The Ballad of Buster Scruggs Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) The latest film from Joel and Ethan Coen was originally meant to be an anthology series for Netflix, but somewhere between its conception and the Venice Film Festival this year, it became a two-hour, six-part anthology film. On the surface, this treatment will turn some viewers off, and “disjointed” and “uneven” will […]
The LEGO Movie Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) The very idea that something called The LEGO Movie was being made was enough to send shivers down the spine of anyone with good cinematic taste or a mind for originality. You know those critics who think they need to write to save cinema? The announcement of a feature-length LEGO movie was […]
Gangs of New York Review
RATING: (4 STARS) “My father told me we was all born of blood and tribulation, and so then too was our great city.” This beautiful quote just about closes Martin Scorsese’s impossibly epic Gangs of New York. And it’s a fitting one to sum up both the film’s plot and biggest themes. The Amsterdam Vallon […]
Battleship Review
RATING: (0 STARS) If nothing else, Battleship is true proof of mankind’s resiliency. This resiliency is shown in the characters who rise up and fight with everything they have against the evil(?) alien invaders. It’s also shown in the viewers who manage to make it through this pathetic excuse for a movie without walking out, […]
The Grey Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) Joe Carnahan has gotten a reputation for directing B-level action flicks—The A-Team, Smokin’ Aces. But The Grey is a whole other animal. “Action” isn’t exactly a word I’d use to describe it, though there is a big crash sequence and a few wolf-fighting scenes. It’s actually more a mix of a man […]
Chloe Review
RATING: (2 STARS) There’s no doubt Atom Egoyan is a talented director. The Sweet Hereafter is one of the most devastating movies I’ve ever seen. And he’s certainly capable of crafting a smart, adult, and erotic motion picture—as evidenced by Exotica. Unfortunately, while ‘adult’ and ‘erotic’ would describe his latest film, Chloe, well, ‘smart’ certainly […]
The A-Team Review
RATING: (1.5 STARS) In some ways, director Joe Carnahan’s “The A-Team†is a harmless summer flick—mindless and fitfully entertaining. In other ways, it represents the worst kind of cinema—wholly unoriginal, bland, and immediately forgettable. I think if I waited another day or two to write this review, I wouldn’t be able to. That’s how soon […]
