[8] Jennifer Lawrence earned her first Oscar nomination playing Ree, a brave teenager raising her younger siblings in Debra Granik’s Winter’s Bone, based on a novel by Daniel Woodrell. When her drug-dealing father puts the family home up for collateral on his bail, it’s up to Ree to save her family from becoming homeless. Winter’s Bone is essentially a quest for the father, whose dealings and …
[7] For the entirety of this film, you never leave a pine box buried in the desert. It’s a gimmick, but it’s a good one. Star Ryan Reynolds and director Rodrigo Cortes work magic to build drama and suspense in a confined space. By the end of the movie, you’re as anxious for Ryan to get out of the box as you’ve ever been engaged …
[4] Four teenagers decide to lock themselves in an underground bunker for three days of a good time, but when a mutual acquaintance doesn’t return to let them out, things start to get hairy. The concept is okay, but the twisty script shows its hand too early in the game and there isn’t a relatable or engaging character in the bunch. With Desmond Harrington, Thora …
[4] Montgomery Clift plays an eager journalist who risks losing his girlfriend after his editor nudges him into an affair with another woman. The dreary storyline struggles to rise above its theatrical roots and lead star Clift, whom I normally like, is dreadful in this whiny, wussified role. (He’s never been photographed worse, either.) The best thing about the movie is its supporting cast, including …
[7] Sidney Poitier plays a black Northern detective who reluctantly aides a white Southern sheriff (Rod Steiger) in solving a murder case. The mystery itself is a bit thin, but it’s bolstered by good performances from the leads and a commendable handling of volatile subject matter. (Though the film takes place in Mississippi, the film’s crew decided to shoot no further south than Tennessee for …
[3] A Jew and a Christian compete in the 1924 Olympics, both running in the name of God and adversity. I’m sorry to say I just couldn’t give a shit. I couldn’t empathize with their motivations. They feel God when they run. Good for them. It would at least be nice if the two competed against one another in the third act, but they don’t. …
[6] Clint Eastwood tackles one of the most hackneyed of all movie subgenres, the race-the-clock death row rescue thriller, and breathes at least enough life into it to keep you engaged. Isaiah Washington puts in a good performance as the innocent man sentenced to die. His scenes with his wife (Lisa Gay Hamilton) and daughter are the movie’s best. The cast also features Denis Leary, …
[6] Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn star in a Frank Capra movie about the political and personal tolls of running for president of the United States. Van Johnson and Margaret Hamilton are fun in supporting roles. Angela Lansbury is nice as the cold, calculating antagonist — her first scene is one of the movie’s best.
[7] Gregory Peck plays a prosecutor terrorized by Robert Mitchum, a recently released convict Peck sent to prison eight years ago. Director J. Lee Thompson (Guns of Navarone) takes his cues from Hitchcock and crafts a film that can compete with much of Hitch’s work (it helps to have Bernard Herrmann doing the music.) The censors put just enough of a damper on the film …
[7] In colonial Kenya, a Danish baroness has an ongoing affair with a big game hunter. On one hand, Sydney Pollacks’ Oscar-winning best picture is long and subdued. But on the other hand, it does a great job transporting you to another time and place. The wildlife, cinematography, and music score (another fine work from John Barry) will whisk you away whether you want whisked or …
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