Inside Llewyn Davis Review
RATING: (4 STARS) I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say Inside Llewyn Davis is the Coen Brothers‘s most emotional movie. After a half-decade turning out great film after great film every 12 months or so, Joel and Ethan take a couple years and come back with something that’s as enigmatic as Barton Fink, as […]
American Hustle Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) Of many great pleasures found in David O. Russell’s latest, American Hustle, the greatest is watching not one, not two, not three, not four, but FIVE talented actors give truly exceptional performances. Jeremy Renner is the only Russell newcomer, as the Silver Linings Playbook and The Fighter helmer has brought together an […]
14 Films for 2014
A yearly tradition continues. I don’t much enjoy these early-year looking-ahead lists; I’ll still be in 2013 mode until I catch up with everything that eluded me before the turn of the calendar. Nevertheless, on a day like today one can’t help survey the calendar and mark his or her most-anticipated movie days. And 2014 […]
The Best Movies of 2013
Outstanding. That’s the simplest but most appropriate way to sum up the year in movies that was 2013. Outstanding. A more interesting way would be to discuss the year in movie themes. The American dream, in one way or another, was a noticeable theme in seven of my top ten movies movies this year. It […]
10 Things I Like About 10 Bad 2013 Movies
I’m not a fan of “bottom ten” or “ten worst” lists. I don’t enjoy reading them because they typically pound the same films and are by necessity a little mean-spirited. I don’t enjoy writing them because I avoid the worst of the worst. I couldn’t tell you the last time I actually took in one […]
What Else I’m Watching: December 2013
Because you can’t review them all. Sadly, life gets in the way of writing about everything I see, so this space is as much for keeping track of what I’m watching as it is for you to share your thoughts on what are, with any luck, a group of high-quality films. Today, I’m bringing you […]
The Best Documentaries of 2013
It’s been said plenty—by myself and more than a few others—but 2013 has to be one of the very best years documentary filmmaking has ever seen. It’s a sentiment I seem to come back to year after year, to be honest. Part of that is me discovering the form, but I don’t think it’s an […]
Nebraska Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) Nebraska is Alexander Payne‘s most prickly movie since Election. Thematically, it more closely resembles his later, more humanist films—The Descendants, Sideways. But there’s an edge (a dull edge, but an edge nonetheless) that holds the viewer at arm’s length—until it relents and you give it a warm embrace. It took me a […]
2014 Golden Globes Predictions
I don’t know why I bother every year to dip my ignorant toe into the muddy pool that is the Hollywood Foreign Press Association every year. A clueless (when it comes to these awards) prognosticator plus a traditionally asinine voting body has the potential to make this post look awfully foolish in the not-too-distant future. […]
The 2013 OFCS Nominations
The Online Film Critics Society announced the nominees for its 17th annual year-end awards. I had the privilege of voting as a member of the group for the first time, and I’m quite pleased with our eclectic list of nominees. You’ll see Johnnie To’s Drug War and Hayao Miyazaki’s The Wind Rises—two films I’ll have […]
Frozen Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) What’s this? An animated musical with genuinely great music? It’s true. There’s a lot that’s great about Disney’s Frozen—its breathtaking animation, its plucky characters, its old-fashioned sensibility—but what I’m most heartened by is the notion that movies like this can feature some fantastic tunes. As much as Disney’s been on a roll […]
All Is Lost Review
RATING: (3 STARS) J.C. Chandor, as writer and director, might have his name all over All Is Lost, but make no mistake: this is Robert Redford‘s movie. With no one to play off of (or even speak to), he needs to shepherd us along a harrowing journey without any explicit reason to care about him […]
2013 Movies You Should Watch Right Now
December is top-10 list month, which means most bloggers and journos will be spending the next few weeks catching up with some of the year’s smaller titles that are now available on DVD and streaming outlets. I’ve highlighted 20 movies that are worth your time and attention. 5…on Netflix Instant Three great docs and two […]
What Else I’m Watching: November 2013
Because you can’t review them all. Sadly, life gets in the way of writing about everything I see, so this space is as much for keeping track of what I’m watching as it is for you to share your thoughts on what are, with any luck, a group of high-quality films. Having too many screeners […]
2014 Oscar Predictions: Surveying the Foreign Language Field
No Oscar category offers as many surprises as Best Foreign Language Film. From countries’ submission process to the shortlist to upset winners, it’s never an easy place to offer predictions. We’re in the very early stages this year, which means its an especially foolhardy undertaking, but if it means getting good, small films on your […]
Gifts for Movie Lovers
The holidays—Black Friday and Cyber Monday, that is—are fast approaching, and if you’ve got a cinephile in your life, you’ve got plenty of possible gifts to choose from. I’ve selected some of the best—or at least most interesting—products out there (some that I own, some that I just want) to recommend whether you’re shopping for […]
