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 […]
American Hustle Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) Of many great pleasures found in David O. Russell’s latest, American Hustle, the greatest is watching not one, not two, not three, not four, but FIVE talented actors give truly exceptional performances. Jeremy Renner is the only Russell newcomer, as the Silver Linings Playbook and The Fighter helmer has brought together an […]
Promised Land Review
RATING: (3 STARS) When it comes to an issue like fracking, it’s hard to find middle ground. Those in favor of it cite the need to source energy more locally, while the anti-fracking crowd has Gasland and flaming water (among other things) to prove its points. Gus Van Sant‘s latest film, Promised Land, is ostensibly […]
Oz: The Great and Powerful Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Fairy tale prequels, sequels, remakes, and reimaginings have been all the rage at the multiplex over the past few years. And while The Wizard of Oz isn’t exactly a fairy tale, comparing Oz: The Great and Powerful to films like Snow White and the Huntsman and Jack the Giant Slayer isn’t unreasonable. […]
Silver Linings Playbook Review
RATING: (4 STARS) Silver Linings Playbook is a bright rainbow of a film, but you wouldn’t know it from the way it starts. It’s hard to imagine that a film that opens in a mental hospital with a clearly disturbed Bradley Cooper could, in two hours, convincingly make the leap to a larger-than-life dance competition […]
Hitchcock Review
RATING: (2 STARS) Hitchcock is a mostly harmless film, but it’s hard to believe there’s nothing exceptional about the film about one of the most exceptional films ever made. Cinema doesn’t get much better than Psycho, but its director’s making-of biopic is dull and lifeless. Its attempts at characterization are based largely around tall tales […]
Frankenweenie Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Frankenweenie is arguably the sweetest, most heartfelt movie Tim Burton has ever made. It’s also his strongest effort in almost a decade. Much of this likely stems from the fact that Frankenweenie was actually a short film Burton directed before he made it big, and one can’t help but think a break […]
