Category: The Twenty-First Century
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Noah [2014] ★★½
On the surface, Russell Crowe starring in a biblical tale directed by Darren Aronofosky (“Requiem for a Dream”, “Black Swan”) sounds like Oscar bait. It isn’t. And the sooner you accept it, the more fun you’ll have at this satisfying disaster movie (that’s what I’m calling it). Hearing Noah’s Australian accent (lol) is jarring at…
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Rio 2 [2014] ★★
The first “Rio” was a huge hit and one of my favorite animated movies of 2011. But even animation isn’t immune to the greed that drives Hollywood studios nowadays. That’s how an imaginative feature has managed to spawn a pointless sequel. The first film had everything going for it: an ingenious storyline, an unusual setting,…
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The Armstrong Lie [2013] ★★★
You won’t know what hit you after watching “The Armstrong Lie”. This power punch to the gut is one of the best documentaries you’ll ever see about the controversial cyclist. Armstrong has been duking it out all of his 43-year-old life with labels: Cancer survivor, Tour de France winner, liar, cheater, dope addict…you name it.…
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A Case Of You [2013] ★★
Justin Long and Evan Rachel Wood would be assets to any romantic comedy, but they can’t make “A Case Of You” rise above the routine. He plays a writer who falls for a barista (Wood) at his local coffee shop in Brooklyn. Problem is: he’s too shy to approach her, so he checks her Facebook…
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Son Of God [2014] ★½
It’s difficult to review a movie like “Son Of God”. Some people may question my intentions, but I’m not here to start a religious debate. I’m here to review a film, and as a film “Son Of God” can only be described as a misfire. Writer/director Christopher Spencer creates a beautiful mess, an embarrassment of…
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The Bag Man [2014]
Horrible thriller finds John Cusack hired by a legendary crime boss (Robert De Niro) to complete a simple task. Then, inexplicably, the boss sends someone to keep an eye on him! Sorry excuse for a script jumps from one boring, stupid, illogical sequence to another, when it fact it has no reason to exist. Another…
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Captain America: The Winter Soldier [2014]
Yes! Yes! Yes! We have a winner. Apologies if I’m fangirling, but how can I not? Marvel sequels are usually a tricky business, which means I couldn’t care less about “Iron Man 2” and “Thor: The Dark World“. By that standard, the Captain America sequel should follow in their footsteps. Not this time. “Winter Soldier”,…
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Casse-Tête Chinois [2013] ★★★
I’ve been a sucker for french comedies for a while now; perhaps it’s because I haven’t practiced my french in a long time, or maybe it’s because they make so many good movies. Either way, I enjoyed Cedric Klapisch’s (“L’auberge Espagnole”) new movie a lot. It’s a commercial, crowd-pleasing piece of work with engaging performances…
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Heritages [2014] ★★★
For writer/director Philippe Aractingi, devising a film that follows his decision to leave his home country for yet another time during the 2006 war couldn’t have been easy. And if “Heritages” is less than perfect, it’s still pretty powerful. The fact that it’s a personal journey featuring his entire family makes it all the more…
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That Awkward Moment [2014] ★★
You can tell “That Awkward Moment” is cheesy and predictable from watching the trailer. There’s Zac Efron, Michael B. Jordan and Miles Teller (so good in “The Spectacular Now”) doing sitcom shticks as twenty something best buds who decide a marathon of one-night stands is what they need. No relationships or commitments whatsoever. Then Efron falls for…
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Nymphomaniac (Volume I and Volume II) [2014] ★★
Depending on your reaction to the cinematic outrages perpetrated by Danish director Lars Von Trier (remember Antichrist?), you might want to add or subtract two from the rating I just gave “Nymphomaniac”. It seems that Van Trier enjoys courting controversy, and some of his films are deliberately designed to provoke and upset audiences. But he’s…
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Need For Speed [2014] ★★
Aaron Paul can act. If you want proof, check him out in the little seen “Smashed” or the hit series “Breaking Bad”. That said, I don’t think he belongs in “Need For Speed”, the big screen adaptation of the famous video game. As a Twitter user, I could describe everything that makes sense in this…
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Divergent [2014] ★★
Having suffered through “The Host” and “The Mortal Instruments” last year, I wasn’t eager to see yet another movie based on a best selling book. The only reason I had any hope was the presence of Shailene Woodley (“The Descendants”, “The Spectacular Now”) in the leading role—and indeed, she is the main reason the film…
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The Invisible Woman [2013] ★★★
Charles Dickens was an English writer and one of the most famous novelists of the Victorian period. But what you probably didn’t know is that he was deeply unhappy in his home life, which lead to a love affair with a much younger woman. The film itself, energetically directed by the amazing Ralph Fiennes (who…
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3 Days To Kill [2014] ★★
Luc Besson movies tend to be, well not so great. If you’re still enthused about his 1994 film “Leon”, my apologies. I’m not. In his latest film, directed by McG, Kevin Costner plays an international spy who tries to build a closer relationship with his family when he is diagnosed with a terminal disease. The…
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Kill Your Darlings [2013] ★★½
“Fuck you! You’re a phony”.That trash talk is aimed at Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan) by Daniel Radcliffe, in fierce, flamboyant form as the young poet Allen Ginsberg, a Columbia freshman in 1944. Ginsberg falls under the spell of the charismatic Carr and along with Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston) and William S. Burroughs (Ben Foster), kicks…
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In Fear [2013] ★★½
Two people find themselves lost in a maze of backwoods roads. If you ask why, “In Fear” is so not the movie for you. Logic goes south the minute Tom persuades his girlfriend Lucy to go on their first weekend getaway as a couple. Bam! They’re lost in a maze for nearly 90 minutes. And…
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Mr. Peabody & Sherman [2014] ★★½
This big screen adaptation of Mr. Peabody & Sherman, about a supersmart dog and his adopted human son, is far from great, but it’s charming and very funny at times. Director Rob Minkoff and his team offer a pleasingly retro-style contemporary Manhattan and historical settings, from ancient Egypt to the french revolution. When 7 year…
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300: Rise Of An Empire [2014] ★★
This may sound harsh, but I’m getting Zach Snyder’ed out, at least with his “300” series. The loose cannon vibe that hooked me up in the 2007 original has turned into a sorry excuse of a sequel/companion piece. And yet at the screening I attended, many people loved it, while others said that they were…
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Out Of The Furnace [2013] ★★½
Christian Bale has been on a roll for a few years now, with movies like “The Fighter”, “American Hustle” and “The Dark Knight” trilogy under his belt. He’s a movie star with real acting chops, and he makes any movie worth watching. Case in point: “Out Of The Furnace”, an uneven but effective drama about…
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