"But offensive material notwithstanding, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry still fails to measure up to most of the box office superstar’s previous work."
Thursday, July 19, 2007
I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry: Too Late for an Annulment?
"But offensive material notwithstanding, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry still fails to measure up to most of the box office superstar’s previous work."
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Rescue Dawn: History Rewritten
"... a tense and thoughtful prison escape film with an acute awareness for nature. Think The Great Escape meets The Discovery Channel. "
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Vitus: Flight of the Prodigy
"...it’s the heart-warming story of a boy and his grandfather that helps keep this slight symphony off the ground. "
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Evan Almighty: God Says Go Green
"....Evan Almighty is a fast-paced family comedy with some very funny laughs and a warm-hearted message."
Sunday, June 17, 2007
June Recap
Bug - ***
Two lonely southerners get holed up in a dingy motel room where their individual neuroses become entwined over a possible infestation. Part psychological thriller, part horror film and part Tennessee Williams play, it’s not so much scary as it is uncomfortably unsettling. An odd choice for legendary American director Friedkin who brings pizzazz but doesn’t shed the story’s theatrical roots as much as he should. Boldly devoted and uncensored performances by Judd and Shannon make this bizarre little film worth experiencing.
Chalk - **1/2
Frederick Wiseman’s High School meets NBC’s The Office in this insightful yet uneven “mockumentary” about teacher experiences in a fictional high school. First time filmmaker Mike Akel has an acute attention for classroom minutia but this attempt at social realism is offset by broad comedic sequences including an out of place (albeit very funny) climax in which the teachers participate in a slang spelling bee.
Knocked Up - ****
An aimless schlub (Rogen) and a statuesque beauty (Heigl) share a drunken one night stand that results in an unplanned pregnancy. Move over Garden State, Generation Y has found their true heir to the Graduate’s throne. Knocked Up brings us back to a time when comedies could be both riotously funny and intensely meaningful. Writer/director Appatow may lack the visual flair of Mike Nichols but he makes up for it in the clear adoration of his actors. The talented ensemble – who possess the ability to launch comedic zingers and heartfelt admissions in the same breath – helps Appatow find a way to unearth and examine the state of the modern day relationship without the nastiness of Neil Labute (The Shape of Things), the sugar coating of Richard Curtis (Love Actually) or the inexperience of Adam Herz (American Pie). AO Scott of the NYTimes calls the film “an instant classic” and I dare say he is right. Knocked Up is one of the most important comedies of the decade.
Ocean’s Thirteen - **
An admirably good natured improvement upon the unwatchable Twelve but the lackadaisical atmosphere surrounding the cash cow production is oppressive. Soderbergh deserves credit for experimenting formalistically in some way with every single shot, even if only one in every ten works. One section of the film featuring forced social commentary on Mexican working conditions through a factory uprising feels more like prep work for his planned Che Guevara biopic than the makings of a witty heist film. With the incomprehensible plot, infuriatingly coded dialogue and the smug performances, it kind of feels like being at a party for two hours and not feeling like you’re cool enough to be there; perhaps more distractingly, not being able to understand exactly what about these people and places is so cool.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End - **
A bland third entry in the enormously successful and otherwise consistently entertaining Pirates franchise. The plot is virtually incomprehensible and completely unnecessary anyway. The first two hours serves no bearing on the final forty-five minutes and while the same can be said of the far superior Dead Man’s Chest, at least that sequel remembered to provide humor and excitement and not just empty pirate chatter. The final five minutes – in which Jack Sparrow (Depp) gets to showboat without plot constraints – are by far the most exhilarating moments in the film.
Waitress - *1/2
Adrien Shelley’s light, homegrown script is ruined by her own frustratingly amateurish direction as displayed in the film’s ugly aesthetics, blatantly artificial lightning, haphazardly incorporated music and limp attempts to comment on generic conventions. Virtually unbearable if not for Nathan Fillian’s oafish charm and Andy Griffith’s sly old coot.
Two lonely southerners get holed up in a dingy motel room where their individual neuroses become entwined over a possible infestation. Part psychological thriller, part horror film and part Tennessee Williams play, it’s not so much scary as it is uncomfortably unsettling. An odd choice for legendary American director Friedkin who brings pizzazz but doesn’t shed the story’s theatrical roots as much as he should. Boldly devoted and uncensored performances by Judd and Shannon make this bizarre little film worth experiencing.
Chalk - **1/2
Frederick Wiseman’s High School meets NBC’s The Office in this insightful yet uneven “mockumentary” about teacher experiences in a fictional high school. First time filmmaker Mike Akel has an acute attention for classroom minutia but this attempt at social realism is offset by broad comedic sequences including an out of place (albeit very funny) climax in which the teachers participate in a slang spelling bee.
Knocked Up - ****
An aimless schlub (Rogen) and a statuesque beauty (Heigl) share a drunken one night stand that results in an unplanned pregnancy. Move over Garden State, Generation Y has found their true heir to the Graduate’s throne. Knocked Up brings us back to a time when comedies could be both riotously funny and intensely meaningful. Writer/director Appatow may lack the visual flair of Mike Nichols but he makes up for it in the clear adoration of his actors. The talented ensemble – who possess the ability to launch comedic zingers and heartfelt admissions in the same breath – helps Appatow find a way to unearth and examine the state of the modern day relationship without the nastiness of Neil Labute (The Shape of Things), the sugar coating of Richard Curtis (Love Actually) or the inexperience of Adam Herz (American Pie). AO Scott of the NYTimes calls the film “an instant classic” and I dare say he is right. Knocked Up is one of the most important comedies of the decade.
Ocean’s Thirteen - **
An admirably good natured improvement upon the unwatchable Twelve but the lackadaisical atmosphere surrounding the cash cow production is oppressive. Soderbergh deserves credit for experimenting formalistically in some way with every single shot, even if only one in every ten works. One section of the film featuring forced social commentary on Mexican working conditions through a factory uprising feels more like prep work for his planned Che Guevara biopic than the makings of a witty heist film. With the incomprehensible plot, infuriatingly coded dialogue and the smug performances, it kind of feels like being at a party for two hours and not feeling like you’re cool enough to be there; perhaps more distractingly, not being able to understand exactly what about these people and places is so cool.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End - **
A bland third entry in the enormously successful and otherwise consistently entertaining Pirates franchise. The plot is virtually incomprehensible and completely unnecessary anyway. The first two hours serves no bearing on the final forty-five minutes and while the same can be said of the far superior Dead Man’s Chest, at least that sequel remembered to provide humor and excitement and not just empty pirate chatter. The final five minutes – in which Jack Sparrow (Depp) gets to showboat without plot constraints – are by far the most exhilarating moments in the film.
Waitress - *1/2
Adrien Shelley’s light, homegrown script is ruined by her own frustratingly amateurish direction as displayed in the film’s ugly aesthetics, blatantly artificial lightning, haphazardly incorporated music and limp attempts to comment on generic conventions. Virtually unbearable if not for Nathan Fillian’s oafish charm and Andy Griffith’s sly old coot.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Shrek the Third: An Ogre the Hill Franchise?
"Perhaps the reason I am able to enjoy Shrek the Third so much stems from never loving Shrek the first enough to be disappointed by a sequel."
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
That Thing You Do!: Extended Cut
"It’s difficult for me to approach the new extended cut DVD of That Thing You Do! without stooping to rabid fanboy zeal as it is a film I unabashedly cite as one of my favorites of all time."
Friday, May 11, 2007
The Ex: Suspicious Minds
"A dark comedy that’s never as mean as it wants to be, the snide humor and pratfalls start out pretty favorably but as the film progresses, the laughs peter out at an unforgiving rate."
Friday, May 04, 2007
Lucky You: For Love or Money?
"The offbeat decision to stage a poker film under the auspices of a chick flick (or is it the other way around?) has made for a marketing nightmare for Warner Brothers but it has also made for a compellingly watchable fairy tale – the only way to describe it because the Las Vegas depicted in Lucky You only exists in the magical world of movies."
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Jindabyne: Apathy Indicted
"Jindabyne may not be an easy film to like, but it is an important one to experience. "
I also participated in a round table interview with the film's stars, Laura Linney and Gabriel Byrne, last week. Articles on both celebrities can be found at the following links.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Hot Fuzz: Armed for Laughs
"Hot Fuzz may resonate most strongly with rabid fans of the buddy-cop genre due to its hard-edged and in-character aesthetics but its high-spirited zest will appeal to film lovers of all shapes and sizes."
Friday, March 30, 2007
Live Free or Die: Give My Grievances to the Granite State
"The performers and the filmmakers’ intentions are in the right place but Live Free or Die never picks up enough steam to really elicit the kind of guffaws that the talent promises."
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
The Hawk is Dying: Animadversion on Wings
"...director Julian Goldberger raises the question, how long can a movie featuring an off-kilter Giamatti running around with a frenzied hawk on his shoulder exist before devolving into self-parody? The answer is, surprisingly long."
Click here to read my review at TheCinemaSource.com
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Maxed Out: Debt of Dishonor
"...in the end, I can’t deny that I did come away with a stronger impulse for being weary of credit card companies in the future. "
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
300: Spartan Aesthetics
"...every single element is so explicitly artificial that the viewer is forced to question everything, even the tiny ripples of inflation and deflation on Butler’s sizeable six-pack while he barks orders."
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
A Good Year: Sour Grapes
"What was a quaint, modern-day fairy tale on page has turned into a glib, overcooked film so hung up on causality that it lacks any of the organic grace present in Mayle’s prose. "
The Number 23: Literature & Paranoia
"Despite the generic constraints becoming oppressive in the conclusion, The Number 23 still serves as a kooky entry in the realm of late night Sci-Fi channel repeats. Secondly, and more subtly, it manages to effectively create a recognizable depiction of what it can be like to find oneself consumed by an engrossing book."
Friday, February 09, 2007
Norbit: The Fat Lady Just Keeps Singing
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"Not only is Norbit a vile, unfunny, and all-around-awful movie, it effectively impugns many of Murphy’s substantial comedic achievements over the past twenty years."
Friday, February 02, 2007
Because I Said So: Dismal Weening
"From the opening scene, the plotting is of the sitcom variety and anyone who can blithely make it through these torturous first twenty minutes of contrivance should really start demanding more from their movie-going experiences."
Friday, January 26, 2007
Seraphim Falls: The Good or the Bad?
"These performances, combined with the ambiguity of their characters’ intentions, hint at something really special but the film isn’t quite able to perform as a whole."
I also had the opportunity to participate in a roundtable interview with the lead actors earlier this week.
Catch and Release: Dead in the Water
"There’s a lot of room for quaint pleasantries andhonest, human drama but things evidently became very artificial en route to the big screen. "
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Extras: Squirming Riotously
"While Extras is probably more Curb Your Enthusiasm than The Office in its commingling of improvisation and celebrity self-sacrifice, it still operates in the same realms of foot-in-mouth comedy perfected in The Office."
Monday, January 22, 2007
Fantasy Oscar Ballot
On the eve of the announcement of the official Oscar Nominations, I figured I'd take a page out of my good friend/fellow critic John Young's book and post a list of names I would vote for in the top eight categories.
Best Picture
Half Nelson
The Departed
The Queen
Little Children
Children of Men
Best Actor
Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson
Aaron Eckhart, Thank You For Smoking
Leonardo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond
Daniel Craig, Casino Royale
Greg Kinnear, Little Miss Sunshine
Best Actress
Helen Mirren, The Queen
Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
Kate Winslet, Little Children
Gretchen Mol, The Notorious Bettie Page
Meryl Streep, Devil Wears Prada
Best Supporting Actor
Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
Brad Pitt, Babel
Michael Sheen, The Queen
Bill Nighy, Notes on a Scandal
Clive Owen, Inside Man
Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Diane Lane, Hollywoodland
Emily Watson, The Proposition
Toni Collete, The Night Listener
Best Director
Alfonso Cuaron, Children of Men
Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Ryan Fleck, Half Nelson
Todd Field, Little Children
Steven Frears, The Queen
Best Original Screenplay
Russell Gewirtz, Inside Man
Peter Morgan, The Queen
Rian Johnson, Brick
Guillermo Del Toro, Pan’s Labyrinth
Ryan Fleck & Anna Bowden, Half Nelson
Best Adapted Screenplay
Todd Field & Tom Perrotta, Little Children
William Monohan, The Departed
Andrew Birkin, Bernd Eichinger & Tom Tykwer, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Frank Cottel Bryce, Tristram Shandy: A Cock & Bull Story
Armistead Maupin, The Night Listener
As for predictions, the only risky pick I'll make is that DiCaprio gets snubbed for both performances and both Gosling and Cohen make it into the finalists. Very unlikely, yes, but what the heck.
Best Picture
Half Nelson
The Departed
The Queen
Little Children
Children of Men
Best Actor
Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson
Aaron Eckhart, Thank You For Smoking
Leonardo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond
Daniel Craig, Casino Royale
Greg Kinnear, Little Miss Sunshine
Best Actress
Helen Mirren, The Queen
Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
Kate Winslet, Little Children
Gretchen Mol, The Notorious Bettie Page
Meryl Streep, Devil Wears Prada
Best Supporting Actor
Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
Brad Pitt, Babel
Michael Sheen, The Queen
Bill Nighy, Notes on a Scandal
Clive Owen, Inside Man
Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Diane Lane, Hollywoodland
Emily Watson, The Proposition
Toni Collete, The Night Listener
Best Director
Alfonso Cuaron, Children of Men
Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Ryan Fleck, Half Nelson
Todd Field, Little Children
Steven Frears, The Queen
Best Original Screenplay
Russell Gewirtz, Inside Man
Peter Morgan, The Queen
Rian Johnson, Brick
Guillermo Del Toro, Pan’s Labyrinth
Ryan Fleck & Anna Bowden, Half Nelson
Best Adapted Screenplay
Todd Field & Tom Perrotta, Little Children
William Monohan, The Departed
Andrew Birkin, Bernd Eichinger & Tom Tykwer, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Frank Cottel Bryce, Tristram Shandy: A Cock & Bull Story
Armistead Maupin, The Night Listener
As for predictions, the only risky pick I'll make is that DiCaprio gets snubbed for both performances and both Gosling and Cohen make it into the finalists. Very unlikely, yes, but what the heck.
Friday, January 19, 2007
Alone with Her: A Stalk to Remember
"It’s certainly an experiment of sorts and for what it is, it’s rather interesting, although it will probably play best on the small screen."
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Top 10 of 2006
1. Half Nelson
2.The Departed
3. The Queen
4. Little Children
6. Children of Men
7. Cars
Read my List with Commentary at TheCinemaSource.com
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Idiocracy: Confederacy of Dunces
"While the film lampoons and indicts the audience that revels at the crotch-bruising and dimwitted dialogue, it also distances the (intended) audience that abhors these recent trends by subjecting them to so much of it, even if it is with ironic intent."
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
The Dead Girl: Morbid Malaise
"The biggest problem with The Dead Girl is that it doesn’t offer anything rewarding for the viewer other than the novelty of each individual story."
Thursday, December 21, 2006
We Are Marshall: Mob Mentality at its Finest
"Audiences may be skeptical about the need for yet another football movie this year but We Are Marshall nonetheless offers an entertaining piece of uplifting football jingoism. "
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Rocky Balboa: One Night with the Champ
"... getting to see Rocky train one last time is probably the three most invigorating moments from any film released this year."
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Venus: Eros & Death
"...Venus is a romantic comedy - of sorts - and every frame of the film relies upon O’Toole’s performance, even the ones he’s absent from physically. "
The Painted Veil: Unmasked Prestige
"In a time when so many movies rely on fractured editing and narrative incomprehensibility, it’s wonderfully refreshing to see a film with such a straightforward and reverent approach to filmmaking."
Monday, December 18, 2006
Charlotte's Web: Spinning its Legs
"On the whole, there isn’t anything that parents will find offensive and young children will definitely be entertained by the plights of Wilbur and his furry friends but experienced viewers will quickly realize that Charlotte’s literal web weaving is far more enthralling than the film’s figurative web weaving."
Friday, December 08, 2006
Apocalypto: Tribal Lunacy
"Apocalypto is old-fashioned storytelling at its most basic level. Moreover, it’s a largely successful piece of filmmaking..."
Friday, December 01, 2006
The Nativity Story: Preaching to the Choir
"...Other than some of the beautiful vistas, there isn’t anything in this big screen production that you can’t already see on the History Channel or your standard Visual Bible video series..."
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
The Devil Wears Prada: Bitch Work
"The film, based on a best-selling novel by Lauren Weisberger, is cheery and fluffy and goes down as smoothly as the Starbucks confections guzzled by the high-powered, fashion industry impresarios depicted in the film. "
Read my entire DVD review at TheCinemaSource.com
Monday, November 20, 2006
The Fountain: Evanescent Immortality
"The Fountain begins as cinematic poetry, gets waylaid with maudlin melodrama and concludes somewhere in between metaphysics and spirituality. "Read my entire review at TheCinemaSource.com
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Casino Royale: Nobody Does it Better
In the immortal words of Carly Simon in the title track from The Spy who Loved Me, “Nobody does it better.” Quite lofty praise for Mr. Bond indeed. Is it deserved? Well, almost. Is it the best action/adventure movie of the year? Of course not, The Departed is. But that blend of popcorn entertainment, auteur cinema and quality storytelling is an anomaly. In any other year, Casino Royale would likely be the best popcorn action extravaganza. The climactic chase along the Venetian canals easily trumps the half-speed histrionics of Mission: Impossible III and the Bahaman locations that are nearly identical to former Bond Pierce Brosnan’s campy After the Sunset are nonetheless much more captivating and picturesque.
The debut of a new lead actor as the immortal James Bond character is a watershed moment for cinema and it doesn’t matter how many TV spots or production stills you’ve seen, it’s an undeniable thrill to see Daniel Craig pose for the trademark down-the-gun-barrel shot. Craig adopts a new approach to Bond and the filmmakers have complete faith in him. In the final frame of the opening credit sequence, Craig stands front and center and the camera lingers. Yes, he’s blond. Yes, he has blue eyes. No, he’s not conventionally handsome.
I’ve never been very good at comparing Bonds in terms of who’s “the best.” But I can say definitively, Craig is the most intimidating Bond to date. He follows through with what Timothy Dalton tried to achieve but ultimately couldn’t properly supply: a darker Bond with less quips and more introspectiveness. He also exhibits signs of misanthropy and masochism on top of it. For the first time in the series, we sense that if Bond wasn’t a OO-agent, he’d be a terrorist. (The blurred line between cop and criminal being a constant motif in 2006 cinema: from the aforementioned The Departed to the lackluster Miami Vice.)
Another likely first for the series is that Bond shows more skin than the Bond girls. Gender theorists will have a field day with Casino Royale. The lynchpin is the harrowing torture sequence in which a nude Bond is strapped to a chair and has his private parts mercilessly assaulted by the villain. After which, when Bond has been metaphorically neutered, he’s suddenly able to tell the female interest that he loves her. Wacky gender theories aside, the torture scene is pretty brutal, especially for a PG-13 movie. It’s an unforgettable scene and one of the crucial scenes in establishing the film as a unique entry to the series. It’s a scene that will leave audiences shaken, not stirred.
Friday, November 17, 2006
The History Boys: Artificial Intelligence
"...After garnering heaps of critical praise on Broadway and proudly becoming the recipients of “the most Tonys in 50 years” - as the trailer proudly boasts - the entire original cast reunites on screen for what feels more like a reward than a significant contribution to the cinematic medium... "Read my entire review at TheCinemaSource.com
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Flannel Pajamas: A Chamber Drama of Dirty Laundry
"There’s a lot of flab hanging around the edges of this film and while it’s true, virtually every scene has at least one line of insightful dialogue, they aren’t enough to keep the film from dragging its heels on the way toward its inevitable conclusion."
Read my entire review at TheCinemaSource.com
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Stranger Than Fiction: The Pen is Mightier
"...And yet, all this derision is not to say that Stranger Than Fiction is a bad movie. It’s an enjoyable and entertaining film, albeit a slight and passively pleasing one."Read my entire review at TheCinemaSource.com
Monday, October 30, 2006
Scrubs Season Four: Still Loopy After All These Years
"... even during its slumps, Scrubs is still one of the more charming and earnest shows on television and it’s hard to fault a show this genuine and eager to please."
Read my entire review at TheCinemaSource.com
Friday, October 27, 2006
Babel: Heavy Duty Trauma
"It’s not the movie stars (Pitt, Blanchett, Bernal) who demand the most attention in these continent-spanning stories. Rather it’s the fearless performance by Kikuchi and the heart-wrenching sympathy evoked by Barraza that are the most memorable and emotionally devastating."
Read my entire review at TheCinemaSource.com
Friday, October 13, 2006
Man of the Year: Save Your Vote
"...A political comedy of this nature works best as either an all-out farce or a sobering allegory, not the limp shape of a film that Man of the Year adopts. The film works only as campaign material for Williams’ candidacy as a successful talk show host."
Read my entire review at TheCinemaSource.com
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
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