#fort lauderdale

LIVE

By Alyn Darnay

If you’re a film fan, as I am, you know that there are thousands of really great films out there just waiting to be discovered and watched. I’m referring to the truly wonderful films, the ones we never forget, those we unexpectedly stumbled upon made by the most talented of filmmakers; films that we’ve missed, overlooked, or just didn’t know about until they were right there in front of our eyes as we watched. The common denominator of these rare film experiences is that in one way or another the films speak to you, make you feel something on some emotional level, and leave you thinking, or laughing, or smiling, or scared, or even angry.

The curse of finding and watching one of these movies is that once we’ve seen it, once we’ve experienced it and it hits us on that visceral level, we soon begin to hunger for that next visual treat, and the next, and the next. The problem is finding the exceptional films that have us experiencing them in this way is not so easy. I believe an appropriate expression is, “You’ve got to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince.”

I’m not saying all film experiences are or should be like that, nor do they have to be. Though that would be nice. We all have different tastes and what we watch is often driven by our mood at the moment. So, here in Part Three, after already suggesting mostly classic films, I’m considering mood, and putting out another set of movies to watch, but this time they’re of a more escapist style. From high octane thrill rides to complicated heist films and lots of good things in between. They are all available on one or more of the streaming services or on YouTube. So have some fun watching and here we go.

GASOLINE ACTION FILMS

The Driver (1978):Directed by Walter Hill. It’s the story of a getaway driver (Ryan O’Neal), who is pursued by a persistent detective (Bruce Dern).

Drive:A Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a getaway driver runs into big trouble when he helps out his beautiful neighbor.

Baby Driver: A talented young getaway driver with an ear for music, is coerced into taking part in a heist that is doomed to fail.

Vanishing Point(1971): Kowalski, a long-distance car delivery driver trying to get back home in record time, runs afoul of police in states all over the West. The 1997 remake is not nearly as good as this original.

DIRECTOR JOHN CARPENTER TRILOGY

Assault On Precinct 13 (1976):Officers and prisoners are forced to defend a lonely police precinct under siege by a huge street gang. The original is the best, but the 2005 remake is also good.

Big Trouble In Little China:A tough trucker fights to rescue his girlfriend from an ancient sorcerer beneath Chinatown.

Starman:An alien takes the form of a widow’s deceased husband who helps him escape the clutches of government bad guys.

DIRECTOR RENNY HARLIN TRILOGY

The Long Kiss Goodnight:As an amnesia patient regains her memory, her violent CIA past begins to catch up with her.

Cliffhanger: After a mid-air heist goes bad, a mountain rescue team is forced to help the thieves search for the money they lost on top of the Rocky Mountains

The Adventures Of Ford Fairlane:A vulgar PI hired to find a missing groupie is pulled into a murder mystery in the music industry.

HEIST FILMS

The Sting:Two grifters, Paul Newman and Robert Redford, team up to pull off the ultimate con.

The Score:De Niro, Norton, and Brando plan their biggest heist. Great performances delivered with edge-of-your-seat tension.

The Killing(1956): Five criminals plan and execute a daring race track heist. Great early Stanley Kubrick Film.

Kelly’s Heroes(1970): Clint Eastwood leads a band of soldiers across enemy lines to steal a stash of Nazi Gold.

JUST DOWN RIGHT EXCITING FILMS

Three Days Of The Condor:CIA researcher finds his co-workers dead and must find out why to save his own life.

The Guest: A soldier shows up at the home of a fallen hero, claiming to be his friend. The family takes him in. Shortly after, strange things begin to happen.

The Getaway(1972):Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw run for the border as ruthless hitmen chase them. The 1994 remake is nowhere near as good.

Rollerball (1975): In a corporate-controlled world, one athlete in the ultra-violent sport defies those who want him out of the game. Make sure it’s this version; the 2002 remake isn’t worth your time.

Once again there should be enough for everyone in this collection of films. I hope they helped make your quarantine hours a little more exciting. Stay safe and healthy!

This was originally published in Wire Magazine Digital Issue 5.2020

#wire magazine #wiremagcom #miami beach #south beach #fort lauderdale #wynwood #wilton manors #flixgrab premium license key

@wiremagazine

Wed, 20 May 2020 13:06:42

By Alyn Darnay

Directed by: Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah
Screenplay by: Chris Bremner, Peter Craig and Joe Carnahan

Cast: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Charles Melton, Paola Núñez, Kate del Castillo, Nicky Jam, Joe Pantoliano, and Jacob Scipio

As you should know, Bad Boys For Life is the third action-packed, buddy-cop film in the Jerry Bruckheimer/Michael Bay created franchise, and comes out nearly two decades after the last entry. Surprisingly, it maintains the same level of high-spirited, chaotic, action as the previous films, even though this outing moves its main characters into middle age bringing with it all the problems that implies. Michael Bay was supposed to direct this installment as well, but he and Will Smith demand “some of the highest salaries in the film industry,” which meant that the budget couldn’t handle them both. So, the Belgian directing team of Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah took over his duties and did a great job of imitating Bay’s style and adding some of their own sensibilities along the way.

A film, any film for that matter, is only as good as its villain, and this sequel has a great one in newcomer Jacob Scipio. It’s hard to top the machismo of Will Smith, but this guy manages to convince us he’s more than up to the task. There’s a scene near the beginning of the film that pits him against a band of criminals who he decimates in the blink of an eye, letting us know that our boys are in real trouble this time. That feeling never leaves you, it holds true to the very end.

As for Smith and Lawrence’s characters, they’re still the same two bickering, fist-bumping, “Bad Boys” singing, buddies they’ve always been, and their 25 years as Miami cops don’t seem to have mellowed them or dulled their propensity for wanton destruction, racing through crowded city streets, shooting anything that moves, and making light of the consequences of their actions. In other words, perfect anti-hero heroes.
Here’s the storyline…

Miami narcotics detectives Mike Lowrey (Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) have been working the streets for two decades and are beginning to feel the effects of age. Just as Marcus becomes a grandfather and decides it’s time to hang it up and retire, someone starts murdering people involved in an old case. Before they can start looking into it, there’s an assassination attempt on Mike’s life. Once he recovers, they decide to work together one last time to bring down the mysterious assassin who seems to have a link to Mike’s past. Their captain (Pantoliano), not wanting to have two loose cannons out on the streets again, orders them to join forces with AMMO, a newly created elite team of the Miami police department. Reluctantly they begin searching for the elusive killer together.

I really liked the cast in this film; they work well with each other and appear to have been chosen with great care. Also, because they’re drawn from character types we’re already familiar with from tons of other films, you understand who they are immediately. This is a smart way to work because background stories on each would have slowed the film down way too much. If you’re missing and long for the action movies of the ‘90s, Bad Boys For Life is just your ticket. It’s filled with big-screen slow-motion explosions, wild car and motorcycle chases, and circular close-up shots of the actors, all set to an overly loud and pretentious film score. My take… if you just sit back and take Bad Boys For Life for what it is, a good action-comedy sequel, you’ll find it one big exciting ride.
Alyn Darnay is a film critic; feedback is encouraged at [email protected].

This was originally published in Wire Magazine Issue 6.2020

#wire magazine #wiremagcom #miami beach #south beach #fort lauderdale #wynwood #wilton manors

@wiremagazine

Wed, 11 Mar 2020 17:54:13

By DJ FR8-O

Who doesn’t love brand new music? The exhilaration of hearing a fresh track for the first time. Being mesmerized by the beats and melody of the instrumentation. Listening to the lyrics pouring from the singer’s mouth and feeling like they’re telling your story. It’s an experience we all crave every day, especially when we’ve played that last new song so much that our ears have gone numb to it. As we become more connected to the world through the Internet and its endless roster of music streaming sites, it’s becoming harder for artists to bring something truly original to the table that can outlast the modern listener’s attention span. That might explain why many artists like Sam Sparro are looking to the past to create the sound of the future.

Sparro has always been the kind of artist whose work is ten steps ahead of the curve. When his breakthrough track “Black and Gold” was unleashed in 2008 – with its sultry synth baseline and classic disco vibe – the rest of the industry was saturating the airwaves with pulsating EDM and fist-pumping everything in its path. Since his track didn’t fit the modern music mold of the times, the Australian singer didn’t get as much mainstream attention as his American peers, but it was eventually nominated for a Grammy, an ARIA and an MTV Award, and went on to be featured in several TV shows, films, and commercials. Proof that sometimes “newer” isn’t always better.

After an eight-year hiatus, the openly gay singer is once again bringing sexy back with his new LP, Boombox Eternal. This time, he’s pulled inspiration from some of his favorite records from the late ‘80s/early '90s and paying homage to childhood idols like Janet Jackson and New Edition. From the album and singles artwork, it’s fair to say the 37-year-old has gone beyond the music to take us back to a time when new jack swing was king and you were only as cool as your cassette collection. He’s even gone as far as to release the album on cassette for hardcore fans and audiophiles.

This musical flashback opens up with that all too familiar click and clatter of a cassette tape being slipped into a boombox before exploding into the intro “Vibe Forever.” The ride that follows is like playing a mixtape you might find in a time capsule from three decades ago. Sparro doesn’t just resurrect the past though. He takes what was old and makes it new again. In an interview with albumism.com, he explained “I did so much research about the sound that I was creating in terms of what keyboards and drum machines Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis and Teddy Riley were using (then). I spent a lot of time collecting samples and different sounds from that era and I became very obsessed with sort of recreating it. But what makes Boombox Eternal modern is some of the lyrical content and the production in terms of the mixing and the vocals.”

Before the Internet gave us the power to summon fresh music with the tap of a finger, we sat by the radio for hours eagerly waiting for a brand new track to be inserted into regular rotation. Boombox Eternal rekindles the nostalgia of those days while giving the modern pop landscape a much-needed reboot.

If you’re a recording artist, producer or musician and would like your work featured in TOP TRAX, hit me up at [email protected].

This was originally published in Wire Magazine Issue 6.2020

#wiremagcom #wire magaxine #miami beach #fort lauderdale #wynwood #wilton manors #top trax

@wiremagazine

Wed, 11 Mar 2020 17:54:03

Poster I did for a Pixies secret show in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Only a couple prints left in my online store. Grab one before they’re gone for good. dustinwyattdesign.bigcartel.com

Post link