Spotlight Review
RATING: (4 STARS) I wanted to open this review with some sort of flashy pun about how good journalism shines a light on the underserved or poorly treated in our society, and because this film is called Spotlight, it does a particularly good job at that. I couldn’t find the right quote, and I see […]
Black Mass Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) Black Mass feels perfunctory and uninspired. It appears to exist because the story of James “Whitey” Bulger is one that should be chronicled in a narrative film and unfortunately not because those involved have something unique to say about it. As such, it takes a paint-by-numbers approach to 20 years of Bulger’s […]
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 […]
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 […]
Warrior Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Warrior is too long. It’s cliched as hell. It’s manipulative. Parts feel forced and artificial. It’s overstuffed with subplots. And it’s totally unbelievable. But hell if I didn’t get caught up in it all. I found myself groaning and rolling my eyes far more than I’d like, but I’m a sucker for […]
