Hope Springs Review

RATING: (2.5 STARS) David Frankel (whose The Big Year was, improbably, both one of last year’s biggest surprises and worst films) must have quite a rapport with Meryl Streep. He directed her to an Oscar nomination in The Devil Wears Prada, and he somehow convinced her to star in his latest, Hope Springs—a film that […]
Game Change Review

RATING: (3.5 STARS) Those on the political Right will go to their graves arguing that Game Change is just a crock of liberal lies. Whatever. That’s irrelevant, as far as I’m concerned. True or false, this is an incredibly juicy and engaging piece of work, and it really does ring true, whatever the facts are. […]
The Big Year Review

RATING: (2 STARS) The Big Year is a movie about competitive birdwatching—or “birding” as the film’s main characters would insist you call it—and it’s about as forgettable a movie experience as I’ve had in some time. Not atrocious, like Colombiana or Dream House, just insignificant. And that would be fine, I guess, except for the […]
Arthur (2011) Review

RATING: (2.5 STARS) I went into Arthur expecting the worst. The film’s trailers were universally awful, and my general antipathy toward sequels left me feeling nervous. The original Arthur, a 1981 romantic comedy starring Dudley Moore, is a relatively delightful romp. But Russell Brand just didn’t seem like he belonged in this world. And he […]