[6] Just as Robert Zemeckis had to make Forrest Gump and Tim Burton had to make Big Fish, so did David Fincher have to make The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. All three directors are known for their visual and/or technical prowess, and all three felt the need to wring a tear-jerker out of their filmographies, maybe just to prove they could? Benjamin Button is …
[4] Wolverine is one of my least favorite X-Men characters, so maybe this movie just isn’t for me. That said, Hugh Jackman and most of the cast do pretty good jobs with what little they have to work with. The movie zooms along at break-neck speed, stopping for only the slightest moments of introspection or character development. Some movies work just fine with a modicum …
[6] This is certainly the most action-packed of the X-Men movies, but it’s also the most disrespectful and emotionally hollow. There are some great set pieces, including the free-for-all at Jean Grey’s childhood home, the Golden Gate bridge raising, and the visually stunning climax at Alcatraz, where Dark Phoenix (Famke Janssen) unleashes an effects-filled can of whoop-ass upon the world. There’s potential in that sequence …
[7] It’s amazing how good a superhero movie can be when you treat it with the seriousness it deserves. Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects) was the perfect choice to direct this movie, and he chose a brilliant ensemble cast. Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Anna Paquin, and Rebecca Romijn shine in their roles. Unfortunately, Halle Berry and James Marsden have the thankless tasks of …
[7] Ethan Hawke plays a freshman L.A. narcotics officer crash-coursing with a rogue, undercover detective played by Denzel Washington. Training Day hits the ground running and turns into a taut, character-driven thriller that throws a few twists and surprises I didn’t see coming. The power-play between the two characters is the backbone of the movie. Denzel has the more colorful role, but Hawke is required …
[8] This 2002 classic, period-piece rendition of Charles Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby is sweet, sentimental, and beautifully executed. I personally found it irresistible. Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy, Pacific Rim) is perfectly cast as Nicholas, a young man who discovers his own strength of character when called upon to defend his family and friends from villainy. The main villain is his own uncle, played deliciously by …
[6] This was the last film from the late Nora Ephron, the rom-com heavy-hitter who directed Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail, and wrote the script for When Harry Met Sally. It’s based on two different books (both true stories) and takes a two-pronged approach to storytelling that is cute for a while, but somewhat unsatisfying when it comes to a close. Half the …
[3] With two-time Oscar-winning director Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain, Life of Pi) at the helm, and a cast that includes Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Nick Nolte, and Sam Elliott, you should reasonably expect a much better movie than Hulk turns out to be. I mean, wow. It’s so not good. The script begins with an abundance of exposition that never seems to stop. Bana as …
[7] Stockard Channing and Julia Stiles decide to exact revenge on an accused rapist in this intimate character showcase written and directed by Patrick Stettner. Channing’s character is a cool, collected business woman who has just been made CEO of her company. Stiles is a shady underling who waxes philosophic on gender studies. The two get to know each other while laid over at a …
[6] Julianne Moore stars as a woman convinced that she once had a son who died in a tragic plane crash, but everyone around her — including her own husband — insists the boy never existed. The movie is full of revelations, the first of which is that Moore’s character isn’t nuts. A greater conspiracy is at play in the movie, and the less you …
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