http://onmilwaukee.com/rss/rss_mattmueller.xml Milwaukee's Daily Magazine Matt Mueller en-us Thu, 23 May 2013 01:00:50 CDT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://onmilwaukee.com/images/layout/rss_logo.png http://onmilwaukee.com 144 30 According to Hollywood movies, Las Vegas is either the greatest place on Earth or the worst place on Earth and everything that's wrong with America. I've never been to Vegas so I couldn't really say from first-hand experience what I think of Sin City, but I have seen several movies featuring the legendary town. So it's almost like I've been there. Kind of. Barely. Anyways, in honor of "The Hangover Part III," here are five of the most memorable films featuring the city that truly never sleeps. http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/fivevegasmovies.html http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/fivevegasmovies.html?33843 Tue, 21 May 2013 09:07:00 CDT With all of that in place, it would seem the sequel's phasers would be all set to stun. But something's off. There's a sequence where the starship Enterprise is flying at warp speed when a big, clunky-looking vessel comes up from behind and nudges it off its exhilarating track. That's pretty much "Star Trek Into Darkness" in a nutshell, except replace the big, clumsy vessel with a big, clumsy story. http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/startrekintodarkness.html http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/startrekintodarkness.html?33822 Fri, 17 May 2013 12:31:00 CDT Michael Viers is a horror movie junkie, but his upcoming project, "Love You Still," is less boogeyman and more "Old Man and the Sea." The most shocking part, however, is that the story - a tale of an old fisherman reflecting back on his life - comes courtesy of a junior in high school. It may seem like a strange combination, but for Milwaukee Film and their Collaborative Cinema educational program, it's just another exciting year of locally-bred film and hopefully a sign of more to come. http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/collaborativecinema2013.html http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/collaborativecinema2013.html?33780 Wed, 15 May 2013 09:04:00 CDT After four years, several all-nighters and an embarrassing amount of ramen, Hot Pockets and Dr. Pepper for dinner, I - alongside thousands of others across the country - am finally making the triumphant walk across the graduation stage from childhood to adulthood, snagging a diploma along the way. If I ever get nostalgic for the university lifestyle, however, I can pop in one of these great college movies. http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/fivecollegemovies.html http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/fivecollegemovies.html?33770 Tue, 14 May 2013 11:05:00 CDT Now there's Baz Luhrmann's rendition of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby," done up as the big, loud extravagant 3-D summer blockbuster I doubt Fitzgerald had in mind when he wrote his time-honored critique of the vapid lifestyles of the rich and the growing emptiness of the American dream. The end result feels a bit too much like one of Gatsby's parties: a whole lot of razzle dazzle with a hollow emotional core. http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/thegreatgatsby.html http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/thegreatgatsby.html?33728 Fri, 10 May 2013 12:02:00 CDT Funny or Die and Old Milwaukee are bringing stand-up comedians Matt Braunger and Johnny Pemberton to Turner Hall tomorrow night. Braunger is most known for his reoccurring role as Gene on NBC's "Up All Night" and his Comedy Central special "Shovel Fighter." Pemberton appeared in "21 Jump Street" and "The Watch," and currently stars as Mason on ABC's new sitcom "Family Tools." We got a chance to talk with the duo of comedians about the tour, memories of Milwaukee and messing with random people on the road. http://onmilwaukee.com/ent/articles/braungerpemberton.html http://onmilwaukee.com/ent/articles/braungerpemberton.html?33702 Wed, 8 May 2013 09:05:00 CDT "Moulin Rouge" director Baz Luhrmann is the latest to attempt to cash in on classic literature with his slick, shiny 3-D rendition of "The Great Gatsby," coming out Friday. Before we see how Luhrmann's second attempt at working with legendary source material goes, let's take a peek at five other films that boldly attempted to abolish the phrase, "the book is always better than the movie," out of audience's minds. http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/fivemovieadaptations.html http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/fivemovieadaptations.html?33690 Tue, 7 May 2013 09:02:00 CDT The first question I had walking out of "The Avengers" last summer was, "How freaking awesome was that?" The second question - a bit more difficult to answer - was, "How is any comic book superhero movie ever going to be able to compete with that?" Pretty easily, as it turns out. "Iron Man 3" may not fly as high as its star-studded combo platter predecessor, but it still makes for a great start to the summer. http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/ironman3.html http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/ironman3.html?33661 Fri, 3 May 2013 17:05:00 CDT While one of the biggest studio films of the year will be announcing the yearly stampede of other, equally massive studio features on Friday, UWM and its film department will head in the other direction with the 13th Milwaukee Underground Film Festival, starting this Friday and running through the rest of the weekend. http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/mkeundergroundfilm.html http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/mkeundergroundfilm.html?33636 Thu, 2 May 2013 11:03:00 CDT "Pain and Gain" is the Michael Bay-iest movie Michael Bay has ever made. A large portion of readers, weary of Bay's signature bloated, "explosions are awesome KABOOM!," go-big-or-go-home brand, likely just read that last sentence and shuddered in fear. But here's the twist: It turns out "Pain and Gain" is a roided-out freak-child of a film that's a lot of bizarre fun. http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/painandgain.html http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/painandgain.html?33612 Wed, 1 May 2013 09:05:00 CDT "The Place Beyond the Pines," represents a massive leap for "Blue Valentine" director Derek Cianfrance. Its lofty aspirations come with their share of flaws, but they also come with a sense of exhilaration. To borrow a phrase from one of the film's costars, it rides like lightning but avoids crashing like thunder. http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/placebeyondpines.html http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/placebeyondpines.html?33580 Sun, 28 Apr 2013 12:02:00 CDT Craig Juntunen's personal experience with adoption led him to take a closer look into the process. What he found unnerved and motivated him to voice his concerns across the nation with "Stuck," a feature-length documentary he produced through his Both Ends Burning Campaign. The campaign facilitates adoption reform dedicated to stopping the decline of adoption and the ensuing increase in orphaned and abandoned children. http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/stuckfilm.html http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/stuckfilm.html?33547 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:06:00 CDT While the big climactic wedding has become the romantic comedy cliché to end all clichés, some films have still managed to turn marital vows into movie magic. In honor of this weekend's "The Big Wedding," here are five cinematic weddings that are worth getting down on one knee and spending the rest of your life with - or at least a quiet Saturday night. http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/fivemovieweddings.html http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/fivemovieweddings.html?33528 Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:32:00 CDT A good song gets in your bones when you hear it. Even if the lyrics are dumb or vapid, sometimes a song just makes you feel good, good enough to sing along and dance - or at least tap your feet or sway a bit if you're in public. The Australian music dramedy "The Sapphires" is that sensation in film form. http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/thesapphires.html http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/thesapphires.html?33506 Mon, 22 Apr 2013 08:31:00 CDT "Oblivion," Tom Cruise's first dip into sci-fi since "War of the Worlds" as well as the year's first big blockbuster, may technically be an original sci-fi story, but it's in name only. The movie drives over well-tread ground, but it does so with such visual panache and slick beauty that it almost doesn't matter. Almost. http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/oblivion.html http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/oblivion.html?33504 Sun, 21 Apr 2013 13:01:00 CDT I'd like to think I'm a fairly smart guy (when it comes to movies, not calculus or anything like that), but "Trance" eludes me. "Slumdog Millionaire" director Danny Boyle creates a puzzle in which each piece is another, smaller puzzle, and every couple of minutes, the pieces change shape, and you have to start all over again. It's a fairly exhilarating experience at first, but by the end, that exhilaration turns into exhaustion. But it's still an experience. http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/trance.html http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/trance.html?33496 Fri, 19 Apr 2013 17:35:00 CDT In most cases, music comes in the form of quick click and a download bar. Album art has become a lost art, and elements like liner notes, which used to provide a connection between the artists, the listeners and their inspirations, have mostly gone the way of the 8-track player. Gian Pogliano, guitarist for the Bay View "surf-dance-punk" band The Jones Island Flood, is hoping he may have found the ideal solution: a concept he calls the deluxe download. http://onmilwaukee.com/music/articles/jonesislandflood.html http://onmilwaukee.com/music/articles/jonesislandflood.html?33465 Wed, 17 Apr 2013 17:01:00 CDT When done well, the science fiction genre not only entertains but immerses the viewer into an imaginative world of fascinating ideas, exciting action and memorable characters. Sci-fi gets the mind going just as much as the pulse ... when it's done right. And these five films definitely do it right. http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/fivescifimovies.html http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/fivescifimovies.html?33448 Tue, 16 Apr 2013 17:00:00 CDT When Jackie Robinson came into professional baseball in 1947, he broke the rules. "42," on the other hand, follows all of the rules. It delivers everything you expect from a sports biopic and everything you already knew walking in without adding much new life or perspective. The story is powerful, if not the storytelling. http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/42movie.html http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/42movie.html?33420 Sat, 13 Apr 2013 12:30:00 CDT You would think that a movie like a 3-D conversion re-release like "Jurassic Park 3D" would be the opposite of a cure. After all, what could generate more cynicism than a 3-D re-release, the modern definition of a Hollywood money grab? Yet somehow, "Jurassic Park 3D" is exactly what weary moviegoers needed, still showing the power film has to stir the imagination and invigorate our sense of wonder. http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/jurassicpark3d.html http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/jurassicpark3d.html?33393 Wed, 10 Apr 2013 16:34:00 CDT For some young fans, their fondest baseball memories aren't made at major league stadiums. They're made at little diamonds scattered throughout the city, at places like Columbus Park or Madison Park, where victories are won, lessons are learned and copious amounts of Gatorade and Big League Chew bubble gum are consumed. That's where little leagues, like North Central Little League (NCLL), come in. http://onmilwaukee.com/sports/articles/ncllbaseball.html http://onmilwaukee.com/sports/articles/ncllbaseball.html?33381 Tue, 9 Apr 2013 16:33:00 CDT Fanboys, you have nothing to be afraid of. Maybe I should rephrase that, since as a horror movie, "Evil Dead" has to plenty of squirm-inducing, cringe-worthy material that will likely have even some of the thicker-skinned gorehounds watching the movie through their fingers. When it comes to the legacy of the beloved low-budget cult classic "The Evil Dead," however, there is no reason to be scared. http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/evildead.html http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/evildead.html?33360 Sat, 6 Apr 2013 12:02:00 CDT "The Host" features a global alien invasion, the struggle for human survival and grand vistas of the American west, complete with gorgeous sandy dunes and massive rock formations. Yet somehow, despite all of that epic material, it feels small. There's no sense of the stakes at either a global or personal level. It's a fight for humanity with not too much fight and not a whole lot of humanity either. http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/thehost.html http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/thehost.html?33335 Wed, 3 Apr 2013 16:33:00 CDT The upcoming remake of Sam Raimi's twisted cult classic "Evil Dead" - opening this Friday - is hoping to avoid joining the ranks of notorious bombs like "Prom Night" and "The Wicker Man." Instead, it hopes to be remembered alongside these five quality horror movie remakes that managed to break with convention and not be abysmal. http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/fivehorrorremakes.html http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/fivehorrorremakes.html?33326 Tue, 2 Apr 2013 16:34:00 CDT So far this year, all the big blockbuster action movies - like "A Good Day to Die Hard" and its slightly more tolerable cousin "Olympus Has Fallen" - act as though they have a license to kill brain cells. Worst of all, they only provide marginally diverting action to make up for it. Now there's the long awaited "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," the most mind-numbing of the bunch. http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/gijoeretaliation.html http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/gijoeretaliation.html?33319 Tue, 2 Apr 2013 10:30:00 CDT "No," director Pablo Larraín's Academy Award nominated Chilean film, isn't simply set in the late '80s. It feels like you've been just dropped into the '80s for two hours. The movie has a marvelous sense of place and time, while also telling a story about the mixing of politics and advertising that feels as relevant as ever. http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/no.html http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/no.html?33313 Sun, 31 Mar 2013 12:32:00 CDT This past weekend, I did something that I've never done before. It wasn't professional. I'm not proud of it. But simply put, it was something I felt I had to. I walked out of a movie. http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/inappropriatecomedy.html http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/inappropriatecomedy.html?33310 Sat, 30 Mar 2013 13:32:00 CDT I sat down with Calliope band members Vic Buell IV (guitars and vocals) and Al Kraemer (keyboard and vocals) to talk about their circus-influenced origins, creating their first album and why they're actually looking forward to the reviews. http://onmilwaukee.com/music/articles/calliopemusic.html http://onmilwaukee.com/music/articles/calliopemusic.html?33286 Wed, 27 Mar 2013 16:31:00 CDT Fifteen-time Grammy winner Béla Fleck has made a career out of innovative, genre-hopping compositions and collaborations. Now, he's coming to Marcus Center for the Performing Arts with renowned pianist and one of Fleck's biggest musical idols, Chick Corea. We caught up with Fleck via email to ask about performing with one of his biggest inspirations, the new-found mainstream popularity of the banjo and his recent travels to Africa. http://onmilwaukee.com/music/articles/belafleck.html http://onmilwaukee.com/music/articles/belafleck.html?33268 Tue, 26 Mar 2013 16:32:00 CDT "The Croods," the latest animated picture to come out of Dreamworks, follows a formula pretty closely. Yet somehow, the movie finds new nuances, angles, jokes and emotional notes, and mixes those with the kind of beautiful, lush, colorful and imaginative cartoon worlds you would expect from a high-end animated picture. It results in easily the studio's best film since 2010's "How to Train Your Dragon." http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/thecroods.html http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/thecroods.html?33243 Mon, 25 Mar 2013 16:21:00 CDT Being dumb isn't the worst crime for an action movie. Being dull is, and unfortunately, "Olympus Has Fallen" glues itself so rigidly to the "Die Hard" formula that it barely manages to make an impression. http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/olympushasfallen.html http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/olympushasfallen.html?33242 Sun, 24 Mar 2013 15:03:00 CDT At first glance, "The Gatekeepers" may sound simply like news on the big screen, but it's far better than that. It's as informative as a journalistic piece but has the urgency, complexity and momentum of a thriller. Moreh provides a remarkable insider's look into the struggle for peace in the Middle East, but the costs to the country and to these men's souls sound eerily close to home. http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/thegatekeepers.html http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/thegatekeepers.html?33237 Sat, 23 Mar 2013 13:31:00 CDT Washington D.C. just can't get a break. It's not enough that most people now associate the nation's capital with childish politicians who couldn't agree on the color of the sky if it meant admitting the opposite party was right. Now, the new action thriller "Olympus Has Fallen" wants to blow up the White House. It's not as though Hollywood hasn't done this before either. http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/fivewhitehouseattacks.html http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/fivewhitehouseattacks.html?33198 Wed, 20 Mar 2013 16:31:00 CDT "There's no master plan," said Taylor Rice, singer and guitarist for Local Natives. "You either wait for the spark or create the spark, but you don't know where it is or where it will lead you." Luckily for the band's fans in Milwaukee, it's leading them to the Riverside stage Friday night. http://onmilwaukee.com/music/articles/localnatives.html http://onmilwaukee.com/music/articles/localnatives.html?33183 Tue, 19 Mar 2013 16:35:00 CDT How did Hollywood reward director Brad Anderson's creepy, moody work on films like "Session 9" and "The Machinist"? By tossing him "The Call," a generic and cliché high-concept horror/thriller with little to offer in terms of brains or thrills. Considering the talent on screen and behind the camera, it makes me more sad than mad. http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/thecall.html http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/thecall.html?33154 Sun, 17 Mar 2013 17:03:00 CDT "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone" features a deep cast of comedic all-stars and a premise with tons of potential (think "The Prestige" but funny). Yet somehow it lands with a sickening thud, like a magician's guillotine trick gone horribly wrong. It's certainly not incredible, and the only wonder to be found is in wondering why a comedy with massive promise resulted in such an inconsistent amount of laughs. http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/theincredibleburtwonderstone.html http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/theincredibleburtwonderstone.html?33140 Fri, 15 Mar 2013 14:02:00 CDT During one early meeting with a Japanese government official, "Emperor" star Matthew Fox declares, "I don't need a history lesson." Thanks to its lifeless and distracted storytelling, that's unfortunately all "Emperor" can really provide. http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/emperormovie.html http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/emperormovie.html?33134 Fri, 15 Mar 2013 10:03:00 CDT St. Patrick's Day seems as good a time as any to pay tribute to Ireland's contributions to the arts with one of these five films, which feature some of the country's most famous actors doing some of their best work. http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/fiveirishactors.html http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/fiveirishactors.html?33117 Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:35:00 CDT One of the most iconic elements of the movie theater is the film reel. When a movie starts, audiences imagine a thin strip of film unfurling from a spinning reel and passing in front of an illuminated bulb, creating all sorts of magical moving pictures on the big screen. As it turns out, that classic mental image is now more the work of imagination than reality. http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/filmprojectorsgoodbad.html http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/filmprojectorsgoodbad.html?33105 Tue, 12 Mar 2013 16:31:00 CDT There is a lot going for "Dead Man Down," which makes it hurt even more to report that it's not a good movie. It's a dull, brain-dead film that worse yet has art house aspirations, which in turn make it seem even duller and even more brain-dead. Consider it an intensity-free, intrigue-free thriller in the vein of "Drive." You could call it "Crawl." http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/deadmandown.html http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/deadmandown.html?33096 Tue, 12 Mar 2013 12:31:00 CDT A great documentary should leave the audience feeling something. Whether the feeling is anger, fascination, amazement, motivation or some other strange combination of emotional responses, a documentary should stir its viewers. So why does "A Place at the Table" fall so flat in that regard? http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/aplaceatthetable.html http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/aplaceatthetable.html?33083 Mon, 11 Mar 2013 10:31:00 CDT "The Last Exorcism Part II" is a title that screams, "We were not expecting to make a sequel." But here we are, with a limp horror sequel that packs on the dumb dialogue and cheap shocks with none of the scares. http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/lastexorcismparttwo.html http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/lastexorcismparttwo.html?33081 Sun, 10 Mar 2013 15:31:00 CDT There's no place like the original "Wizard of Oz," but director Sam Raimi's creative new vision is certainly still worth a visit. http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/ozthegreatandpowerful.html http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/ozthegreatandpowerful.html?33077 Sat, 9 Mar 2013 12:02:00 CDT Nothing is sacred in Hollywood. Disney's "Oz: The Great and Powerful" is the latest prequel to give a timeless classic film a new angle that, frankly, nobody asked for. It isn't the first, and it certainly won't be the last, as these five horrifyingly real prequel ideas sadly prove. http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/badmovieprequels.html http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/badmovieprequels.html?33042 Wed, 6 Mar 2013 16:32:00 CDT When we talked to Eagle Trace last summer, the New Berlin-based rock band was barely a year old and preparing for a big show at the Big Gig. The group - made up of Broderick Coning and brothers Max, Jackson, Mitch and Cass Borgardt - has shown no signs of slowing since then. http://onmilwaukee.com/music/articles/eagletrace.html http://onmilwaukee.com/music/articles/eagletrace.html?33030 Tue, 5 Mar 2013 16:31:00 CDT I used to be in an a cappella group, and after seeing Pentatonix, the season three winners of NBC's "The Sing Off," perform Sunday night at The Pabst Theatre, I'm glad I'm no longer in it. The singing stars are so ridiculously talented, vocally skilled and ludicrously creative that if I was still in an a cappella group, I'd be so depressed. http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/pentatonixshow.html http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/pentatonixshow.html?33015 Mon, 4 Mar 2013 16:06:00 CDT Consider "21 and Over" the light beer of comedies: It may not be the most unique or best of brews, but for cheap satisfaction, it gets the job done. http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/21andover.html http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/21andover.html?33002 Sun, 3 Mar 2013 17:32:00 CDT German director Christian Petzold's Cold War drama "Barbara" may have taken its sweet time getting to Milwaukee, but considering its hushed power and emotion, it's better late than never. http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/barbara.html http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/mattmueller/barbara.html?32998 Sat, 2 Mar 2013 14:31:00 CDT These new adaptations have brought modern grittiness, elaborate special effects and rip-roaring Hollywood battle sequences to their respective classic tales. But in the process they've all left out one crucial element: an earnest sense of adventure. All, save for "Jack the Giant Slayer." http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/jackthegiantslayer.html http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/jackthegiantslayer.html?32994 Sat, 2 Mar 2013 12:03:00 CDT Hollywood actors and actresses always seem larger than life on the big screen. But then there are these actual cinematic giants. Some of them are the work of special effects while others are simply the result of incredible genetics. In honor of "Jack the Giant Slayer," here are five movie giants that put the big in big screen. http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/fivemoviegiants.html http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/fivemoviegiants.html?32964 Wed, 27 Feb 2013 16:30:00 CDT