Conviction walks the well-worn path of “underprivileged youth cum adult done good,” but does it better than most. From a distance, this Hilary Swank an Sam Rockwell joint directed by Tony Goldwyn might look a bit like The Blind Side, imagining a lone woman standing up for injustice – and in a sense, it is, but the […]
Nostalgia drove me to the theater, and part of me was frightened when purchasing tickets, not because I feared being one of a handful of adults in a theater replete with children – much less the only one without his own progeny in tow – but because of what could have happened to The Muppets. Would they […]
Deciding to watch The Next Three Days took longer than actually watching the film. Paul Haggis might be one of the most polemic directors today in terms of story and content. He doesn’t necessarily cause controversy – unless it’s among critics – but, sort of like Clint Eastwood, he turns out films that are either rather solid […]
The rapper K’naan has a song that begins: “Until the lion learns to speak/the tales of hunting will be weak” It implies an empathic view of history. And a simple one, too. The perspective of the hunted would, of course, be far different than the perspective of the hunter. But what if the lion could speak? What tale […]
Amidst the mishmash of clichés, Limitless is okay, but the first thirty seconds impel the viewer to question “Why do I watch?” as it presents itself as yet another film that begins at the end, with Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper) contemplating whether stepping from the ledge of his upper story balcony is better than facing the forces […]
It is difficult to say anything about Steve Jobs that has not already been said. Unless, perhaps, you are Steve Jobs. And you are talking to us from 1995. That’s the unintended premise of Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview, which screened this week in select theaters around the country. The story of the project goes like this: […]
It’s not often that animated films make it to Gladiators, but Rango gave me reason to pause. It’s not genius, and it’s not really unique: the overall theme centers on the quest for an identity, something that is often a dime-a-dozen in animated and live-action features alike. The computer animation is flawless, and the voice talents are […]
The buzz around Martha Marcy May Marlene was initially kindled by the emergence of an Olsen sister who isn’t a twin; however, the first few moments of the film erase this potential novelty, entrapping the viewer in a film that is much less a cult film and more a film about a cult. To cut to the […]
In Red State, director Kevin Smith deviates from the canon of familiar characters and actors that made previous films like Mallrats, Clerks, and Chasing Amy cult successes. Here, he branches further into political and religious satire. Admittedly, he tested the bounds of biblical interpretation and scripture in Dogma (1999), a film that I happen to enjoy […]
Back in March, Tim Adkins took a poignant look at the unplanned pregnancy crux of Blue Valentine and transitioned the filmic conflict into a personal one, exploring the ways in which one deals with similar crises. He is not alone. The fork in the relationship road has been stumbled upon by many whether the roads taken and […]