The Revenant Review
RATING: (1.5 STARS) Hardship is an easy thing to depict on film, but hardship in service of something meaningful to the butts in front of the screen is more of a challenge. 12 Years a Slave is a recent film that pulled it off with flying colors. How? It showed us who its lead character […]
The Hunger Games Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) While reading Suzanne Collins’ novel, The Hunger Games, you’re immediately struck by the story’s cinematic potential. A dystopian future, an elaborate death match, and an angsty young-adult love triangle—what’s not to like? But with the good comes the potentially terrible—opulent cities with multi-colored buildings, the inevitable neutering down of the novel’s bloodier […]
The Ides of March Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) The Ides of March is a slick thriller with a clear message: Idealism and hope have no place politics. Succumb to these feelings and you’re finished. Yes, it’s not a new thesis, but it’s one that director George Clooney presents unflinchingly. There are moments in this film that I felt real despair, […]
Contagion Review
RATING: (4 STARS) By staying away from the familiar conventions of most thrillers, Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion manages to reach a level of believability and natural tension that I thought impossible out of a film like this. There are no chases, nor are there any heroes and villains. In fact, the characters in Contagion take a […]
Biutiful Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) Calling Biutiful challenging is a major understatement. It’s easily one of the most difficult pictures of 2010. It’s just a brutal look at a man trying to survive—and barely succeeding. Javier Bardem completely disappears into the role of Uxbal—our modern-day Job. He’s as good as he’s ever been, as is director Alejandro […]
