Posted on November 13, 2016
By John Gilpatrick
2016, Movie Reviews, New Releases
RATING: (3 STARS) If 2016 proved anything to me, it’s that facts are as fragile as fine china. The idea that something is irrefutable doesn’t matter to people with the right mixture of ignorance, prejudice, and/or intention, and so admirers of historical and scientific truth are forced to debate where one shouldn’t be necessary. And […]
Posted on June 18, 2016
By John Gilpatrick
2016, Movie Reviews, New Releases
RATING: (3.5 STARS) The Lobster is an utterly transfixing and bewildering high-concept comedy about what the world would look like if everything we knew and liked about love was gone. In Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos’ English-language debut, coupling off is an obligation; We never find out why, but those without a partner are forced to […]
Posted on March 11, 2013
By John Gilpatrick
2013, Movie Reviews, New Releases
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. […]
Posted on March 19, 2012
By John Gilpatrick
2012, Movie Reviews, New Releases
RATING: (2.5 STARS) All too often, the word “melodrama” has a negative connotation. It’s used interchangeably with “manipulative” to describe a film with less-than-authentic emotions. The truth is that the melodrama is a perfectly respectable genre of film with a number of genuine masterpieces to its name (Todd Haynes’ Far From Heaven comes immediately to […]
Posted on October 1, 2011
By John Gilpatrick
2011, Movie Reviews, New Releases
RATING: (1 STAR) Dream House is a B-movie with A-list talent and a story that’s an F-minus, maybe worse. It’s not just that we’ve seen elements of this film a thousand times before. Rather, it’s the nonsensical composition of them that boggles my mind. Where’s the sense of dread, the slow-burn pacing that’s so integral […]
Posted on December 15, 2010
By John Gilpatrick
2010, Movie Reviews
RATING: (2 STARS) You certainly can’t fault Agora director Alejandro Amenabar for not being ambitious. His sword-and-sandals drama tries to connect stories related to religious intolerance, the alignment of the universe, and the love of a slave for his master. He isn’t wholly unsuccessful—the film has some very powerful moments—but there are far more misses […]