99 Homes Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) Ramin Bahrani is perhaps the quintessential maker of American films working today. That isn’t to say he’s the best filmmaker this country has to offer — great, yes, but not on that level yet — but rather that no one crafts movies that tackle aspects of our national tradition with such precision […]
Wild Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) One of the most successful prestige films of 2013 was Jean-Marc Vallée’s Dallas Buyers Club, a mostly artless attempt to prove that white guys have feelings too. It was well-acted, though, and ultimately won three Oscars, but my frustrations with the film, its screenplay, and its non-descript direction all led to major […]
2015 Oscar Predictions: First Guesses Before Fall Fests
It’s 2015 Oscar predictions time, so let’s dig the prognosticator’s hat out of the attic, dust it off, and take a look at the landscape of the 2015 Oscar race. If I’m being honest, though, I almost didn’t want to get involved with 2015 Oscar predictions at all. Last year’s Oscar season and the nonsense […]
The Master Review
RATING: (3 STARS) The Master is a story about control, passion, repression, losing oneself, finding oneself, and yes, a cult. But above all, it is the story of a man, a hopelessly inquisitive man, just like you will be by the end of Paul Thomas Anderson’s sprawling puzzle of a film. While he coaxes two […]
Everything Must Go Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) There’s a point in almost every comedian’s career at which he decides it’s time to get serious. Adam Sandler had Punch-Drunk Love. Jim Carrey had The Truman Show. Robin Williams had Dead Poets Society. Now, Will Ferrell has Everything Must Go. The film, writer/director Dan Rush’s debut, is completely devoid of Ferrell’s […]
