MOVIE REVIEWS
STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (2013) Movie Review
A review of STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS, directed by J. J. Abrams, staring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Bruce Greenwood, Peter Weller, and Alice Eve. Continue reading
Filed under 2013 Films, MOVIE REVIEWS
THE GREAT GATSBY (2013) Movie Review
A review of THE GREAT GATSBY (2013), directed by Baz Luhrmann, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton, and Isla Fisher. Continue reading
Filed under 2013 Films, MOVIE REVIEWS
IRON MAN 3 (2013) Movie Review
A review of IRON MAN 3, directed by Shane Black, written by Black and Dale Pearce. Continue reading
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BLADE RUNNER (1982) The Unenthusiastic Critic # 18
The Unenthusiastic Critic has seen things you people wouldn’t believe, as she endures her first viewing of Ridley Scott’s 1982 classic BLADE RUNNER. Continue reading
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THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC (1928) Independent Study in World Cinema
The subject of this week’s Independent Study in World Cinema is a film that not only gave us one of film’s greatest performances, but revolutionized the presentation of acting on-screen: Carl Theodor Dreyer’s The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928). Continue reading
THE 85TH ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS 2013 Oscar Picks and Predictions
My picks and predictions for the 85th Annual Academy Awards. Continue reading
Filed under 2012 Films, MOVIE REVIEWS
SIDE EFFECTS (2013) Movie Review
If the slick, competent, painfully derivative thriller Side Effects does indeed turn out to be Soderbergh’s swan song, it will be the sadly appropriate capstone to a career that promised so much brilliance, and delivered so little originality. Continue reading
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METROPOLIS (1927) Independent Study in World Cinema
In this week’s Independent Study in World Cinema, I take a look at one of the most visually influential films of all time: Fritz Lang’s seminal 1927 science-fiction classic METROPOLIS. Continue reading
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WARM BODIES (2013) Movie Review
After a few weeks of silent cinematic masterpieces, preceded by several months of austere Oscar-bait movies, one does get the urge to watch a deeply silly popcorn movie—preferably, if possible, a teen-age-romantic-comedy-action-adventure-with-zombies. Thankfully, there happens to be one out. Continue reading
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BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN (1925) Independent Study in World Cinema
This is the third entry in the series “Independent Study in World Cinema,” in which this self-educated film nerd attempts to fill in some fairly serious gaps in his self-education. This week, I take a look at a film about revolution that sparked a revolution in film: Sergei Eisenstein’s 1925 epic Battleship Potemkin. Continue reading
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NOSFERATU (1922) Independent Study in World Cinema
Continuing the “Independent Study in World Cinema” series, I take a long look at the movie that—for better or worse—started cinema’s love affair with vampires: F.W. Murnau’s NOSFERATU: A SYMPHONY OF HORROR (1922). Continue reading
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THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1920) Independent Study in World Cinema
A new series exploring influential films from around the world begins with Robert Weine’s 1920 classic THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI. Continue reading
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THE BEST FILMS OF 2012
If you’d asked me six weeks ago, I’d have told you 2012 was a mediocre year for movies. This is, of course, partially the fault of the studios—which save all of their best movies for the last few weeks of … Continue reading
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THE BEST FILM PERFORMANCES OF 2012
A list of my 15 favorite motion picture performances of 2012. Continue reading
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THE MOST OVERRATED FILMS OF 2012
They are not, necessarily, bad films; some of them may even be good films. They are films, however, that deserve to be brought down a peg or two, and I’m just the unlicensed internet hack to do it. Continue reading
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DJANGO UNCHAINED (2012) A Conversation with The Unenthusiastic Critic
A conversation with my partner, The Unenthusiastic Critic, about Quentin Tarantino’s DJANGO UNCHAINED. Continue reading
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DJANGO UNCHAINED (2012) Movie Review
A review of DJANGO UNCHAINED (2012), the new film from Quentin Tarantino, starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson, and Kerry Washington. Continue reading
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LES MISÉRABLES (2012) Movie Review
A review of LES MISÉRABLES (2012), directed by Tom Hooper, starring Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, and Russell Crowe. Continue reading
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THE IMPOSSIBLE (2012)
Movie Review
It’s estimated that a quarter of a million people lost their lives in the South Asian Tsunami: so why the fuck do I care about a family of wealthy European tourists who survived? Continue reading
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AMOUR (2012)
Movie Review
A review of Michael Haneke’s profound, devastating love story AMOUR (2012), starring Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva. Continue reading
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HYDE PARK ON HUDSON (2012)
Movie Review
Hyde Park on Hudson is not an exposé, a love story, or a history lesson: it is too shallow, too flimsy, too cynically and dishonestly sleazy to be any of these things. And so I am left to believe that its sole purpose is to be a light and frothy comedy, divorced from reality, dressed up in period clothing, designed merely to provide some laughs and pass the time pleasantly. Unfortunately, by even these very minimal standards, it also fails horribly… Continue reading
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THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
Movie Review
Spoiler Level: Safe I should probably begin by specifying which version of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey I’m reviewing, since there are currently six options for viewing the film in theaters. Depending where you live, you can choose … Continue reading
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KILLING THEM SOFTLY (2012)
Finely acted, frequently funny, and stylishly directed, Killing Them Softly nonetheless ultimately fails to satisfy: its story is too slight, its characters are too familiar, and its stakes are too small. The talent involved in this film might have produced a modern classic, but Killing Them Softly ultimately amounts to little more than a minor diversion. Continue reading
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SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK (2012)
Movie Review
With a dark, indy-drama setup that somehow resolves into a phony, crowd-pleasing romantic comedy, Silver Linings Playbook feels like a movie at war with itself. Continue reading
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HITCHCOCK (2012)
Movie Review
Ultimately, there is not a single moment in the tame, tepid Hitchcock that would not be better spent watching a single moment—any moment—of one of Hitchcock’s films. Continue reading
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LIFE OF PI (2012)
Movie Review
Life of PI is a beautiful, moving film that restores our faith in stories even as it reminds us that any good story is, itself, an act of faith. Continue reading
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ANNA KARENINA (2012)
Movie Review
It’s not Tolstoy’s sprawling, staggering epic: no film version could be. What Wright has made instead—from a fabulously concise screenplay by Tom Stoppard— is something clever, creative, and often breathtakingly beautiful: it’s not perfect, and it might offend the literary purists, but it can stand proudly on its own as one of the best films of the year. Continue reading
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LINCOLN (2012)
Movie Review
Respectful without being insightful, well-crafted but without creativity, and visually impressive without any real vision, Lincoln represents an impressive panoply of talent coming together to create the cinematic equivalent of a B+ term paper in AP History. Continue reading
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SKYFALL (2012)
Movie Review
There will always be an England, no matter how its power waxes and wanes, and so there will always be a Bond, who will be reborn periodically with a new face, a slightly new sensibility, and a reliable fondness for strong women and weak martinis. Continue reading
Filed under 2012 Films, Current Releases, MOVIE REVIEWS
WRECK-IT RALPH (2012)
Movie Review
Wreck-It Ralph builds a marvelous world, but its characters are never quite real enough, or rounded enough, to make the dream come alive. Continue reading
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JU-ON: THE GRUDGE (2003)
The Unenthusiastic Critic #16
Continuing with our 2nd Annual Halloween Movie Marathon, “The Unenthusiastic Critic”—my wise-assed, horror-hating girlfriend “N.”—joins me for a dose of J-Horror as we sit down to watch Takashi Shimizu’s 2003 ghost story Ju-On: The Grudge. Continue reading
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RE-ANIMATOR (1985)
The Unenthusiastic Critic #15
Continuing with our 2nd Annual Halloween Movie Marathon, “The Unenthusiastic Critic”—my wise-assed, horror-hating girlfriend “N.”—joins me for a viewing of the 1985 cult classic Re-Animator. As always, spoilers follow, so if (like my girlfriend) you haven’t already seen Re-Animator, and if (unlike her) you would like to, you should really do that first. Continue reading
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THE HAUNTING (1963)
The Unenthusiastic Critic #14
Continuing with our 2nd Annual Halloween Movie Marathon, “the Unenthusiastic Critic”—my wise-assed, horror-hating girlfriend “N.”—joins me for a viewing of Robert Wise’s 1963 haunted house classic. Continue reading
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THE EVIL DEAD (1981)
The Unenthusiastic Critic #13
Continuing with our 2nd Annual Halloween Movie Marathon, “the Unenthusiastic Critic”—my wise-assed, horror-hating girlfriend “N.”—joins me for a viewing of Sam Raimi’s 1981 cult classic. Continue reading
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NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968)
The Unenthusiastic Critic #12
Our 2nd Annual Halloween movie marathon—in which my girlfriend subjects herself to as many horror movies as we can fit in before All Saint’s Day—kicks off with George A. Romero’s 1968 genre-defining classic, Night of the Living Dead. Continue reading
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THE MASTER (Movie Review)
The Master is a movie in which nearly everything works, and yet, at the end of its 150 minutes, one feels that all of this excellence—the careful direction, the lovely cinematography, the fine performances—has been in the service of something vague and forgettable. Continue reading
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LOOPER (Movie Review)
There is little we haven’t seen before in Looper, but the skill and care director Rian Johnson brings to it makes it all feel fresh and original. Appropriate for a time-travel movie, Johnson makes the old seem new again. Continue reading
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COMPLIANCE (Movie Review)
Emotionally harrowing, thought-provoking, and never less than fascinating, Compliance nevertheless fails to make us completely believe in all the turns of this lurid tale, and never manages to offer much insight or illumination into how and why events happen. Continue reading
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KILLER JOE (Movie Review)
Flawed, fatalistic, and foul, Killer Joe is not a film I can endorse. However—if you have a strong stomach and a prurient curiosity—it is definitely a film you will remember. Continue reading
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THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (Movie Review)
It is now clear that Nolan has not just been making three films, but telling one story in three-acts. In retrospect, the long setup of the first film, and the unremitting darkness of the second film, were both necessary to set up this triumphant third act. Continue reading
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MAGIC MIKE (Movie Review)
The Unenthusiastic Critic #11
It’s not that I’m necessarily opposed to two hours of watching my girlfriend drool over men with bodies much, much better than my own, but it didn’t sound like a particularly good time to me either. I offered to go with her, but she perceptively intuited that my heart wasn’t really in it and agreed to go by herself. Continue reading
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THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (Review)
With The Amazing Spider-Man,, the Spider-Man franchise has only been rebooted: it has not been reconceived, and it has certainly not been reinvigorated. This is murky, paint-by-numbers movie-making, with too many stock elements, too little imagination, and far too few surprises. Continue reading
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BRAVE (Movie Review)
After 75 years of Disney heroines who staked their happiness on finding a man, Merida may offer little girls a different definition of what “happily ever after” can look like. Continue reading
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PROMETHEUS (Movie Review)
Visually stunning, and filled with all the promise in the world, Prometheus eventually degenerates into an incoherent assemblage of mismatched elements, and a wasted opportunity on an epic scale. Continue reading
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THE AVENGERS (2012)
Movie Review
The Avengers is not a Citizen Kane for the capes-and-cowls crowd, nor does it try to be a superhero film for people who hate superheroes. What it tries to be instead—and pretty much succeeds in being—is the film for which people who love superheroes have been waiting all their lives. Continue reading
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ALIENS (1986)
The Unenthusiastic Critic #10
Braless women kicking ass, black-on-black crime, and the perils of trusting a man in a vest: The Unenthusiastic Critic returns for her first viewing of ALIENS. Continue reading
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THE CABIN IN THE WOODS (2012)
Movie Review
Almost anything I could tell you about The Cabin in the Woods would risk robbing you of some of its considerable pleasures. You can read this review in total safety (I promise), but don’t read other reviews. Don’t even watch the trailer. Just see the movie. Continue reading
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ALIEN (1979)
The Unenthusiastic Critic #9
The Unenthusiastic Critic returns for a viewing of Ridley Scott’s 1979 sci-fi classic Alien. Continue reading
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THE HUNGER GAMES (Movie Review)
The Hunger Games is what all such franchise blockbusters should aspire to be, but what so few ever are: a real, proper movie, with brains, heart, and soul. Forget those dingy Twilight movies: as a piece of stand-alone entertainment, I’d send this one into combat with the best of the Harry Potter franchise and expect it to emerge from the arena triumphant. Continue reading
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JOHN CARTER (Movie Review)
As the inaugural blockbuster of the season, John Carter is a bit of a disappointment. It’s not horrible: it’s just dull, cheesy, and deeply, deeply silly. Continue reading
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