Tag Archives: Movie Review
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 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
Filed under 2012 Films, MOVIE REVIEWS
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
Filed under 2012 Films, MOVIE REVIEWS
ALBERT NOBBS (2011)
Directed by Rodrigo García Warning: Contains mild spoilers. I must confess that I went into Albert Nobbs with the lowest of expectations. It is a film that is served terribly by its publicity campaign—the woeful trailer, with its sappy theme … Continue reading
Filed under 2011 Films, MOVIE REVIEWS
THE IRON LADY (2011)
The Iron Lady is a film that’s unlikely to change anyone’s opinion of Thatcher, as it has no opinions of its own: as such, it is unlikely to either offend or please a single member of its audience. Continue reading
Filed under 2011 Films, MOVIE REVIEWS
WAR HORSE (2011)
Epic, humane, and admirably unafraid of sentiment, War Horse is pure old-school storytelling. If you’ll surrender your own cynicism long enough to forgive an unavoidable movie-review cliché, it’s the kind of movie they just don’t make any more. Continue reading
Filed under 2011 Films, MOVIE REVIEWS
THE DESCENDANTS (2011)
Some movies are bad because they are badly made, while others—like this one—are bad the way people are bad: they are bad because their souls are faulty. They are bad because they are empty, or shallow, or smug, or disingenuous, or downright evil in intent or effect. The Descendants is not evil, but it’s all the other adjectives and more: a faux-indy, annoyingly “quirky,” middle-aged White guy angst-fest of the most manipulative and masturbatory kind. Continue reading
Filed under 2011 Films, MOVIE REVIEWS
HUGO (2011)
In the church of cinema, Scorsese is both a god and a high-priest, and he’s brought both roles to bear on this magnificent, magical film. I don’t know yet if I’ll call Hugo the “best” film of the year—but that’s an intellectual judgement, not an emotional one. In purely emotional terms, I doubt I’ll see another film this decade that I love as much as Hugo. Continue reading
Filed under 2011 Films, MOVIE REVIEWS
MELANCHOLIA (2011)
Gorgeously shot, and featuring amazing performances from Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg, Melancholia is a romantic, elegiac film that works both as a metaphor for personal depression and as a lovely, lyrical fable about the end of the world. A powerful and effective work of art, Melancholia is easily one of the best films of the year. Continue reading
Filed under 2011 Films, MOVIE REVIEWS
DRIVE (2011)
Beautifully directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, with a fascinatingly impenetrable performance by Ryan Gosling at its center, “Drive” has the feel of a dark fairy tale, a minimalist fable so simple that it achieves the romance and ambiguity of myth. Continue reading
Filed under 2011 Films, MOVIE REVIEWS
COWBOYS AND ALIENS (2011)
Mr. Favreau, Mr. Spielberg: I’m sorry to say it, but the publicity for your movie more or less spoiled my enjoyment of your movie. Continue reading
Filed under 2011 Films, MOVIE REVIEWS
SUPER 8 (2011)
“Super 8″ is both another entry in, and a fabulous tribute to, the long, unbroken legacy of big summer movies. Director J.J. Abrams and producer Steven Spielberg have made a film that openly celebrates the sheer joy of filmmaking, and the way we never really grow out of the movies—and the movie makers—that we loved as children. Continue reading
Filed under 2011 Films, MOVIE REVIEWS
THE RAPTURE (1991)
With Judgment Day less than 24 hours away, I thought it was a good time to revisit Michael Tolkin’s 1991 fundamentalist schlock-fest, The Rapture. And I’m so glad I did: among other things, I learned that the apocalypse will be foggy, that Mimi Rogers had very nice breasts, and that Jesus hates plaque. Continue reading
Filed under MOVIE REVIEWS, Older Films
