Category: Movie Reviews
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Return of the Definitive Epic
I’ve made it no secret that I believe David Lean’s epic masterpiece, Lawrence of Arabia, to be the finest motion picture in history. It is the very definition of epic. I have had the privilege of seeing it no less than four times on the big screen. Tonight, to promote its 50th anniversary and November… Read more
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Broken men
If P.T. Anderson’s previous drama, There Will Be Blood, was about two men who see each other for exactly who they are, his new film, The Master, shows us two deeply broken men trying to escape from themselves. The master, it turns out, is neither Joaquin Phoenix as troubled World War II veteran, Freddie Quell… Read more
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In absentia
You may or may not have noticed a conspicuous lack of blog entries since I took former film-master Ridley Scott to task for his dreadful Prometheus. There are a number of reasons (or excuses) for this. In the end, I think I grew weary of writing how woefully inadequate movies have become. This summer’s disappointing… Read more
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Second wind
I found it nearly impossible to watch David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo without the spectre of Niels Adren Oplev’s adaptation prodding my expectations. Objectivity became even more strained as events inched ever closer to that scene. The traumatizing effect of its Swedish predecessor clouded the entire first act of the film (a… Read more
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Guns, guts and gadgetry
Brad Bird loves James Bond. This was evident in the Sean Connery-era 007 touches he infused into his Pixar hit The Incredibles. It is even more evident in the director’s recent Mission: Impossible episode (gone is the numerical increment, instead we’re given an honest-to-god subtitle, Ghost Protocol), an enjoyably absurd spectacle that hearkens back to… Read more
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Cruise control
There’s nothing singularly new or original in Nicolas Winding Refn’s crime-drama Drive. Nevertheless, it is a gratifying alternative to the usual frenzied features that tear through mulitplexes every summer, or the tedious independent films that suggest great import but offer hollow trifles. I said something similar about The American last year and, while Drive doesn’t deliver… Read more
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Great Apes
I’ve spent more than my fair share of time railing against CGI, motion capture, and their combined and discrete misuse. In light of 20th Century Fox’s reboot of their classic Planet of the Apes series, I could not be more pleased to be proven wrong. Andy Serkis has solidified himself a place in film history… Read more
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Harry Potter and the Loose Ends
There’s little point in trying to review this last film objectively. Harry Potter episodes ceased the ability to stand on their own as individual films since Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. That movie was the series’ peak, appropriate enough considering it was nearly the midpoint. As such, there is much to nitpick… Read more
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Harry Potter and the oh my god I’m so tired…
I am NOT old. That’s what I keep telling myself. And I’m not. I’m only 41. That’s like 18 in giant tortoise years. Nevertheless, three solid nights of Harry Potter, going to bed late and waking up early to get to work early to leave work early to make it to the theatre by 6:00… Read more
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Harry Potter and the Angry Mob
I predict a riot. The scent of disgruntlement is already in the air. It appears the great deal that AMC Theatres offered for the Harry Potter marathon may have been a wee bit too good to be true. $40 for eight films seemed like a good deal, and it is. Especially when you consider that… Read more