TRON: Legacy Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) TRON: Legacy is a film essentially devoid of any surprises. Anyone who has seen the original TRON will likely go in expecting something great-looking, great-sounding, and incredibly goofy. And that’s precisely what this film is. The plot is laughable, but there is some fun to be had. The visual effects, however, are […]
Black Swan Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Black Swan represents the kind of ambitious, stylish filmmaking that’s easy to admire, tough to love, and impossible to forget. It’s a very visceral film that gets under your skin and stays there. Comparisons to director Darren Aronofsky’s last film—The Wrestler—are apt, though where that film was a quiet contemplation on a […]
Restrepo
When I was in journalism school, I had a professor who just fawned over Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington. He said they were among the elite in the profession, that these were men we should strive to emulate in our careers. Their war documentary, Restrepo, shows the kind of journalistic ambition and integrity that I […]
Agora Review
RATING: (2 STARS) You certainly can’t fault Agora director Alejandro Amenabar for not being ambitious. His sword-and-sandals drama tries to connect stories related to religious intolerance, the alignment of the universe, and the love of a slave for his master. He isn’t wholly unsuccessful—the film has some very powerful moments—but there are far more misses […]
How to Train Your Dragon Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) For the most part, I find Dreamworks animation quite underwhelming. Maybe the tendency to compare their films to Pixar’s far-superior efforts clouds my objectivity, but other than the first Shrek and, to a lesser extent, Kung Fu Panda, I can’t even say I enjoy their films. It’s hard to say whether How […]
Sense and Sensibility Review
RATING: (4 STARS) In high school English class, I was the kid who usually didn’t bother reading the assigned novels. Victorian-style lit wasn’t really my thing. Unfortunately for me, filmmakers seem to love these types of stories. We’ve got plenty screen interpretations of Wuthering Heights, Pride and Prejudice, The Scarlet Letter, and Jane Eyre (with […]
Exit Through the Gift Shop
My thoughts going into Banksy’s Exit Through the Gift Shop were summed up perfectly by one art patron in the film: “It’s one of those thing I’m not quite sure what I’m in for, but I’m excited about it.†My thoughts after seeing it are all over the place, but I still remain excited about […]
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Review
RATING: (2 STARS) I’m no fan of The Twilight Saga. The films are awkward, forced, poorly written, and feature worse acting than many soap operas. But I’ve seen the first two, so I feel obligated to finish the series out. For better or worse, I will find out how Bella, Edward, and Jacob resolve this […]
Inside Job
Charles Ferguson’s Inside Job is the kind of film that gets under your skin and stays with you. That’s not something I normally get out of documentaries (though 2009’s The Cove certainly stayed with me for quite some time), but this one, a searing expose on the current financial crisis freaked me out. It explains […]
Cairo Time Review
RATING: (3 STARS) I watched Cairo Time and I Am Love back to back, and the two films make for a really interesting study. Their themes are quite similar—woman past her prime finds love at an unexpected time. But they’re executed so differently. While I Am Love goes off a cliff in the final 45 […]
Raising Arizona Review
RATING: (3 STARS) If Blood Simple was our introduction to Joel and Ethan Coen as smart, talented filmmakers, Raising Arizona is our introduction to them as crazy geniuses. At times, the comedy is laid on a little thick, but for the most part, this is a fantastically fun and breezy ride and a total departure […]
I Am Love Review
RATING: (1.5 STARS) I Am Love is a fascinating example of how a film can try to do many things and fail at pretty much all of them. It’s a film with two very different halves. The first is a well-intentioned, meandering ensemble piece. The second is a comical descent into overblown melodrama. It’s full […]
Blood Simple Review
RATING: (3 STARS) The Coen Brothers’ Blood Simple is about as assured a directorial debut as I’ve ever seen. It’s a film noir very reminiscent of classics like Double Indemnity, but it has a tone that’s all its own. It’s a quiet film—one that relies a lot on atmosphere to build suspense. But I have […]
I’m Still Here Review
RATING: (0 STARS) I don’t even know where to begin reviewing a film as vile and pointless as I’m Still Here, the “documentary†that follows actor Joaquin Phoenix’s “retirement†from acting and the beginning stages of his hip-hop “career.†I could decry it for its whiny star and his Jackass-lite antics. I could bitch about […]
Singin’ in the Rain Review
RATING: (4 STARS) When I watched My Fair Lady for the first time a few weeks ago, I was forced to ask myself a difficult question: “Is this film better than Singin’ in the Rain?†For as long as I’ve been watching movies, I’ve adored Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly’s musical send-up of the silent […]
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) The decision to release the seventh and final Harry Potter film in two parts gives the filmmakers the chance to give every Potter-phile what they want: a vivid to-the-book adaptation of the saga’s darkest chapter. No longer would these folks (myself included, to a certain degree) leave the theater grumbling over the […]
