John DeSando

At Any Price

John DeSando — Fri, 17 May 2013 20:15:59 +0000

At Any Price Grade: B Director: Ramin Bahrani (Goodbye Solo) Screenplay: Bahrani, Hallie Elizabeth Newton Cast: Dennis Quaid (The Words), Zac Efron (Liberal Arts) Rating: R Runtime: 105 min by John DeSando At Any price isn’t exactly Eugene O’Neil, Edna Ferber, or Tennessee Williams set in the farmland of southern Iowa, but it successfully and entertainingly has tragic traits that make it much deeper than the mature corn serving as background.

It's Movie Time May 17, 2013: The Great Gatsby

John DeSando and Carolyn Bruck — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:33:00 +0000

Carolyn and John disagree about the Baz Luhrmann adaptation of The Great Gatsby.

Film reviewed: The Great Gatsby

by hosts John DeSando and Carolyn Bruck

It's Movie Time has won numerous national awards including LA Press Club, MarCom, Silver Microphone, Communicator, and Hermes Creative honors.

John DeSando is also co-host of WCBE’s Cinema Classics and appears on Fox 28’s Man Panel.

Carolyn Bruck is a news anchor for ABC 6/Fox 28.

Cinema Classics May 15, '13: Roger Ebert

John DeSando and Johnny DiLoretto — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:41:00 +0000

Johnny and John honor the influence of Roger Ebert on their film criticism.

A Cinema Classic: Roger Ebert Award-winning Cinema Classics discusses great movies then and now. From films, genres, directors, and actors to everything else in between, the hosts don't always agree, but they are always fun and informative.

Cinema Classics is regularly broadcast at 8:01 pm Thursday on WCBE 90.5 FM and streaming at WCBE.org. Stay connected on Facebook.

John DeSando is also co-host of WCBE’s It’s Movie Time and appears on Fox 28 TV’s Man Panel.

Cinema Classics May 15, '13: Uncut 10 min.Roger Ebert

John DeSando and Johnny DiLoretto — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:33:38 +0000

In an uncut version, John DeSando and Johnny DiLoretto honor the late Roger Ebert.

Cinema Classics is regularly broadcast at 8:01 pm Thursday on WCBE 90.5 FM and streaming at WCBE.org. Stay connected on Facebook.

John DeSando is also co-host of WCBE’s It’s Movie Time and appears on Fox 28 TV’s Man Panel.

To the Wonder

John DeSando — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:32:08 +0000

To the Wonder Grade: A- Director: Terrence Malick (Tree of Life) Screenplay: Malick Cast: Ben Affleck (Argo), Olga Kurylenko (Oblivion) Rating: R Runtime: 112 min. by John DeSando “You got me out of the darkness.” Marina (Olga Kurylenko) “Newborn” is the first word of To the Wonder. Light and darkness are two of Terrence Malick’s many motifs that inhabit his bag of themes about loneliness, otherness, and the business of living happily. In Wonder, darkness is of the soul, mostly Neil’s (Ben Affleck), whose Ukrainian girlfriend, Marina, wishes to lighten it.

The Great Gatsby

John DeSando — Sat, 11 May 2013 16:20:47 +0000

An energetic, visual delight. The Great Gatsby Grade: B+ Director: Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge) Screenplay: Luhrmann, Craig Pearce (Strictly Ballroom) Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio (Titanic), Tobey Maguire (Spiderman) Rating: PG-13 Runtime: 143 min. by John DeSando “The most hopeful man I ever knew.” Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) I refuse to enter into the fray about the comparison between F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and any film adaptation. Both are different ways of telling the story and should be discussed on their own merits.

Cinema Classics May 9,'13: Summer 2013, part 1.

John DeSando and Johnny DiLoretto and Jordan Hanilammi — Fri, 10 May 2013 21:26:56 +0000

John, Johnny, and Jordan select a few upcoming summer movies Jordan particularly likes.

A Cinema Classic: Summer 2013 part 1.

Award-winning Cinema Classics discusses great movies then and now. From films, genres, directors, and actors to everything else in between, the hosts don't always agree, but they are always fun and informative. Cinema Classics is regularly broadcast at 8:01 pm Thursday on WCBE 90.5 FM and streaming at WCBE.org.

Cinema Classics May 9,'13: Uncut 14 min. Summer 2013, part 1

John DeSando and Johnny DiLoretto and Jordan Hanhilammi — Fri, 10 May 2013 21:24:36 +0000

Johnny, Jordan, and John talk for a very long uncut time (14 min!) about Jordan's eccentric picks for summer movies.

A Cinema Classic: Summer 2013 part 1

Cinema Classics is regularly broadcast at 8:01 pm Thursday on WCBE 90.5 FM and streaming at WCBE.org.

It's Movie Time May 10, '13: Iron Man 3

John DeSando and Carolyn Bruck — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:17:31 +0000

Carolyn and John review the first blockbuster hero movie of the summer.

Film reviewed: Iron Man 3

by hosts John DeSando and Carolyn Bruck

It's Movie Time has won numerous national awards including LA Press Club, MarCom, Silver Microphone, Communicator, and Hermes Creative honors.

John DeSando is also co-host of WCBE’s Cinema Classics and appears on Fox 28’s Man Panel.

Carolyn Bruck is a news anchor for ABC 6/Fox 28.

Iron Man 3

John DeSando — Sun, 05 May 2013 20:45:54 +0000

Iron Man 3 Grade: A- Director: Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) Screenplay: Black (Lethal Weapon), Drew Pearce (Pacific Rim) Cast: Robert Downey Jr. (Sherlock Holmes), Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare in Love) Rating: PG-13 Runtime: 130 min. by John DeSando “I'm Tony Stark. I build neat stuff, got a great girl, occasionally save the world. So why can't I sleep?” You can’t sleep because writer/director Shane Black has made you this third time around the most interesting superhero since Superman flew onto the comic book scene.

It's Movie Time May 3, '13: The Company You Keep

John DeSando and Carolyn Bruck and Linda Baas — Fri, 03 May 2013 13:52:31 +0000

John and Linda review Robert Redford's new film and his career.

Cinema Classics May 2, 2013: 14 min.Uncut Robert Downey Jr.

John DeSando and Johnny DiLoretto and Jordan Hanhilammi — Wed, 01 May 2013 14:55:43 +0000

John, Johnny, and Jordan are intrigued by the range and resilience of Robert Downey Jr.'s career.

Cinema Classics May 15,'13: Roger Ebert

John DeSando — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:51:49 +0000

The Company You Keep

John DeSando — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 18:08:47 +0000

The Company You Keep Grade: B+ Director: Robert Redford (Ordinary People) Screenplay: Lem Dobbs (Limey) From the Neil Gordon novel Cast: Robert Redford (All the President’s Men), Shia LebEOUF Rating: R Runtime: 125 min. by John DeSando “When we revolt it’s not for a particular culture. We revolt simply because, for many reasons, we can no longer breathe.” Frantz Fanon In Robert Redford’s The Company You keep, Jim Grant (Redford) is an attorney on the lam for participating in Weather Underground anti-Vietnam activities over 40 years ago.

Mud

John DeSando — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:54:11 +0000

A small psychological thriller with a big delivery. Mud Grade: A- Director: Jeff Nichols (Shotgun Stories, Take Shelter) Screenplay: Nichols Cast: Matthew McConaughey (Killer Joe), Tye Sheridan (The Tree of Life) Rating: PG-13 Runtime: 130 min by John DeSando “You gotta watch yourself.” Mud (Matthew McConaughey) In fact, everyone needs to watch himself, mostly the eponymous fugitive and almost so the 14 year olds Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Jacob Lofland), who aid the murderer Mud as he connects with his lost love, Juniper (Reese Witherspoon) and evades bounty hunte

42

John DeSando — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 18:26:25 +0000

42 Grade: B Director: Brian Helgeland (A Knight’s Tale) Screenplay: Helgeland (Mystic River) Cast: Chadwick Boseman (The Kill Hole), Harrison Ford (Cowboys & Aliens) Rating: PG-13 Runtime: 128 min. by John DeSando Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman): “You want a player who doesn't have the guts to fight back?” Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford): “No. I want a player who's got the guts ‘not’ to fight back.” SAFE!

The Place Beyond the Pines

John DeSando — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 16:01:23 +0000

The Place Beyond the Pines Grade: B+ Director: Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine) Screenplay: Cianfrance, Ben Coccio (The Beginner), Darius Marder Cast: Ryan Gosling (The Ides of March), Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook) Rating: R Runtime: 140 min. by John DeSando “If you ride like lightning, you're going to crash like thunder.” Robin (Ben Mendelsohn) Luke (Ryan Gosling) rides a motorcycle at lightning speed with the abandon promising a thunderous crash, mostly metaphorical.

No

John DeSando — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 17:35:55 +0000

An instructive look inside very rough politics.

It's Movie time April 12, 2013: Room 237

John DeSando and Carolyn Bruck — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 12:34:18 +0000

John and Carolyn are amused by the sometimes outrageous interpretations of The Shining.

Trance

John DeSando — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 23:31:21 +0000

Trance

Grade: B+

Director: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)

Screenplay: Joe Ahearne, John Hodge (Trainspotting)

Cast: James McAvoy (The Last Station), Rosario Dawson (Zookeeper)

Rating: R

Runtime: 101 min. by John DeSando

“The choice is yours. Do you want to remember or do you want to forget?” Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson)