Backcountry is a well-acted film with a familiar premis
Foxcatcher chronicles the tragic partnership of multi-m
Hell hath no fury like a fairy whose wings have been
From feds to family to crooks and politicians, everyone has and angle – or three — in American Hustle, David O. Russell’s new film that offers a look at the post-Watergate schizophrenic culture of America. No more is this exemplified than in the opening scene that offers Irving Rosenfeld’s (Christian Bale in a role physically antithetical to […]
If you’re looking for a fun ride that’s better directed than written and promises to provide its audience with witch-splattering, head-crushing, body-exploding badassery, then Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters is your ticket. It’s as good as you’d expect, but not necessarily as bad as you figure it would be. The acting is palatable and visuals are adequate, […]
The departure from Paul Greengrass’ Bourne series to writer-now-director Tony Gilroy’s is marked and, at times, successful. Whereas the Bournes of Damon were shaky and shot with whirlwind hand-cam cinematography, The Bourne Legacy is slow and meticulous. Like his predecessor, Aaron Cross’s (Jeremy Renner) strikes and punches are amazingly quick, but the rest of the film subdued. […]
This week, we have the fourth installment of an underrated film franchise, a time to place bets on whether of not The Campaign will become more about ticket sales that comedy, and the return of Spike Lee to his directorial roots. The Bourne Legacy: The re-emergence of Jason Bourne reminds me, first, that the Bourne franchise is underrated, […]
The Avengers is an exercise in giving characters enough screen time without making them seem exploited and underutilized. And, for the most part, it works and successfully builds off of the characters limned in previous installments leading up to this supergroup of an action hero film. By far, the Hulk is the best part of The Avengers. […]
The most recent installment in the Mission Impossible franchise has appropriately been released without the sequential 4. Instead, it has been subtitled Ghost Protocol, something that serves two purposes. First, it distances itself from the stigmatized logarithm of exponential sequels: the higher the number, the more diluted the acting, story, and overall quality of the film. Second, […]
The first word out of my mouth after seeing a “great” movie is more often than not, an expletive. Followed by an exhale. I would’ve have thought with “The Social Network”, closing with The Beatles classic “Baby, You’re a Rich Man” would have evoked that emotion. It didn’t. It did however after Leo DiCaprio’s final line of […]
Once upon a time, an English professor explained to me–and the rest of her class–the seven basic plots in literature. In addition to providing a working context for writers, she suggested, the prevalence of these themes relieves all creative people of the burden of avoiding cliché. If there are only seven stories any of us can tell, […]
