[6] J.J. Abrams’ comprehensive homage to Spielberg’s early career is a decent spooky kids’ adventure movie. It does a good job stirring nostalgia among 30-somethings like myself. It’s not as mysterious or suspenseful as one might expect from Abrams, the creator of TV’s Lost and producer of Cloverfield. But it does have a solid emotional grounding like much of Abrams’ other work. The film is …
[8] Ryan Gosling channels his inner Eastwood in this stylish thriller about a Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a getaway driver. The combination of Hossein Amini’s emotionally restrained script and Nicolas Winding Refn’s visceral direction are a winning combination, boosted tremendously by Newton Thomas Sigel’s crisp, colorful cinematography and Cliff Martinez’s minimalist, evocative score. Gosling’s screen presence can never be disputed after this film. Like …
[7] Saoirse Ronan (The Lovely Bones) stars as a mysterious teenager raised in the wilderness by her ex-CIA father (Eric Bana) to be a lethal killing machine. Director Joe Wright steps out of his comfort zone (his previous films include Atonement and Pride & Prejudice) to deliver a stylish thriller galvanized by terrific performances from Ronan and Cate Blanchett, whose never been sexier or scarier …
[3] I’m all for slummin’ it through a naughty romp every now and then, and sex comedies are even a favorite genre of mine. But The Change-Up reeks of pathetic desperation, actually giving dick, fart, piss, and boob jokes a bad name. I mean, they’ve got Jason Bateman eating baby shit before the opening titles roll. And why does every male character under the age …
[5] Working from a stale script that comes too late in the Tarantino wake, this dark, violent ‘who’s conning who’ comedy is made tolerable by its flavor-of-the-week casting. If you like Jesse Eisenberg, Danny McBride, and Aziz Ansari (like I do), you’ll find it worth your while. If you don’t, you won’t.
[7] I love horror movies and nothing scares me more than religious conviction. So I had high hopes for Kevin Smith’s Red State. The funny man (Clerks, Chasing Amy) does right by the horror genre and delivers a mostly thrilling hour and fifteen minutes, including a protracted Waco-style standoff where anything goes. Smith gets dangerous, willing to kill any character at any time. Fifteen minutes …
[4] Thor features solid direction from Kenneth Branagh, a rousing score from Patrick Doyle, and always stunning set design from Bo Welch. Tom Hiddleston gives the best performance in the film, as Thor’s jealous brother, Loki. No one else, including Chris Hemsworth in the title role, leaves much of an impression. Anchoring the film in utter mediocrity is a script as plain and predictable as …
[7] As a bullied grade-schooler (Devin Brochu) grapples with his mother’s death, an enigmatic stoner bad boy named Hesher (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) bursts into his life and further complicates things. At first, I worried that Gordon-Levitt would slip into show-off mode, but he ends up striking a good balance. Hesher’s presence and function in the movie begs a fantastic interpretation. I choose to think of him …
[8] A man captures a feral woman and chains her up in his cellar, calling upon his wife and kids to help him ‘civilize’ her. The Woman makes bold play of gender dynamics that will leave some viewers crying ‘misogyny’, ‘misandry’, or both — but I applaud writer/director Lucky McKee (May, The Woods) for his provocative exploration of the material. The film features outstanding performances …
[7] Jack Black stars in this quirky comedy about a beloved Texan mortician who begins a relationship with one of the town’s wealthiest widows and becomes prime suspect in her murder. Writer/director Richard Linklater (Boyhood, Dazed and Confused) adapts from a true story and involves several real-life townspeople as supporting players in the cast. The documentary style of the film fits the story very well, …
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