Deja Vu Review
RATING: (4 STARS) It takes Deja Vu a long time to get where it’s going, but once it’s driving down a New Orleans highway with one eye in the present and one eye three days in the past, you’re all the way in. This is by far Tony Scott’s highest-concept film ever, and while I’m […]
The Forgaughtens: The Black Dahlia (2006)
The Black Dahlia is what happens when a master director’s stunning vision gets reigned in or knocked off course by a screenplay that demands too much from him. There are moving images that Brian De Palma and his team conceived of and constructed throughout this film that literally took my breath away – three friends […]
The Forgaughtens: Lucky Number Slevin (2006)
Slevin. SLEVIN! If I asked you to tell me what a movie called Lucky Number Slevin was about, and you said, “It’s probably about a terrible case of mistaken identity that gets a man in a towel caught between two brutal crime lords,” well you’d be right, but I’m pretty sure you’d have cheated. Anyway, […]
Superman Returns Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) It took 19 long years to get Superman back to the big screen after the epic awfulness that was Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. Superman Returns, from director Bryan Singer, is the first in the series without Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder, and while it has a number of problems, the […]
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time Review
RATING: (3 STARS) You don’t need to be an anime connoisseur to appreciate Mamoru Hosoda’s 2006 film Toki o kakeru shôjo (or The Girl Who Leapt Through Time). Driven by a dense but consistently intriguing narrative, the film—like many other time-travel tales—touches on issues related to fate vs. free will and selfishness vs. sacrifice. Is […]
Casino Royale Review
RATING: (4 STARS) I’ve written around these parts before that I’m a big James Bond fan. I grew up watching the movies, and they turned out to be like a gateway drug for me—after watching them so many times, I began to experiment with other types of movies until I became a full-on film addict. […]
Children of Men Review
RATING: (4 STARS) “Children of Men†is one of the most depressing films I’ve ever seen, yet I can watch it over and over again. The story of what happens when man has no hope and society implodes is a downer for sure, but it’s ultimately very rewarding. Every aspect of this film is just […]
The Departed Review
RATING: (4 STARS) “The Departed†is director Martin Scorsese’s best work since “Taxi Driver.†Yeah, I said it. I think this film is better than “Goodfellas†and “Raging Bull.†In fact, for a long time, this film was my standard answer for the dreaded “What’s your favorite movie?†question. I no longer hold it in […]
United 93 Review
RATING: (4 STARS) Perfectly capturing the chaos of the defining moment of my generation, “United 93†is not about the events of September 11, 2001 per se. Instead, it celebrates the human spirit. It’s a phenomenal achievement, a film of unparalleled power and emotion. I named the film my favorite from the last decade. A […]
