Used Cars Review
RATING: (3 STARS) For his sophomore effort, following the lively and delightful I Wanna Hold Your Hand, director Robert Zemeckis went a little darker. Used Cars has the same manic energy that defined his feature film debut, but it’s applied in a satire of American capitalism that’s at times as biting and uncomfortable as it […]
I Wanna Hold Your Hand Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Robert Zemeckis films are a little like those of Steven Soderbergh in the sense that he’s a director who seems to be interested in a lot of different themes and applications of his medium. He’ll swing from Cast Away to The Polar Express without blinking an eye and later in the opposite […]
The Forgaughtens: Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2003)
I was pretty forgiving when I wrote last week about the 2000 Charlie’s Angels film. Yes, it’s packed with some really inappropriate and disappointing instances of cultural appropriation, but the three leads and the film’s very manic “turn of the millinnium” energy help it mostly succeed nonetheless. Thankfully, its sequel, 2003’s Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle […]
The Piano
RATING: (4 STARS) If you subscribe to the notion that the greatest movies transport you to a place you’ve never been and introduce you to people you’ve never known, The Piano is one of the greatest movies. Not your m.o.? Fine, but anyone who loves rousing melodramas, who appreciates impeccable acting, or who swoons over […]
The Forgaughtens: Charlie’s Angels (2000)
In 2019, before movies were cancelled, a Charlie’s Angels reboot starring Kristin Stewart came and went from theaters without much of a peep. But unless you were squarely in MTV’s key demographic (super horny and roughly 12-28) at the dawn of the new millennium, you might not have even known this more recent Charlie’s Angels […]
An Angel at My Table
RATING: (2.5 STARS) There’s nothing inherently cinematic about the story of Janet Frame’s life. She experiences indescribable tragedy, undergoes infuriatingly inappropriate mental health treatment, and ultimately turns these hardships into inspiration for a literary career that would make her known throughout the world. It is a life fully lived, but even putting it as simply […]
Sweetie Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Sweetie is the debut film from writer-director Jane Campion, and to be totally frank, it completely shocked me. Its content is bizarre. Its composition is stunning. And its themes are both brutally heavy and totally mysterious. I can’t say I totally wrapped my head around the thing – it loses the literal […]
Tony Scott Movies Ranked
What did I learn after watching and reviewing every Tony Scott movie? Well, that I really like marathoning a director’s entire filmography, and I’ll be picking up at the start of another very soon. More notably and to the point, I learned that I freaking love Tony Scott movies! I already kind of knew that, […]
George Miller Movies Ranked
Over the last few months, I marathoned and wrote about every Tony Scott movie (culminating in a post just like this one – Tony Scott Movies Ranked), but somewhat more quietly, I’ve been running through the filmography of Australian director George Miller. This was primarily in an effort to keep up with the podcast Blank […]
Unstoppable Review
Click here to read my original Unstoppable review from 2010. RATING: (4 STARS) Unstoppable is the last film from director Tony Scott, and it’s unquestionably one of his very best. In a time now when all action movies seem to be required to run two and a half hours or so, this is the ultimate […]
The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) Review
Click here to read my original The Taking of Pelham 123 review from 2009. RATING: (2 STARS) Three years went by between Tony Scott’s previous film, Deja Vu, and this. Before that and culminating with Deja Vu, he directed films in three consecutive years. Was he burnt out? Or creatively stuck? I’m merely speculating, but […]
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) There’s something about a film knowing exactly what it is and, just as importantly, exactly what it isn’t. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three is a grimy 70s thriller – nothing more, nothing less. But because it doesn’t try to do too much, it can focus on trying to be the […]
Deja Vu Review
RATING: (4 STARS) It takes Deja Vu a long time to get where it’s going, but once it’s driving down a New Orleans highway with one eye in the present and one eye three days in the past, you’re all the way in. This is by far Tony Scott’s highest-concept film ever, and while I’m […]
Domino (2005) Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) While not the last film in Tony Scott’s filmography (and thank goodness for that because there’s some gold to come), Domino feels like the movie his entire career has been building toward. Ironically, it’s also one of his least successful films financially, and it was largely panned by critics. Let’s get this […]
Man on Fire Review
RATING: (2 STARS) Man on Fire was the first Tony Scott movie I ever saw. I was in high school and just getting into film. Denzel was the man, and this film cranks his badassery up to 14. I couldn’t have loved it more, and it was a film I couldn’t wait to revisit for […]
Spy Game Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Spy Game is a film that carries over Tony Scott’s interest in the people who watch us from Enemy of the State, but it does so in a much different way. I had assumed going into this film for the first time that it would be a close sibling to Scott’s previous […]
