An Angel at My Table
RATING: (2.5 STARS) There’s nothing inherently cinematic about the story of Janet Frame’s life. She experiences indescribable tragedy, undergoes infuriatingly inappropriate mental health treatment, and ultimately turns these hardships into inspiration for a literary career that would make her known throughout the world. It is a life fully lived, but even putting it as simply […]
Days of Thunder Review
RATING: (3 STARS) The rap against Days of Thunder (or case for it, depending on your speed) over the last 30 years has been that it’s nothing more than a remake of Top Gun with race cars. In Roger Ebert’s review of the film, he outlined all the ways this film fits squarely into then […]
Revenge Review
RATING: (1.5 STARS) For a film as pulpy and hard-edged as Revenge, it’s hard to believe how lifeless the final product feels. This is the first Tony Scott movie that doesn’t feel like a Tony Scott movie on paper, which I was quite excited about, but it could have used an infusion of the energy […]
American Dream Review
About a decade and a half after producing and directing one of the most powerful and influential documentaries of all time, Barbara Kopple returned to the world of workers’ rights for American Dream. It’s an interesting title that immediately tells the viewer that this film won’t be as tied down to a specific place as its […]
Metropolitan Review
RATING: (3 STARS) It takes a bold man to craft a film around a group of really snotty, spoiled teenage Manhattanites, but Whit Stillman did just that with 1990’s Metropolitan. He judges these characters without coming across as too judgmental, crafts them in a way that they deserve our scorn and sympathy simultaneously. It’s a […]
Die Hard 2 Review
RATING: (3 STARS) To top the original Die Hard would have been damn near impossible. That director Renny Harlin followed it up with something as entertaining as Die Hard 2 is both surprising and satisfying. Harlin follows the first film’s formula almost to a fault, but it capitalizes on the first film’s strongest asset—its setting. […]
The Godfather: Part III Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) I recently read an article calling The Godfather: Part III the “most reviled sequel of all-time.” It’s a debatable point, but I honestly can’t understand why. While imperfect on its own, it’s a very good addition to director Francis Ford Coppola’s transcendent crime saga. It brings the focus onto its tragic main […]
