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 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 […]
Mean Streets Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) With Mean Streets, Martin Scorsese became a made man. The semi-autobiographical 1973 film unquestionably represents the director’s coming out party as a major talent, and it does so without even the slightest hint of the man abandoning the principles of his low-budget debut—Who’s That Knocking at My Door. Mean Streets is film […]
Boxcar Bertha Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) The winsome harmonica that opens Martin Scorsese’s second feature film, Boxcar Bertha, should be all the indication you need that it isn’t the kind of movie we’ve come to expect from the king of the gangster flick. Boxcar Bertha is Southern-fried pulp through and through. From the characters’ unmistakable drawl and the […]
Superman Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Richard Donner’s Superman is very much a product of the Star Wars school of blockbuster filmmaking—big, ambitious themes masked in a familiar, satisfying story with sometimes spotty (by today’s standard), sometimes dazzling (by any standard) special effects that hide narrative deficiencies at every turn. The ink was hardly dry on the school’s […]
Barry Lyndon Review
RATING: (4 STARS) One would think a three-hour British period drama would be something to endure, rather than enjoy, but Barry Lyndon is damn near a flawless film. Not only that, it’s also endlessly watchable. It’s as well-paced and plotted as any film I can recollect, and director Stanley Kubrick‘s sense of time and place […]
A Clockwork Orange Review
RATING: (4 STARS) It’s hard to watch a film set in the future, especially a dystopian one, and not compare it to A Clockwork Orange, the brutal 1971 movie directed by Stanley Kubrick. That’s because it’s a stunningly directed film, and the world captured by Kubrick is among the most frightening in movie history. It’s […]
Interiors Review
RATING: (3 STARS) After directing the Best Picture-winning Annie Hall, Woody Allen was essentially given the keys to the castle, and with them, he made Interiors, his first foray into pure drama—a genre he’d later perfect with Crimes and Misdemeanors and Match Point. Watching him go serious for the first time, however, is an interesting, […]
McCabe and Mrs. Miller Review
RATING: (4 STARS) Robert Altman’s McCabe and Mrs. Miller is a hypnotic, awe-inspiring film. It’s a western, but not much like the westerns you’re accustomed to. While films like Once Upon a Time in the West and Unforgiven offer tales of good vs. evil, and other films like Stagecoach vilify Native Americans or some “other,” […]
Days of Heaven Review
RATING: (4 STARS) Days of Heaven is a major step up for filmmaker Terrence Malick. While his debut feature, Badlands, showed promise, it ultimately left me feeling cold. His second feature, however, is a haunting portrait of youth, love, and the mistakes that accompany each. The Oscar-winning cinematography is a highlight, as is the surprisingly […]
Badlands Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) Badlands is acclaimed director Terrence Malick’s first film, and it’s got most, if not all, of his trademarks—philosophical narration, long shots of the wilderness, a massive fire, and some good (but very restrained) performances. All that said, it feels like a second-rate Bonnie and Clyde. The characters have virtually no personality, which […]
Apocalypse Now Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) Apocalypse Now’s back story has been exhaustively covered, but for good reason. The film forever altered the trajectory of Francis Ford Coppola’s career (and nearly destroyed his sanity). It almost killed Martin Sheen. It was disrupted by indecision, narcissism, and acts of Mother Nature. It was delayed for a long time and […]
The Day of the Jackal Review
RATING: (4 STARS) The Day of the Jackal reminds me why I love the spy genre. A brilliant cat-and-mouse game between two great minds, the film follows a terrorist on a quest to assassinate Charles de Gaulle and the cop in charge of the investigation. It’s a real slow-burn thriller, and director Fred Zinnemann’s cold […]
Three Days of the Condor Review
RATING: (3 STARS) The decade of the 1970s were a tumultuous one for Americans—war, scandal, oil crises, etc. As a result, many people thought the government was untrustworthy, the enemy. Three Days of the Condor is a terrific thriller that preys on that distrust. It portrays the government as the ultimate big brother and as […]
Patton Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) There’s a four-star movie dying to get out of “Patton.†The first half of the film is some of the best stuff I’ve seen, and the central performance is larger-than-life, just like Patton himself. But the second half of the film gets bogged down in repetitive battles and character interaction. The film […]
The Godfather: Part II Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) It’s often called the greatest sequel ever and is as highly regarded as its extraordinary predecessor, The Godfather. Yet, I think Francis Ford Coppola takes a step back with “The Godfather Part II.†It’s a very good film—nobody can deny that. Like the original, it follows the trajectory of an epic Greek […]
