Posts Tagged 'comment'
World War Z
The zombie genre’s relentless advance achieves infection of the upper hollywood echelons as Brad Pitt goes the way of the axe and the head shot. Zombiedom’s transmutation from resurrection to viral plague now seems complete (when was the last time
World War Z
The zombie genre’s relentless advance achieves infection of the upper hollywood echelons as Brad Pitt goes the way of the axe and the head shot. Zombiedom’s transmutation from resurrection to viral plague now seems complete (when was the last time
Blue Jasmine
It seems Woody Allen fans found Blue Jasmine to be the offering that did the most for quite some time to satisfy them, while doing the least to meet their expectations. It is one of the bleakest films in his
Blue Jasmine
It seems Woody Allen fans found Blue Jasmine to be the offering that did the most for quite some time to satisfy them, while doing the least to meet their expectations. It is one of the bleakest films in his
Evil Dead (2012)
Cold turkey and demonic possession – two great things that go great together? Uruguayan youtube prodigy Fede Alvarez’s revisitation of Sam Raimi’s original Evil Dead story is overworked and laden with backstory, tortured childhoods, personal journeys, and plans that really
Evil Dead (2012)
Cold turkey and demonic possession – two great things that go great together? Uruguayan youtube prodigy Fede Alvarez’s revisitation of Sam Raimi’s original Evil Dead story is overworked and laden with backstory, tortured childhoods, personal journeys, and plans that really
Frances Ha
Though brushed by Fame and bearing a translucent overlay of Manhattan and and its Parisian forebears, Frances Ha seems for the most part to have spilled out of Lena Dunham’s Girls-iverse, its female protagonist in an extended tragi-comic freefall toward
Frances Ha
Though brushed by Fame and bearing a translucent overlay of Manhattan and and its Parisian forebears, Frances Ha seems for the most part to have spilled out of Lena Dunham’s Girls-iverse, its female protagonist in an extended tragi-comic freefall toward
The Place Beyond the Pines
A new Ryan Gosling vehicle that isn’t a fastback 2008 Bullitt Mustang. So is it the sequel to Blue Valentine, given this is the same director? Or is it Drive, given he’s a badass on a motorbike trying to muscle
The Place Beyond the Pines
A new Ryan Gosling vehicle that isn’t a fastback 2008 Bullitt Mustang. So is it the sequel to Blue Valentine, given this is the same director? Or is it Drive, given he’s a badass on a motorbike trying to muscle
Oblivion
If you don’t mind your futuristic production design looking like an off the plan real estate brochure, Oblivion is a watchable post-catastrophic sci-fi. Humanity appears to have moved out of home, Tom Cruise and his assigned companion (Andrea Riseborough) are ensconced in
Oblivion
If you don’t mind your futuristic production design looking like an off the plan real estate brochure, Oblivion is a watchable post-catastrophic sci-fi. Humanity appears to have moved out of home, Tom Cruise and his assigned companion (Andrea Riseborough) are ensconced in
Zero Dark Thirty
How should Hollywood approach real world stories about black ops, geopolitical espionage and covert vested interests, around which whirl clouds of doubt and conspiracy? According to Zero Dark Thirty, you tell something close to the official story and let it
Zero Dark Thirty
How should Hollywood approach real world stories about black ops, geopolitical espionage and covert vested interests, around which whirl clouds of doubt and conspiracy? According to Zero Dark Thirty, you tell something close to the official story and let it
Chronicle
This found-footage mashup of X-men and Akira is another meeting of low production values and teen movie cliches, the kind where the low budget is a means to break into the mainstream rather than break out. Its premise of alien-artifact-sourced
Chronicle
This found-footage mashup of X-men and Akira is another meeting of low production values and teen movie cliches, the kind where the low budget is a means to break into the mainstream rather than break out. Its premise of alien-artifact-sourced
Les Miserables
With every line sung rather than spoken and much of it internal monologue rather than dialogue, Les Miserables and musicals like it redraw the rules of what is cinematically permissible. Melodrama flourishes while realism diminishes in value almost entirely. In
Les Miserables
With every line sung rather than spoken and much of it internal monologue rather than dialogue, Les Miserables and musicals like it redraw the rules of what is cinematically permissible. Melodrama flourishes while realism diminishes in value almost entirely. In
Killing Them Softly
Director Andrew Dominick does a creditable job treading some very familiar territory, as weary hit man Brad Pitt tidies up the aftermath of a poker robbery. The right people die and the ledger is balanced. Pitt’s reaper manages to intrigue with
Killing Them Softly
Director Andrew Dominick does a creditable job treading some very familiar territory, as weary hit man Brad Pitt tidies up the aftermath of a poker robbery. The right people die and the ledger is balanced. Pitt’s reaper manages to intrigue with
Grey Gardens (2009)
Thankfully not the grotesque vanity project one might have feared, this unflinching yet respectful biopic offers some worthwhile context and understanding of the Beales phenomenon, even if Barrymore and Lange’s evocation of the two Edies can never hope to entirely
Grey Gardens (2009)
Thankfully not the grotesque vanity project one might have feared, this unflinching yet respectful biopic offers some worthwhile context and understanding of the Beales phenomenon, even if Barrymore and Lange’s evocation of the two Edies can never hope to entirely
Side Effects
Side Effects uses its mystery thriller plot to steer us through a what-if about the potholes and legal pitfalls of the socio-psycho-pharmaceutical complex. This is done in a similar fashion to Soderbergh’s earlier Contagion, which masqueraded as a star strewn
Side Effects
Side Effects uses its mystery thriller plot to steer us through a what-if about the potholes and legal pitfalls of the socio-psycho-pharmaceutical complex. This is done in a similar fashion to Soderbergh’s earlier Contagion, which masqueraded as a star strewn
Cloud Atlas
This three hour omnibus interweaves six stories, some of which we may have been told before as The Island or Phantom of the Opera or One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. It’s not clear whether the stories are linked by
Cloud Atlas
This three hour omnibus interweaves six stories, some of which we may have been told before as The Island or Phantom of the Opera or One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. It’s not clear whether the stories are linked by
Man Of Steel
This latest reboot posits a moral conflict over Superman’s earthly versus Kryptonian loyalties, yet it manages to extract little from them but a lot of brawling, and does nothing new with the character. The invading Krypto-fascists seem like a broad church.
Man Of Steel
This latest reboot posits a moral conflict over Superman’s earthly versus Kryptonian loyalties, yet it manages to extract little from them but a lot of brawling, and does nothing new with the character. The invading Krypto-fascists seem like a broad church.
On The Road
Kerouac’s tale of his friendship with Neil Cassady (nee Dean Moriarty) plays like a journey of the apostles, as a lost tribe of disaffected youths pursue this charismatic narcissist back and forth across America. Rarely does a film let you
On The Road
Kerouac’s tale of his friendship with Neil Cassady (nee Dean Moriarty) plays like a journey of the apostles, as a lost tribe of disaffected youths pursue this charismatic narcissist back and forth across America. Rarely does a film let you
The Master
This is a masterfully crafted example of whatever it is. There’s some controversy regarding whether it’s really just a litigation-proofed L. Ron Hubbard:The Early Years, but if it’s not, then what is it? At face value, there isn’t nearly enough
The Master
This is a masterfully crafted example of whatever it is. There’s some controversy regarding whether it’s really just a litigation-proofed L. Ron Hubbard:The Early Years, but if it’s not, then what is it? At face value, there isn’t nearly enough
Cosmopolis
A one percent It boy accompanied by intermittent aides and associates takes a stretch limo across Manhattan as the wave of financial speculation he’s been riding begins to break. Cosmopolis is a road movie in a traffic jam. Most of
Cosmopolis
A one percent It boy accompanied by intermittent aides and associates takes a stretch limo across Manhattan as the wave of financial speculation he’s been riding begins to break. Cosmopolis is a road movie in a traffic jam. Most of
Lore
Cate Shortland reprises the themes of her previous feature Somersault with another tale about another girl who came down in the last shower, a hard rain that dumps her unarmed into a world corrupted. In Somersault, Abbie Cornish’s performance as
Lore
Cate Shortland reprises the themes of her previous feature Somersault with another tale about another girl who came down in the last shower, a hard rain that dumps her unarmed into a world corrupted. In Somersault, Abbie Cornish’s performance as
Last Tango in Paris (1972)
Fifty Shades of Grey meets The Wrestler – or is it King Kong? A 48 year old Marlon Brando roams Paris like a rogue silverback. Apparently mourning the recent and mysterious suicide of his wife, he’s roughing up everyone and
Last Tango in Paris (1972)
Fifty Shades of Grey meets The Wrestler – or is it King Kong? A 48 year old Marlon Brando roams Paris like a rogue silverback. Apparently mourning the recent and mysterious suicide of his wife, he’s roughing up everyone and
Lockout
This could have been a lot better. The trailer makes it look pretty funny, and it is, but something went wrong from script to screen. Most obvious among its oopses are the hamfisted digital effects. Highly ambitious action set pieces
Lockout
This could have been a lot better. The trailer makes it look pretty funny, and it is, but something went wrong from script to screen. Most obvious among its oopses are the hamfisted digital effects. Highly ambitious action set pieces