The Young Victoria Review
RATING: (3 STARS) European royalty dramas are a dime a dozen. The last decade has seen films about Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Elizabeth II, Marie Antoinette, among many others. The close of the decade brought another such film—Jean-Marc Vallée’s “The Young Victoria†about the early years of the reign of Britain’s longest serving monarch. The […]
Whip It Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) The best thing I can say about “Whip It†is that it’s competent. It doesn’t make any major mistakes, and it tells its story well. Unfortunately, it’s all so safe that it’s hard to muster up much enthusiasm about it. The only interesting thing about it is the device it uses to […]
Summer Hours Review
RATING: (3 STARS) It’s with bated breath that I wait to see director Olivier Assayas’ “Carlos†this fall. I might end up hating it, but long (this one’s over 5 hours), epic movies like this always intrigue me. That anticipation came to a head with some glowing reviews out of Cannes, so I decided to […]
The Twilight Saga: New Moon Review
RATING: (1.5 STARS) When on vacation with a group, one does things one might not normally do by his or herself. So when it was decided we would all be watching “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,†I had little choice but to oblige. Two hours and ten minutes later, I wished I had gone for […]
Inglourious Basterds Review
RATING: (4 STARS) You know something, Quentin Tarantino. I think this just might be your masterpiece. Inglourious Basterds is a truly audacious film from one of my all-time favorite directors. Not many filmmakers can rewrite history, but Tarantino does and succeeds with flying colors. The film, a fusion of war films and spaghetti westerns, has […]
Angels and Demons Review
RATING: (1 STAR) I think I might be one of roughly fifty people in the world who hasn’t read any of Dan Brown’s mega-best-selling Robert Langdon books. I tried to read “The DaVinci Code,†but I couldn’t get into it. That being said, I actually kind of enjoyed “The DaVinci Code,†the generally reviled big […]
Whatever Works Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) Perhaps a more apt title for Woody Allen’s “Whatever Works†would have simply been “Whatever,†because that’s exactly what I felt about the film when it finished. It was whatever. I didn’t dislike it, but almost nothing about it was original, and while it was clever in parts, it didn’t measure up […]
Pirate Radio Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Sometimes, a film doesn’t have to be deep or thought-provoking for me to really enjoy it. Despite the fact that most of my positive reviews are of dark, depressing stuff, I’m still a fun guy. I enjoy a good comedy every now and again. That’s exactly what “Pirate Radio†is – a […]
The Men Who Stare at Goats Review
RATING: (2 STARS) The opening of “The Men Who Stare at Goats†tells the viewer “more of this is true than you would believe.†But it’s definitely not more entertaining than I believed. With a cast that features George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Ewan McGregor, and Kevin Spacey, how could you go wrong? Well, this film […]
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans Review
RATING: (3 STARS) I’m not at all familiar with Abel Ferrera’s 1992 cult classic “Bad Lieutenant,†other than the fact that Werner Herzog re-imagined it into 2009’s “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.†The former film starred Harvey Keitel as a dirty cop capable who didn’t give a damn about law and order. The […]
Blindness Review
RATING: (1 STAR) I recently noted in my review of “Mutiny on the Bounty” that when films play without subtlety, it can either work or fall on its face. “Mutiny on the Bounty” worked. The time period and setting all appropriated themselves to the way in which director Frank Lloyd elected to tell his story: […]
Everybody’s Fine Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Sometimes movies seem better than they are because they exceed your expectations. The inverse is also true; I’ve given films worse grades than they deserve because they disappointed me (“Juno†is a good example of this). “Everybody’s Fine†is an example of the former. I had heard OK things about the film, […]
Capitalism: A Love Story
Your thoughts on “Capitalism: A Love Story,†Michael Moore’s latest left-wing “docu-ganda,†likely depend on which side of the political aisle you find yourself on. Liberals will eat it up. Conservatives will decry his free-markets-are-evil message. While I certainly lean more toward the former in terms of political views, I didn’t find myself as enthralled […]
2012 Review
RATING: (1.5 STARS) “2012” is an epic disaster, both in subject and quality. This film throws everything at you but the kitchen sink: collapsing buildings, volcanic national parks, and entire continents underwater. Almost all of it falls flat. The plot is ridiculous. The special effects are pretty cheesy. And the dialogue is cringe-inducing. Yet, there’s […]
The Blind Side Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) Many of you probably think I hate “The Blind Side.†That’s understandable. I vaguely remember saying something like “I almost vomited when the film was nominated for Best Picture.†But I don’t hate it. I actually kind of like it. I just think it’s so derivative that to nominate it alongside films […]
Il Divo Review
RATING: (3 STARS) One of the biggest surprises the day the Oscar nominations were announced was the inclusion of the Italian film “Il Divo” in the Best Makeup category. Most people don’t really care about Best Makeup, but tradition tells me I must see every (feature-length) film nominated for an award. So I began my […]
