movie has never changed since I was 5 years old Ghostbusters has stuck with me in the best way. My Father was taken by Cancer in February of this year and he saw the trailer for frozen empire before he passed away and he said that looks great can’t wait to see. Maybe by March I’ll feel up to going and seeing it. So seeing Frozen Empire today was a little bittersweet. First of all I love the movie it feels like a ghostbusters movie should. We’ve got new gadgets and gear we’ve got old cast and our new cast. I’m happy to report that the old cast hasn’t missed a beat and the new cast is keeping up wonderfully. There were exactly two moments that made me get a bit misty eyed thinking of my Dad. The first time was towards the middle of the movie when phoebe and Callie were arguing the way parents and kids do. I occasionally butted heads with my Dad in similar ways to this. The other was seeing the dedication card to Ivan Reitman who died two years ago. This movie is so much fun and it made me smile so many times. I laughed I cried I got excited wondering what my Dad would’ve thought about this movie. It’s also one of the most fast paced Ghostbusters movies in the history of the franchise. The art direction, cinematography, and, compelling storytelling made it a worthwhile sequel to an already iconic movie. I also appreciated the real ghostbusters callouts at the beginning of the movie and the callout to hook and ladder 8 the actual fire company that operates out of the firehouse from the movies. My one complaint is that the new characters don’t get enough development and time to get to know them. The mix of practically done FX and cgi made it one of the most visually stunning instruments too. The return of a certain ugly little spud was a fun experience for me too. As someone who has put on the flight suit for the last three years and celebrated this franchise my entire life I gotta say busting still makes me feel good. My Dad introduced me to the world of Ghostbusters and I personally think he would have loved it. But he probably would’ve wanted more comedy.

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