The Beaver Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) The Beaver is about as strange as advertised. It’s hard to find conventionality in a film about a man who tries to overcome his depression by talking through a hand puppet. Unfortunately, quality can’t be measured through unconventionality, and though I wouldn’t call The Beaver bad, it’s a little disappointing. It never […]
Jane Eyre (2011) Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Watching Jane Eyre brought me back to high school English class—not just because I did in fact read the classic Charlotte Bronte novel upon which the film is based, but because I reacted to this film in the same way I would most assigned reading: I got through it at a sluggish […]
Page One: Inside the New York Times
Page One: Inside The New York Times might not be the best doc I see this year, but I can’t imagine another one coming along that’s this much in my sweet spot. Having studied the film’s internal debate for four years (and lived through it for a year and a half now), it’s nearly impossible […]
Cronos Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) The horror genre is one I don’t get. The mainstream stuff is mind-numbingly stupid and full of pointless gore. The low-budget stuff is typically too low-budget to have any redeeming production values. That being said, it’s an undeniably important genre, more for the influence it’s had on some great directors. One of […]
Crazy, Stupid, Love. Review
RATING: (2 STARS) Crazy, Stupid, Love. isn’t exactly a bad movie, but it commits two absolutely unforgivable errors. It’s embarrassingly unoriginal (haven’t we seen Steve Carell get the makeover treatment and try to pick up women before?), but worse, it takes a dreadful subplot and gives it far more screen time than it deserves. Really, […]
Trust Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) David Schwimmer is probably the last person you’d expect to direct a hard-hitting drama about rape, but with Trust, he’s done just that, and he does a solid job. He certainly deserves a great deal of credit for the extraordinary performances he coaxes out of all four of the main actors involved. […]
Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop
By combining elements of fellow show-biz docs I’m Still Here and Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop manages to fall right between the two quality-wise. It’s certainly not the abomination that Casey Affleck’s Joaquin Phoenix hoax was. But it also doesn’t touch the brilliance of last year’s brilliant Joan Rivers portrait. […]
Rise of the Planet of the Apes Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) Who would have thought the worst titled movie of the summer would also be the best? But Rise of the Planet of Apes has it all. It’s a magnificent film with breathtaking special effects, exceptional pacing, and a ton of heart. Andy Serkis deserves an Oscar for his incredibly realistic, motion-capture portrayal […]
Limitless Review
RATING: (1.5 STARS) For a movie about people who are amazingly smart, Limitless sure is dumb. Director Neil Burger’s thriller looks flashy, but the characters and situations are groan-inducing to say the least. I found myself enjoying it to a certain extent in the beginning, but as it progresses, it becomes mind-numbingly stupid. Sure, its […]
Source Code Review
RATING: (3 STARS) With 2009’s Moon, Duncan Jones offered us one of the better directorial debuts in recent memory. With Source Code, his follow-up, he gives us a solid genre film with a higher budget, bigger stars, and some wild ideas. While it doesn’t reach the heights of his last, it’s akin to something like […]
Captain America: The First Avenger Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Captain America: The First Avenger, the final Marvel origin story before The Avengers next May, is a blast from start to finish. Chris Evans equips himself well as the “star-spangled man with a plan,” and Joe Johnston proves himself more than capable of delivering when it comes to solid superhero action. Hugo […]
Winnie the Pooh Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Winnie the Pooh is a delightful trip down memory lane. It’s brief (running only an hour) and it goes down very smoothly, despite being geared squarely toward children and not doing anything out of the ordinary. The film reminds you that not every adventure needs to be outrageous and fantastical. Sometimes, all […]
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) All good things must come to and end, even Harry Potter. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, the eighth and final film in the enormously successful series, lives up the promise of its immediate predecessor, Deathly Hallows: Part 1, and provides the series and its fans with the send-off they […]
Horrible Bosses Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) Horrible Bosses turns a brilliant premise and all the star power in the world into a limp mid-summer comedy that’s far from horrible but even further from living up to its potential. I was consistently amused while watching the film, but I rarely laughed out loud and I don’t think I ever […]
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,” […]
The Eagle Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) If The Eagle reached a little higher, it could have been a very good film. As it stands, it’s a harmless, sporadically entertaining swords-and-sandals epic. But I didn’t get the sense that there was much passion behind the scenes. Character development feels half-assed, the acting is subpar, and Kevin MacDonald’s directorial style […]
