Side Effects

The 5 Best Leading Female Performances of 2013

The 5 Best Leading Female Performances of 2013

Click here to check out my 5 favorite leading male performances of 2013. On to the leading ladies! One could plausibly argue 2013 was as strong a year at the top for leading women as it was for leading men, and one couldn’t plausibly argue that most other years. It was a great year for […]

Revisiting My Most Anticipated 2013 Movies

Revisiting My Most Anticipated 2013 Movies

I was writing up my most anticipated movies of 2014 when I realized I couldn’t quite remember what topped (or even placed) on my 2013 list at this time last year. Revisiting the list, as I’ll do below, simply confirms my suspicions that this exercise is a little foolhardy. There’s no predicting what you’ll respond […]

Steven Soderbergh Movies

Steven Soderbergh Movies

My post on Steven Soderbergh movies is the first Director Spotlight I’ve done of filmmaker who’s no longer actively making movies, but with Soderbergh’s retirement so new and so odd (at least to me), it doesn’t yet feel like he’s gone away. Steven Soderbergh started making movies around the same time the Coen Brothers did, […]

The Best Movies of 2013 So Far

The Best Movies of 2013 So Far

It’s been an OK movie year so far. I’ve given a number of titles 3.5 stars; just one movie earned 4 stars. Yet, when I look over this list, I can’t help but think most of these films miss out on my end-of-year top ten list. I’m just not over-the-moon about many movies this year […]

Sunday Afternoon with Criterion: George Washington Edition

Sunday Afternoon with Criterion: George Washington Edition

I: Intro II: Steven Soderbergh and the Criterion Collection III: George Washington IV: What’s New? V: Links Intro Welcome to Sunday Afternoon with Criterion, a series of weekly posts on JohnLikesMovies.com covering everything Criterion—the company’s newest releases, just announced projects, reviews, lists, links, and more. With the debut of Steven Soderbergh’s final feature film, Behind […]

Side Effects Review

Side Effects Review

RATING: (3.5 STARS) The auteur theory is a frequently debated and discussed topic within the film world. Behind the theory is the idea that an “auteur” is a prolific director whose work is easily identifiable based on just a few characteristics—themes, camerawork, music, regular collaborations with specific actors, and other things of this nature. Opponents […]

13 Films for 2013

13 Films for 2013

Oh, to be where we were a year ago. Surveying the upcoming movie calendar on January 1, 2012 was like a second Christmas. Tarantino, PT Anderson, Wes Anderson, Spielberg (with Day-Lewis), Affleck, Soderbergh (times two), The Hobbit, Nolan’s follow-up to The Dark Knight, The Avengers, and the most loaded Cannes lineup in years. Sure, not […]