Source Code Review
RATING: (3 STARS) With 2009’s Moon, Duncan Jones offered us one of the better directorial debuts in recent memory. With Source Code, his follow-up, he gives us a solid genre film with a higher budget, bigger stars, and some wild ideas. While it doesn’t reach the heights of his last, it’s akin to something like […]
Captain America: The First Avenger Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Captain America: The First Avenger, the final Marvel origin story before The Avengers next May, is a blast from start to finish. Chris Evans equips himself well as the “star-spangled man with a plan,” and Joe Johnston proves himself more than capable of delivering when it comes to solid superhero action. Hugo […]
Winnie the Pooh Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Winnie the Pooh is a delightful trip down memory lane. It’s brief (running only an hour) and it goes down very smoothly, despite being geared squarely toward children and not doing anything out of the ordinary. The film reminds you that not every adventure needs to be outrageous and fantastical. Sometimes, all […]
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) All good things must come to and end, even Harry Potter. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, the eighth and final film in the enormously successful series, lives up the promise of its immediate predecessor, Deathly Hallows: Part 1, and provides the series and its fans with the send-off they […]
Horrible Bosses Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) Horrible Bosses turns a brilliant premise and all the star power in the world into a limp mid-summer comedy that’s far from horrible but even further from living up to its potential. I was consistently amused while watching the film, but I rarely laughed out loud and I don’t think I ever […]
The Eagle Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) If The Eagle reached a little higher, it could have been a very good film. As it stands, it’s a harmless, sporadically entertaining swords-and-sandals epic. But I didn’t get the sense that there was much passion behind the scenes. Character development feels half-assed, the acting is subpar, and Kevin MacDonald’s directorial style […]
X-Men: First Class Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Like an oasis in the middle of a desert, X-Men: First Class is a refreshing treat during one of the most disappointing movie summers in recent memory. It takes a franchise that was left for dead and breathes new life into it, setting a new standard for the X-Men films. I can’t […]
Cedar Rapids Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Cedar Rapids is a comedy anomaly. It sits somewhere between the fish-out-of-water and arrested development comedy genres, and it earns its laughs through character growth and interaction. Its naturally funny, but even more so, it’s charming. In fact, the harder it tries to be funny, the less successful it is. Thankfully, those […]
Green Lantern Review
RATING: (2 STARS) Of the four big superhero movies coming out this summer, Green Lantern caused me the most initial trepidation. Besides not being the biggest Ryan Reynolds fan, I was concerned about the story’s “out-there-ness,” and I wasn’t sure director Martin Campbell was up to the task of handling all the film’s CGI. Unfortunately, […]
Midnight in Paris Review
RATING: (4 STARS) Filming Midnight in Paris was probably the most fun Woody Allen’s ever had. His joy is evident from the moment the film begins to the moment it ends, and the film is so quintessentially him that I can’t believe it took this long for him to make it. He’s clearly been inspired […]
Super 8 Review
RATING: (2 STARS) If a director’s heart and passion were indicators of quality, Super 8 would be one of the best movies of the year. If the Oscars were given for ability to imitate Super 8 producer Steven Spilberg’s movies, the film would clean up. Unfortunately, all the passion and Spielberg-esque tricks in the world […]
Bridesmaids Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Bridesmaids is NOT The Hangover with girls, despite Universal’s best efforts at making you think so. What’s different about the two films? This one is actually funny. Not side-splittingly so, but definitely funny. If you’ve seen Kristin Wiig on Saturday Night Live, you know her comic strengths and you ought to know […]
Certified Copy Review
RATING: (4 STARS) Look up the term “art house film†in the movie dictionary, and you ought to find a still from Abbas Kiarostami’s Copie Conforme (Certified Copy). It’s a confounding, but wholly engrossing picture that clearly and thoughtfully meditates on questions relating to reality and perception. Though the director (who also penned the screenplay) […]
Thor Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) At a time when the superhero genre is steering itself toward reality (a la The Dark Knight), Thor seems like a fish out of water. Its characters actually have powers, it takes place in fantastical worlds, and logic and reason are its first casualties. And though a film like that might sound […]
Fast Five Review
RATING: (2 STARS) In theory, Fast Five should have worked. A series that reaches its fifth entry needs to reinvent itself to keep people interested. Here, the filmmakers have disposed of much of the pointless street racing in favor of a heist-film formula. It’s not a bad idea; The problem, rather, is in the execution. […]
Arthur (2011) Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) I went into Arthur expecting the worst. The film’s trailers were universally awful, and my general antipathy toward sequels left me feeling nervous. The original Arthur, a 1981 romantic comedy starring Dudley Moore, is a relatively delightful romp. But Russell Brand just didn’t seem like he belonged in this world. And he […]
