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“To have any hope of enduring this film, you must abandon all expectations of reason, logic, or laughter. ” When Jackie Chan gave up on acting and decided to retire, he didn’t issue a press release, he made The Spy Next Door. The message is poignant and unmistakable: I give up. I have been defeated. [...]
“The Book of Eli is a calm and focused treat.” There’s a theory which states that in times of war and famine, it is the good people who die first. You’ve probably heard The Piano Man sing about it, but it basically follows that the sort of person able to survive times of great strife [...]
“Gabourey Sidibe deserves the Oscar nomination she has coming to her.” If I had known what Precious was about, I probably wouldn’t have wanted to see it. Just too dark and depressing. You can’t really tell a story like Precious (which joins a list of film titles I will never — ever — pronounce in [...]
“Almost too pleasant for its own good.” Crazy Heart has been compared to The Wrestler in terms of plot and characters, but the tone is completely different. The Wrestler was a heavy, mostly very serious movie. Crazy Heart, though also about a washed-up performer trying to redeem himself, treats everything lightly, even superficially. In fact, [...]
“Charmingly depraved in all the best ways.” In 1993, C.D. Payne penned a massive tome of a book, which turned out to be one of the craziest portraits of juvenile haphazard delinquency ever to hit the market — Youth in Revolt. In 2009 it finally became a movie. The book is rich with the sort [...]
“Leap Year” (2010) “The plot is predictably predictable.” Leap Year, the latest from luminary screenwriting duo Kaplan and Elfont (Made of Honor) fits the rom-com mold as snugly as a claddagh ring fits the finger of an Irish lad’s true love. Apartment stager Anna (Amy Adams) is days away from having her lifelong dreams come [...]
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” (2009) “It’s a murky moral tale of misdirection with storylines that frequently lose meaning or abruptly dead-end. ” Terry Gilliam’s surreal parable, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, hedges on the oldest breed of bet in the books — wagers between the devil and men. As ancient and peculiar as the [...]
“Daybreakers” (2010) – “Delivers again and again on the scares, thrills, and chills.” Get ready for a killer January. In what has historically been reserved and used as a cinematic dump month for pre-packaged failures needing an excuse to bomb (you know, other than the fact that they’re terrible) comes a series of delightful treats. [...]
Emily Blunt – “Young Victoria” (2009) “Blunt is always compelling as the feisty, good-hearted Victoria.” The Young Victoria is a noteworthy title because the British queen it refers to lived to be 81 and reigned for 63 years. She was young once, of course, like everyone (except Larry King), but she’s more famous for being [...]
“How refreshing to see a film about female characters where the primary focus isn’t men.” Whip It tells the tender, romantic tale of a 17-year-old girl falling in love for the first time. As is often the case with young love, the object of her affection is a rugged outsider. Its name is roller derby. [...]