Europa Report Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) Mere minutes into Europa Report, we’re told the space mission being chronicled—one that would, for the first time, send man into deep space—was watched intensely by the general public for six months before it went dark. The four men and two women on board Europa One—a vessel headed for the icy Jupiter […]
Man of Steel Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Once more unto the breach, dear friends… When the public’s goodwill toward Superman turned sour following the abominable Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Krypton’s finest took a 19 year break from the big screen. Superman Returns was meant to be a triumphant return, and the film played that angle up, but […]
We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks Review
Like most of prolific director Alex Gibney‘s documentaries, We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks is serious-minded, but breezy and easily digested—it deserves much more than simply being called “the WikiLeaks movie.” Gibney has a nack for efficient storytelling that entertains as much as it informs, and his take on the enigmatic Julian Assange is […]
Frances Ha Review
RATING: (4 STARS) Who would have thought the best film from writer/director Noah Baumbach—master of the melancholy—would be so light and airy? Frances Ha is simple, but delightful—a film carried on the back of clever writing and a dynamite lead performance. It also packs a surprising amount of emotion and insight, even if it isn’t […]
Evocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie Review
“Is this a passing fancy or is this in front of the wave?†Former Today Show host Bryant Gumbel asked this of rabble-rouser extraordinaire Morton Downey Jr. sometime during his meteoric rise to the top of syndicated television. The quote very appropriately concludes this exceptionally entertaining documentary chronicling Downey’s life and career, and its answer […]
Behind the Candelabra Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) For his feature film swan song, director Steven Soderbergh has elected to tell a sordid tale about sex, drugs, plastic surgery, possible incest, and shattered dreams. Behind the Candelabra also happens to be a biopic chronicling the latter years of music legend Liberace. Dubbed (by himself and those around him) “Mr. Showmanship,” […]
Star Trek Into Darkness Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) Overstuffed and overly serious, Star Trek Into Darkness fails to capture the magic J.J. Abrams brought to Star Trek, his 2009 reboot of the popular sci-fi series. It’s far from a horrible summer movie; On the contrary, its almost overwhelming imagination and brisk pace mean you’re in store for nearly two hours […]
State 194 Review
An almost impossibly hopeful film, Dan Setton’s State 194 dissects the current state of the Israel-Palestine conflict with thoroughness and care. And while those versed in the intricacies of this seemingly intractable feud will find the most food for thought, there’s more than enough history and context for those looking to learn something. The film’s […]
The Great Gatsby (2013) Review
RATING: (3 STARS) You either get Baz Luhrmann or you don’t. He’s a filmmaker set in his ways, and if painterly sets, opulent costumes, sweeping camerawork, glitz, glamour, and some truly odd musical cues are your thing, you probably get Luhrmann and his movies. I definitely get Luhrmann (count me in the borderline invisible minority […]
Pain and Gain Review
RATING: (3 STARS) It seems like it’d be hard for anyone to hate Pain and Gain if it didn’t seemingly trivialize a pair of brutal murders. It’s more energetic than any film this year. The trio of Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, and Anthony Mackie is exceptional (and exceptionally casted). And director Michael Bay‘s insistence on […]
The Place Beyond the Pines Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) “So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.’” —John 5:19 Derek Cianfrance burst onto the American independent movie scene with 2010’s searing […]
The Company You Keep Review
RATING: (2 STARS) If there’s one thing to take away from Robert Redford’s The Company We Keep, it’s that few individuals keep better company than Redford. No film this year (unless, in the cast of Terrence Malick’s To the Wonder, we’re counting the many great actors and actresses missing from the final cut) boasts a […]
To the Wonder Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) If you like your films full of feeling, To the Wonder is for you. The latest from enigmatic director Terrence Malick sacrifices story, character, and dialogue to give the world a film full of and about feelings. The feelings in To the Wonder walk, talk, and interact with other feelings. They have […]
Trance Review
RATING: (3 STARS) There’s a great movie hidden beneath the bright lights, loud noises, and multiple misdirections that make up Danny Boyle‘s latest film, Trance. A heist thriller that thinks it’s a lot smarter than it really is, Boyle and his screenwriters, Joe Ahearne and John Hodge, get bogged down trying to fool us when […]
Room 237
It’d be hard for a cinephile to not find at least something enjoyable in Rodney Ascher’s new documentary Room 237. The film is a deep dive into Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining—arguably the strangest movie within the strongest filmography of all time. It’s so strange, in fact, that five individuals have had their lives turned upside-down […]
Oz: The Great and Powerful Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Fairy tale prequels, sequels, remakes, and reimaginings have been all the rage at the multiplex over the past few years. And while The Wizard of Oz isn’t exactly a fairy tale, comparing Oz: The Great and Powerful to films like Snow White and the Huntsman and Jack the Giant Slayer isn’t unreasonable. […]
