Spectre Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Spectre is Daniel Craig’s fourth James Bond film, and for the fourth time, he’s carrying the franchise through an origin story. Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace combined to share with us the beginnings of Bond as 007. Skyfall represented the start of M, Q, and Moneypenny as we know them. Now […]
Interstellar Review
RATING: (4 STARS) I want to talk about how well-made Interstellar is. I want to talk about Hoyte Van Hoytema’s cinematography in director Christopher Nolan’s ambitious, awe-inspiring film; it’s remarkable. Stepping in for regular Nolan contributor Wally Pfister, Van Hoytema establishes an old-fashioned aesthetic full of shots of a decaying Earth and a quietly wonderous […]
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Review
RATING: (4 STARS) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a superior thriller that accomplishes the unfathomable in condensing John le Carré’s masterful British espionage novel into an appropriately dense but followable two-hour film. And shockingly, not a ton of important detail is lost in the translation. Director Tomas Alfredson (following up the sensational Let the Right […]
The Fighter Review
RATING: (3 STARS) In this corner, weighing in at approximately 700 pounds—the dynamic acting foursome of Amy Adams, Christian Bale, Melissa Leo, and Mark Wahlberg. And in this corner, weighing in at a whopping 2,000 pounds—a ton of dysfunctional family- and boxing-movie clichés. David O. Russell’s The Fighter was a real slugfest between these two […]