[5] Thor: Love and Thunder is another Marvel movie. It is better than a few other Marvel movies, but not as good as most. It was never torturous to watch, but if a storm knocked the movie theater’s power out, I would not have been sad to leave at any point. Thor: Love and Thunder is another Marvel movie. It tries to be cute and …
[8] Writer/director Alex Garland (The Beach, Sunshine) casts Natalie Portman as a biologist who joins a team of other female scientists into a mysterious, growing dome called ‘the shimmer’. Inside they quickly learn that the phenomenon is altering the DNA of flora and fauna — including themselves. They head to the source of the mystery, a lighthouse where a meteor crashed years ago. Will they …
[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 …
[7] Episode III is far and away the best of the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Everything I don’t like about the previous two films remains true, namely that it’s over-produced and the characters aren’t very interesting or engaging. But at least George Lucas and co-screenwriter Jonathan Hale finally cash in on some of the story’s dramatic potential. As the Emperor (Ian McDiarmid in a starring …
[6] Part two of George Lucas’ Star Wars prequel trilogy is still cluttered and over-produced like the previous installment, but it’s a modest improvement over part one, thanks in large part to a solid final act. But man, oh, man, do you have a long tedious slog to get to that third act. Lucas and co-screenwriter Jonathan Hale bank on cross-cutting story lines (ala Empire …
[6] It’s shiny and exciting to look at, a gorgeous smorgasbord of fantastic sets, wardrobe, make-up, and visual effects. But it’s also grotesquely over-produced, almost turning these assets into something garish and distracting. It’s a shame the considerable talents of Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, and Natalie Portman couldn’t be put to better use. All three appear insufferably constrained in their roles. Jake Lloyd as young …
[7] Anthony Minghella (The English Patient, Talented Mr. Ripley) adapts Charles Frazier’s book about a Civil War deserter trying to get back to his lover. The film goes back and forth between the soldier’s story and the sweetheart’s story. My main issue with Cold Mountain is that these two characters, played by Nicole Kidman and Jude Law, barely know each other at all before they …
[3] Movies like this bring out the valley girl in me. So, like, I just don’t give a shit about Thor, okay? Watching a bunch of thee-and-thou types running around in nightgowns and armor is just silly, you know? And what is Anthony Hopkins’ problem in these movies? He’s like, Thor’s dad and the king and everything, but then he turns around and he’s all …
[7] Closer features some of the most incredible dialogue I’ve heard in a long time, and the cast are all rock-solid in what boils down to a messy four-way of sexual and romantic entanglement. It’s a slick, polished, elegant film from Mike Nichols (The Graduate, Working Girl, Primary Colors). What keeps me from reveling in such a well made film is the subject matter. Closer …
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