How to Survive a Plague
How to Survive a Plague gets its title from the film’s standout moment, near its midpoint, when AIDS activist and writer Larry Kramer shouts down two quarreling activists with one word: “PLAGUE!” “40 million deaths is a fucking plague,” Kramer tells them, admonishing them for their incivility. It’s a wake-up call to those around him, […]
Hitchcock Review
RATING: (2 STARS) Hitchcock is a mostly harmless film, but it’s hard to believe there’s nothing exceptional about the film about one of the most exceptional films ever made. Cinema doesn’t get much better than Psycho, but its director’s making-of biopic is dull and lifeless. Its attempts at characterization are based largely around tall tales […]
Zero Dark Thirty Review
RATING: (4 STARS) There’s a moment in Kathryn Bigelow’s dense but lightning-quick procedural, Zero Dark Thirty, when Jessica Chastain’s Maya is actually laughed at for trying to pursue Osama bin Laden. “Protect the homeland” is the motto her superiors pound into her like she’s a canine undergoing obedience training. But she’s a real pit bull. […]
Frankenweenie Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Frankenweenie is arguably the sweetest, most heartfelt movie Tim Burton has ever made. It’s also his strongest effort in almost a decade. Much of this likely stems from the fact that Frankenweenie was actually a short film Burton directed before he made it big, and one can’t help but think a break […]
Holy Motors Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Trying to describe one’s feelings toward Leos Carax’s Holy Motors is an exercise as futile as trying to explain the plot of the film, but here goes nothing. One man—Monsieur Oscar (Denis Lavant)—rides around Paris in a limousine, which stops periodically for Oscar to step out and become a new person. At […]
Django Unchained Review
RATING: (4 STARS) With Django Unchained, Quentin Tarantino has turned wholly satisfying filmmaking into a science. Sure, this film might not be as emotionally affecting as Jackie Brown. It might not be as novel as Reservoir Dogs, as ambitious as Pulp Fiction, as playful as Kill Bill, or as bold and audacious as Inglourious Basterds. […]
Cosmopolis Review
RATING: (1 STARS) David Cronenberg is known for pushing the boundaries of cinema, and his latest effort—Cosmopolis—is no different. If you think you’ve seen a boring movie, watch this one and reconsider your definition of the word. It makes Meet Joe Black feel like a Jason Bourne adventure. What’s arguably worse than the film’s excruciating […]
Sleepwalk with Me Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) Mike Birbiglia’s unique voice in his semi-autobiographical film, Sleepwalk with Me, is one of 2012’s sweetest, most satisfying cinematic treats. He wears three hats here—actor, writer, and director—and he’s extremely successful on each front. His on-screen persona is one best described as affably insecure. His writing bites and stings. And his aesthetic […]
Les Misérables Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Les Misérables is a boxer too intent on landing a knockout punch. Every swing for the fences leaves it open to attack. Director Tom Hooper actually lands his jabs. The film’s softer, less stylized moments are both effective and affecting. When Hooper’s manic camera plants its ass in front of the tragic […]
Life of Pi Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) The main character in Ang Lee’s Life of Pi claims to have a story that’ll make you believe in God. To say that’s true would be to overstate its impact, but there is something miraculous about the film as a whole. Life of Pi was filmed on the water with a first-time […]
On the Road Review
RATING: (3 STARS) A big-screen adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s seminal novel On the Road was always going to be love-it-or-hate-it. Its reputation will lead the uninitiated to have inflated expectations, and the very novelistic nature of the material will cause Kerouac devotees to expect the worst. Count me in the camp of the former. Sadly, […]
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Review
RATING: (3 STARS) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey could certainly afford to lose a few pounds, but it’s nonetheless an enjoyable reintroduction to Middle Earth. The world depicted here is different from that of director Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy—it’s fluffier, much more light-hearted—but certain characters, tropes, and Howard Shore’s sweeping score […]
Beasts of the Southern Wild Review
RATING: (4 STARS) Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild works on so many levels that it’s hard to pinpoint just one or two particular reasons why it’s the best directorial debut in years and easily one of 2012’s finest films. The firecracker performance of young Quvenzhané Wallis is certainly one. Ditto Dwight Henry’s explosive […]
Rust and Bone Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) It begins with a rush of dreamlike imagery before cutting to a pair of feet, running in sandals. Our male protagonist scolds his son for obnoxiously kicking the seat in front of him while riding a train. The first thing we see of our female protagonist is her feet, after she’s knocked […]
Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare
Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare has the power to enlighten and frighten. It’s a compelling call to action for a nation that’s wasting its potential. It’s arguments are based on seemingly irrefutable facts and figures, yet it’s not quite a home run—more like a ground rule double. Its thesis is like the […]
Lincoln Review
RATING: (3 STARS) The way Daniel Day-Lewis towers over Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln is almost a shame. His performance is one of such immersion that you’ll occasionally lose sight of what’s going on around him—even the words he’s speaking. Or maybe that has to do with Tony Kushner’s drier-than-desert-sand screenplay. Abraham Lincoln’s life and presidency are […]
