Many horror films, be they of the ‘Saw’ or “Friday the 13th” variety, are a lot of things, but scary isn’t one of them. This is often because their stock and trade is shock, and violence is the means to that end. They’re not particularly scary because fear involves mood and atmosphere, things that takes […]
Edited 7/25 917, 949, 950, 951 If you’re looking for a Captain America whose roots drink heavily of the 1940’s, you’re in the wrong movie. If you’re looking for nostalgic entertainment of a time that’s in the vein of Indiana Jones, you’re found it. Karina Longworth, of The Village Voice, criticizes Marvel Studios’ “Captain America: […]
The tag line of “Bad Teacher” is: “She doesn’t give an “F.”” After seeing the movie, you won’t either. Movies entertain because they manage to take you from the here and now. Horror, science fiction, fantasy or drama, entertaining ones tend to move you somehow. “Bad Teacher” moves you too, and it is entertaining, […]
This review of “Green Lantern” contains a videoclip that could be considered as a spoiler. If you want to go into the film with as little knowledge as possible, please do not watch. Anyone that says or implies that “Green Lantern” is worst film of the summer–so far–isn’t being entirely honest. To be the best […]
As charming as it may be, “Midnight in Paris” is not among Allen’s best. Even though it has most of the director’s trademarks (a neurotic, insecure main character; existential angst; infidelity and a touch of magic), it lacks the moral fiber and deep philosophical questioning of his better works. Gil Pender (Owen Wilson), a successful […]
You’ll never take in a film the same way after reading movie reviews by famed critic Roger Ebert. I commented on the Top 3 Ebert reviews that resonated to me and selected key quotes from each commentary: 1. Armageddon – Ebert abhors Michael Bay’s direction in this pop culture mainstay, mainly the fast-paced, music video-esque […]
At first glance “Birdy the Mighty: Decode” seems like an average fan service anime complete with scantily clad female lead, but there’s a bit more to this story of an intergalactic police officer’s mission to Earth. The trailer claims that the titular character is stranded on Earth until she repairs the damage she’s done to Tsutomu Senkawa’s life, […]
From fried eggs to stuffed quail; from John Travolta’s to Coleridge’s Xanadu; from pop culture to high art, “The Trip” takes us in a journey that includes first class food, wine, conversation and a meditation on the nature of the artist as a middle age man. The film directed by Michael Winterbottom is an edited […]
The kitchen, that physical space which also represented the imaginary boundary where women were relegated in the past, is the center of the latest film by director Nora Ephron. Julie and Julia: A kitchen of their own. The film “Julie and Julia” contrasts the life of cook Julia Child in Paris in the 1950’s with […]
For those of us looking for answers in cinema, “A Serious Man” may seem like a cruel joke. On the other hand, the Coen Brother’s film might offer the only real comfort one can get from great art: the certainty that we are not alone, that others share our existential malaise A SERIOUS MAN: An […]
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