Category: 3.5/4
-
Amour [2012] ★★★½
What can you say about a film that is so vividly real, and so intense, that it holds you spellbound for two hours, without letup? “Amour” would be superior filmmaking under any circumstances. With rare subtlety and transforming art, the remarkable writer-director Michael Haneke takes us into the emotional heart of an old french couple. Both are…
-
Django Unchained [2012] ★★★½
Like a crazy motherfucker, Quentin Tarantino lets all his obsessions hang out in “Django Unchained”. Some people may want to kill him for it, but if you’re down with that, head off to the “historically inaccurate” “Django” which should have been called “The Good, the Bad and the Slave” by Quentin Tarantino. In fact, “Django” is an act…
-
Lincoln [2012]
I sometimes recoil when people start spreading Oscar buzz about a movie I haven’t seen. Yet I’m willing to forgive this year’s campaign for “Lincoln” because it’s such a terrific movie. At first glance, it sounds like another history lesson about the last four months in the life of America’s 16th president, Abraham Lincoln. Instead, “Lincoln” is a crowning…
-
Life Of Pi [2012] ★★★½
This visually stunning film deserves all the praise it’s been receiving. And we owe it all to director Ang Lee and his wonderful imagination. Everything about it is outstanding, especially when you consider that it is based on a book many considered unfilmable. So what’s it about? Actually, it’s about many things, but first and…
-
Argo [2012] ★★★½
“Argo” is quite simply one of the best movies I’ve seen all year. It has everything one could ask for: a solid story, a superb cast playing interesting and well drawn characters, a pulse pounding climax, and the element of surprise. It’s different than anything I’ve seen all year long and that’s always a good…
-
Skyfall [2012] ★★★½
There’s only one reason why “Skyfall” is the hippest, highest-octane Bond film in ages, and his name is Daniel Craig. Way before “Casino Royale” was released, the internet buzz killers were already ragging on him for being blond and blue-eyed and too short for Bond duty. Not only did Craig turn out to be the best…
-
Frankenweenie [2012]
The Oscar for this year’s Best Animated Feature Film belongs right here, even though the ravishing movie that Tim Burton has conjured up in “Frankenweenie” isn’t strictly animated in the computer-generated sense. Burton and his team used the stop-motion technique, which means taking puppets, about a foot tall, and painstakingly moving them half a millimeter at…
-
The Dark Knight Rises [2012] ★★★½
Question: how can you top “The Dark Knight”, one of the best (if not the best) superhero movie of all time? The answer is you can’t. But hold your horses. “The Dark Knight Rises” may not be as brilliant as its predecessor, but it’s damn near close. Christopher Nolan’s terrific conclusion to his Batman trilogy…
-
A Separation [2011] ★★★½
This year’s Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language is raw and riveting, and that’s what makes it so effective. “A Separation”, written and directed by Asghar Farhadi is a pileup of horrors, and Farhadi does little to lighten the burden. You won’t find yourself smiling or feeling good after the credits start rolling. Instead, the movie…
-
The Skin I Live In [2011] ★★★½
Pedro Almodovar’s “The Skin I Live In” is a twisted take on “Frankenstein” with a sexual angle. There’s the mad doctor, played by Antonio Banderas in one of his most chilling roles. Then there’s the victim, a suicidal patient whom we only see at first in a head bandage and a body stocking. Banderas is…
-
Moneyball [2011]
Acting doesn’t get much better than the subtly brilliant display put on by Brad Pitt in “Moneyball”. On the surface, the film is a baseball story just like last year’s “The Social Network” was a film about Facebook. Meaning it’s not. I don’t usually care much about sports movies. We all know that these films…
-
Intouchables [2011] ★★★½
How often does a seemingly simple film capture the imagination of the world? “Intouchables” does, with originality and charm. It’s so vividly real and touching, that it holds you spellbound for two hours, with no letup. The movie was a smash hit in France, with a staggering 5 million cinema-goers flocking to catch the film in…
-
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo [2011] ★★★½
The american version of “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” is gripping and unusual, even if you’ve seen the Swedish film that inspired it, which in turn was based on a novel by Stieg Larson. If you did catch that striking Swedish import two years ago, you should be familiar with the story by now.…
-
Hugo [2011] ★★★½
“Hugo” is a brilliant movie to begin with, but not without its two stars, 14 year old Asa Butterfield (“The Boy With The Striped Pajamas”) and Chloe Moretz (“Let Me In”). At first glance, the man who directed such masterpieces as “Raging Bull” and “Goodfellas” might seem like an unlikely candidate to direct a family…
-
Warrior [2011] ★★★½
A movie that gives you rooting interest, as soon as it opens, and keeps coming at you, could best be described as a triumph. “Warrior”, from director Gavin O’ Connor takes place in the world of mixed martial arts. It is violent, blunt, powerful. You name it. But “Warrior” also possesses heart and finesse on…
-
The Help [2011] ★★★½
Nothing heats up an Oscar race like an underdog for best picture. On the surface, “The Help” sounds like a movie that’s been done so many times before: the well-to-do white folks and their black servants in a Southern Town in the 1960’s. But it doesn’t take this captivating and steadily surprising movie very long to…
-
Senna [2011]
Fantastic documentary chronicles the life and death of Formula one legend Ayrton Senna, from his days as a go-kart racer, to his debut as a professional driver, his rivalry with Alain Prost (that includes him winning the title three times), and ultimately his tragic death on May 1st 1994. But that’s not all. Beneath the…
-
Midnight In Paris [2011] ★★★½
Looking for an excellent movie to watch? I’d vouch for “Midnight In Paris”, a romantic and magical film from the artist known as Woody Allen. Allen may have missed with his previous movie “You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger”, but “Midnight In Paris” is both entertaining and original- it’s a wonderful achievement that recalls…
-
Drive [2011] ★★★½
Fasten your seat belts for the mind blowing “Drive”, an incredible movie that has Steve McQueen’s bad-ass attitude written all over it, and style to rival the best car pictures ever made. Damn, it felt good. If there ever was an award for coolest movie of the year, “Drive” would be it. That’s Ryan Gosling…
-
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 [2011] ★★★½
Fans can relax. The epic crowd-pleaser everyone has been lusting for is finally here, and after 10 years, seven movies (well eight if you split the last film), four directors, two dumbledores (Richard Harris passed away after “The Chamber Of Secrets” and was replaced by Michael Gambon), several dead characters (and they said it was…
Let's Talk About Movies 