Captain America: Civil War Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) During the much-hyped battle between the Avengers and Friends in Captain America: Civil War, one combatant, with tongue firmly in cheek, remarks, “Everyone’s got a gimmick.” Indeed, every one does, and Civil War is “The One with Black Panther and the New Spider-Man”. Marvel movies are hardly identifiable anymore — assuming they […]
Ant-Man Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) In Marvel’s Ant-Man, the wise father figure character informs our hero that the world of the quantum is totally unknown by man. Its real-life equivalent, then, might be Ant-Man‘s pre-production story. The great Edgar Wright wrote a screenplay for Marvel’s smallest superhero alongside Attack the Block‘s Joe Cornish. Wright was also attached […]
Avengers: Age of Ultron Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Because it begins, ends, and is about something, Avengers: Age of Ultron already has a leg up on most other Marvel movies. And boy, it needs that leg up because there are times when this feels like one of the laziest studio movies in years. At other times, however, it reaches the […]
Captain America: The Winter Soldier Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) It’s been a long time since a Marvel movie totally worked. When Iron Man premiered in 2008, it was so tonally unique and such a breath of fresh air. But The Incredible Hulk was dull and overly moody. Iron Man 2 proverbially shot first and asked questions later. Thor, Thor: The Dark […]
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 […]
Man on a Ledge Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) Man on a Ledge is a colossally dumb heist movie that works more often than it doesn’t in spite of the filmmakers’ best efforts. That director Asger Leth and writer Pablo F. Fenjves would think this is a smart thriller feels insulting. It’s riddled with cliches and more than a little preposterous. […]
The Adjustment Bureau Review
RATING: (3 STARS) There was plenty of reason to worry about George Nolfi’s The Adjustment Bureau. The film was originally slated for a late summer 2010 release. It was then bumped back to the fall, and again to this March. But besides the delays, the film’s trailers hinted at a slightly off-putting mixture of heady […]
Million Dollar Baby Review
RATING: (4 STARS) It was supposed to be the year of Martin Scorsese. The Aviator had all the makings of an Oscar darling—it was a biopic with great acting, direction, and technical features. But all of a sudden, at the end of December, a little film called “Million Dollar Baby†gets released and knocks just […]
The Hurt Locker Review
RATING: (4 STARS) Real suspense is hard to achieve. It’s easy to throw in a shock or two into a film to keep the audience on edge. To sustain that feeling over a prolonged time is a challenge, but it’s something Kathryn Bigelow achieves in her uncompromising war film The Hurt Locker. Director after director […]
