Category: The Twenty-First Century
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Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones [2014]
There’s a reason why Hollywood studios dump their worst movies in January. They must think audiences won’t notice (or care), still trying to digest the holiday turkey. Well we do, especially when it’s a craptacular horror movie like “Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones”. From the amateur acting, writing and directing to an ending that is shocking…
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47 Ronin [2013] ★★
Keanu Reeves keeps telling us that his career is not dead and buried just yet. He directed and starred in his own martial art movie “Man Of Tai Chi” earlier this year (which sucked by the way) and now he’s in a sloppy big budget fantasy adventure film called “47 Ronin”. He plays an outcast…
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The To Do List [2013] ★★
What do you say about a coming-of-age movie set in 1993 and starring 29 year old Aubrey Plaza in the role of a teenager? I mean, besides WTF? “The To Do List”, like every teen comedy, makes sex its primary subject. Yet even though the film is strictly low key, it borrows a lot from other…
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Hours [2013] ★½
Paul Walker’s final movie before his tragic death at the age of 40 takes place during Hurricane Katrina. He plays a New Orleans man stuck in an abandoned hospital after his wife dies in childbirth. For hours (hence the title) he awaits help while his little girl breathes only with the aid of an electrical ventilator.…
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The Wolf Of Wall Street [2013] ★★★½
You don’t need to know shit about Wall Street to sink your teeth into this beast of a movie. Martin Scorsese is the man, the most exciting director of his generation, with such classics as “Raging Bull”, “The King of Comedy”, “GoodFellas” and “Casino” to prove it. Here’s the downside: any hint of dissatisfaction from…
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The Spectacular Now [2013] ★★★
This little gem is one of the nicest surprises of the year. It entertained me and left me with a feeling of satisfaction that’s all too rare these days. Like “The Way Way Back” earlier this year, “The Spectacular Now” is rooted in truth and offers honest observations about relationships, adolescence and independence. Miles Teller plays…
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The Butler [2013] ★★½
I have great regards for director Lee Daniels (“Precious”), which pains me to say that I found “The Butler” incredibly uneven. It has many good attributes, including a superior performance by Oscar winner Forest Whitaker as the title role, but the movie itself seems to run out of gas at some point. The story was…
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Grudge Match [2013] ★★½
Before this movie can laugh at itself, which “Grudge Match” (a story about a pair of aging boxers rival who are forced out of retirement for one last fight) does frequently and unashamedly, it must first cope with getting punched with parody titles. “Rocky Balboa Vs Jake LaMotta”, “Raging Old Men”, “Resurrecting The Old Champs”.…
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12 Years A Slave [2013] ★★★½
Every once in a while, movie buffs look for movies that push them out of their comfort zones into uncharted territory. “12 Years A Slave”, the latest masterpiece from director Steve McQueen (“Hunger”, “Shame”) is such a movie. It’s a cinematic triumph that defines the American Slave Trade. Chiwetel Ejiofor delivers a bold and brilliantly immersive…
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The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty [2013] ★★★
Don’t expect anything standard from this uniquely funny, unpredictably tender and unapologetically weird movie. Ben Stiller, dropping the usual goofy faces, has never done anything this deeply felt. As a director and star of the show, he has crafted one of the most enjoyable films of the year. Based on James Thurber’s short story, “The Secret…
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Last Vegas [2013] ★★½
Some actors don’t always need a great movie. Just the pleasure of their company is enough. And so Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas and Morgan Freeman turn “Last Vegas” into pure entertainment. Add Kevin Kline to the mix and things get a little bit more wacky. The plot involves three old friends, Archie (Freeman), Paddy…
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The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug [2013] ★★★
Sequels are often mixed bags, but this follow up to last year’s “The Hobbit” is fast paced and highly entertaining, even if it’s no match to “The Lord of The Rings” trilogy. With so much exposition out of the way (which was part of the problem in the first movie), director Peter Jackson now has…
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Diana [2013] ★★
Naomi Watts is not the first name that springs to mind as the embodiment of Lady Diana, the late princess of Wales, unlike, for instance, the role of Betty Elms in David Lynch’s “Mulholland Drive”. I give the actress credit for her commitment to this assignment, but she’s still not quite right, especially if you’ve seen…
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Blue Is The Warmest Color (La Vie d’Adèle) [2013] ★★½
Evaluating any movie is a matter of personal taste. Filmmakers who deal in the extreme naturally provoke extreme reactions. That’s one of the reasons why Abdel Latif Kechiche’s “La Vie d’Adèle” won the Palme D’or at this year’s Cannes Festival. Some people at the screening I attended thought it was brilliant. I respect that and I…
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Delivery Man [2013] ★★
Vince Vaughn plays dodgeball and crashes weddings, so why is he going soft in “Delivery Man”? Is it because it might win a pass at the box office for being so cute and family friendly? Where’s your edge man? And more importantly where are the laughs? Vaughn plays an irresponsible man who finds out that his…
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Carrie [2013] ★★
There are cellphones and YouTube videos in this reboot of Stephen King’s “Carrie”. But basically audiences will mostly divide along two lines: those who think director Kimberly Peirce (“Boys Don’t Cry”) has no business remaking Brian De Palma’s 1976 movie, and those who never heard of De Palma’s controversial take on Stephen King’s novel. Your…
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The Hunger Games: Catching Fire [2013] ★★★½
Here is the jaw-dropping, heart-stopping movie we’ve been waiting for all year. Francis Lawrence follows up last year’s “The Hunger Games” with a stupendously entertaining sequel. If you didn’t see the first chapter in this three part film version of Suzanne Collins’ bestselling trilogy, get the DVD. Lawrence leaps into Part II with no patience for…
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The Counselor [2013] ★½
Ridley Scott does a fine job with”Prometheus” and decides to follow it up with what? This horrible mess. Yikes! Michael Fassbender (“Shame”, “Hunger”) plays the title role, a successful lawyer who finds himself in hot water when he makes a deal with Javier Bardem (clueless) that involves drugs and plenty of money. Usually it isn’t a…
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Bad Grandpa [2013] ★★
It’s damn hard to describe a movie like “Bad Grandpa”. It’s not exactly stupid. I mean who else would have thought of releasing a one joke movie based on Johnny Knoxville’s 86 year old character from the Jackass series? Daring might be a better word. Or even inspired, as long as your definition of inspiration includes…
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