Category: The Twenty-First Century
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R.I.P.D [2013] ★★
It was a huge flop at the box office, critics destroyed it (they said it was too much like “Men in Black” but then again so what?), and the audience didn’t bother to see it. And yet “R.I.P.D” wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be. It’s not an unprecedented success (far far far…
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Jobs [2013] ★★½
Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs? Really? That was my first reaction when I first heard about “Jobs”, the latest biopic from director Joshua Michael Stern. But against all odds, Kutcher nails it. And his performance is the best, and possibly the main reason to see this uneven biopic. It isn’t bad (far from it actually),…
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Grown Ups 2 [2013]
Look, I’m not an Adam Sandler hater. He was pretty good in “Reign Over Me”, “Funny People” and the underrated “Punch Drunk Love”. And I still have fun memories of “The Wedding Singer” with Drew Barrymore, made way before he turned into a doofus. That said, “Grown Ups 2” is arguably the unfunniest comedy in…
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The Iceman [2013] ★★★
Michael Shannon is on a roll: “Revolutionary Road”, “The Runaways”, “Take Shelter”, “Man Of Steel”. He’s a movie star with real acting talents, on full display in “The Iceman”. He deserves major recognition for playing notorious contract killer Richard Kuklinski, who murdered 100 men before his arrest in 1986. “I dub cartoons for Disney” he tells…
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The Smurfs 2 [2013] ★½
Pop quiz everyone: you’re a Hollywood studio and you help get a movie that’s barely watchable into theaters. The movie is surprisingly a hit at the box office and the kids love it. What do you do next? Do you A) Leave the franchise alone? or B) Give it a crappy sequel? If you chose…
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Passion [2013] ★★
What happens when you mess with a very mean Rachel McAdams? See “Passion”, the new movie from Brian De Palma and find out. I didn’t believe a word of it. But with Noomi Rapace (“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” trilogy) as Isabelle, an ambitious creative director working for bossy Christine (McAdams), there’s enough erotic…
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Elysium [2013]
Let me go straight to the point: if you’ve seen “District 9”, you probably know that Neill Blomkamp is an ambitious Sci-Fi filmmaker. But in case you’re expecting “Elysium” to be as fresh and exceptional as the director’s previous effort, you might be slightly disappointed. Now don’t get me wrong, “Elysium” is still a major…
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We’re The Millers [2013] ★★½
Two summers ago Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston hit a peak with “Horrible Bosses“. “We’re The Millers”, co-starring Emma Roberts and Will Poulter isn’t in the same league, but it delivers exactly what it promises, and after a series of disappointing comedies this year (remember the lousy “Hangover 3”?) that is a great relief. Sudeikis…
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Mud [2013]
If you’ve seen Matthew McConaughey in “The Lincoln Lawyer” or even “Magic Mike” (he was the best thing about it), you know he’s an actor with huge potential. Need more proof? “Mud” , the new film from writer-director Jeff Nichols (“Take Shelter”) that keeps its distance from multiplex formula. Nichols has crafted a story that…
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Aftershock [2013]
Terrible B movie finds Eli Roth and some unknown actors trying to survive an earthquake in Chile. Cool right? Not right. Because there’s literally nothing that works here: The special effects are awful, the acting is laughable and director Nicolas Lopez seems to be fighting a losing battle with the concept of an “aftershock”. Worst…
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The Hunt [2013] ★★★½
A powerful and thought provoking drama is rare during summer season. That’s what makes “The Hunt” so special, and I hope moviegoers will find their way to see it. It’s one of the year’s best films. Danish writer-director Thomas Vinterberg aims to shock his audience by telling the story of a divorced schoolteacher (Mads Mikkelsen, Le…
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Red 2 [2013]
It could have been worse. I mean just look at the ridiculous trailer. But there’s plenty of energy in “Red 2” to hook you up for almost 2 hours. Just shut your brain and go with the illogic. Bruce Willis and John Malkovich still have the juice and they give us rooting interest. Willis is…
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Despicable Me 2 [2013] ★★★
It’s always difficult to cook up a sequel to a successful movie. But the folks at Universal Studios have managed to pull it off. “Despicable Me 2” feels fresh, funny and entertaining even if if the element of surprise is gone. The first movie was a huge hit, as it introduced the unlikeliest of villains/heroes…
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Before Midnight [2013] ★★★½
We first met Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) in Vienna in “Before Sunrise”. To some, the movie was talky. To others (me included), it was unique and as far away as possible from the Hollywood formula. “Before Sunset” picked up 9 years later in Paris, where the two met again briefly before Jesse had…
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The Wolverine [2013] ★★½
Anyone looking for unforgettable thrills in “The Wolverine” is out of luck. The movie isn’t innovative, it isn’t deep, and the characters aren’t particularly well developed (Blame it on Christopher Nolan and Joss Whedon who truly raised the bar for D.C/Marvel at the movies). But I still had a good time watching it. It’s hard…
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Only God Forgives [2013] ★½
“Only God Forgives” is perhaps the first Ryan Gosling movie one can honestly describe as boring. Yet it arrives with its credentials of cool all set: A stylish retro-noir look courtesy of Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn (who directed the unforgettable “Drive“) and Gosling again in the lead with badass attitude leftover from “Drive” and “The…
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Killing Season [2013] ★½
Some people think Robert De Niro and John Travolta in one movie would be a kick to watch. Not a chance. “Killing Season” defines the word “boring”. Travolta, with an Eastern European accent, a shaved head and bizarre, ugly facial hair plays a member of the Serbian Scorpions. In a lousy prologue, we learn that he…
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Admission [2013] ★★
Pairing likable Paul Rudd and the hilarious Tina Fey in “Admission” would seem to be a perfect comedy setup. The results, however, are less than perfect and that’s a bummer. Fey plays Portia Nathan, a Princeton admissions officer dedicated to choosing only the best. Later on she runs into into school teacher John Pressman (Rudd), a former college…
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The Lone Ranger [2013] ★★
It’s pointless to describe “The Lone Ranger” because even it doesn’t know what it wants to be. The result is a long, often confusing film with an underwhelming performance by Armie Hammer as the title character. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski (“Pirates of the Caribbean”) wanted to have fun with the concept of a western/action…
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Pacific Rim [2013] ★★★
Granted, Guillermo del Toro’s “Pacific Rim” is not a work of art like his Oscar-winning Pan’s Labyrinth. But his latest Hollywood blockbuster sure is a surprise package of fun, fright and stunning visuals. For starters, it pays homage to such classic era monsters movies as “Godzilla” (1954). The director may be working off a borrowed…
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