Note: I wrote this review of Jeremy Saulnier’s Blue Ruin around two or so years ago, give or take, which is the blink of an eye in a cosmological context but close to a fucking lifetime in the context of film criticism born in the social media era. I’m sharing it here, now, for a couple … Continue reading
“A couple weeks have passed since Roland Emmerich released his latest disaster flick, Stonewall, to the outrage of the gay community, the transgender community, the Ron Perlman fanboy community, the film critic community and probably the “outraged over outrage” community, too. Maybe we should have seen the uproar coming. Emmerich is not the man you … Continue reading
“If Selma can be described in one word, it’s “fiery.” Biopics are typically such rote, thankless exercises in filmmaking that the idea anybody could make one colored with brushstrokes this passionate feels contrary. But there’s no better way to characterize what Ava DuVernay has accomplished in her dramatic chronicle of the 1965 voting rights marches … Continue reading
It’s December 31st, the last day of the year, and that means it’s time for me to finally weigh in on my top ten movies of 2014, even though I have already done so twice in critics voting. Top ten lists are always a tricky thing. They’re alive. They breathe, they grow, they evolve; I … Continue reading
“Of all the bad production decisions made in Peter Jackson’s loose adaptation of The Hobbit – gross overuse of CGI, check-list fan service, and a few instances of comically bad casting – the worst by far has been franchising. The Hobbit never needed to be more than one movie; it’s an example of either creative … Continue reading
“Wild is ripe for easy snark on the page. Just as Cheryl Strayed embarked on her thousand mile sojourn to emotional betterment in 1995, Reese Witherspoon sets out to recreate Strayed’s quest in the pursuit of another Oscar win, what would be her first since 2005’s Walk the Line. It has long been the fashion … Continue reading
“The first few minutes of Death Metal Angola don’t feel like the introduction to a documentary. They’re something more akin to the opening sequence of a horror film. We’re presented with a quick lesson on Angola’s history in the 20th century—the 15-year war its people fought to regain their independence from Portugal (ending in 1975), … Continue reading
“How do you review half a movie? Do you just write half of a review? Maybe that’s the right thing to do. Maybe it’s the only intelligent thing to do. But just maybe, nobody should blame The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1, the latest victim of Hollywood’s desire to bleed dry literary adaptations by dragging … Continue reading
“I saw Ava DuVernay’s Selma at a “for your consideration” screening the same night a grand jury in St. Louis County declined to indict Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown.” (Via Badass Digest.)
“Classifying Jennifer Kent’s feature debut, The Babadook, is tricky. Ostensibly this is a horror film—freaky stuff happens on an escalating scale, so qualifying Kent’s tale of a single mother’s fractious relationship with her young son with genre tags seems like a perfectly logical move. But The Babadook is so layered, so complex and just so … Continue reading
“Why does every single Jason Bateman character ever insist on associating with morons? Bateman’s always been the smartest, most hapless schmuck in the room; ever since his days on Arrested Development, viewers have gravitated towards him out of sympathy, wanting to support his innate, down-to-earth likeability. But there’s a point at which an actor’s persona … Continue reading
“Whether he’s making superhero movies or blockbuster puzzle boxes, Christopher Nolan doesn’t bandy with emotion. He’s an intellectual clinician concerned more with the whiz-bang side of filmmaking than in messy, icky sentimentality. We buy tickets to his movies in the pursuit of wonder because that’s his trade, much like we visit a mechanic to replace … Continue reading
“Boy, has The Tower been put through the wringer in the last 6 years. It began its life as a novel in 2008; was translated into a two-part television event in 2012; and now has had both of those halves stitched together into a theatrical release for American theaters in 2014. Did Uwe Tellkamp anticipate … Continue reading
“Some superheroes fight evil in the name of justice. Some fight for revenge. Baymax, the incomparably huggy automaton in Disney’s Big Hero 6, fights to help his young ward, teen genius Hiro Hamada (Ryan Potter), as he mourns a devastating personal tragedy. This makes Baymax an outlier of sorts in today’s crop of big screen … Continue reading
“Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) used to be somebody. Specifically, he used to be Birdman, a once globally beloved superhero turned pathetic pop culture footnote 20 years after his relevance (and his fortune) has faded. He used to soar above the world, patrolling the skies on wings of justice, dispensing law and order to all evildoers … Continue reading
“Meet Lou Bloom. He’s a young, ambitious go-getter, a diehard professional always on the lookout for good career opportunities that offer plenty of upward mobility. He’s also a charming psychopath, which is a nice way of saying that he’s a snake wrapped up in Jake Gyllenhaal’s clothing. Lou is a passionate man, but he’s passionate … Continue reading
“If you heard this quote out of context, you might assume it can be sourced back to a Vietnam vet or 9/11 responder. But you would be wrong, and more than that, you would be shocked; this is the testimony of Doug Brown, chief engineer on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and one of the … Continue reading
“Daniel Radcliffe doesn’t need Horns, but boy does Horns need Daniel Radcliffe. This is the Boy Who Lived after all, a young guy with so much pop cultural cachet that the idea of performing Equus seemed beneath him. Yet, even during his stint as the world’s most famous wizard, Radcliffe made moves to prove himself … Continue reading
“Action cinema tends to elect its bogeymen based on current world events. In True Lies, America fought against Palestinian terrorists. In 2008, John Rambo brought down a brutal Burmese military regime almost singlehandedly. Most recently, The November Man and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit took on Russian oligarchs and generals. But there’s a more widespread trend … Continue reading
“In The Book of Life, Mexican animator Jorge Gutierrez guides his viewers on a 3D visual tour through the customs of Dia de los Muertos, his country’s holiday of remembrance. It’s a colorful film that’s shaped as much by Gutierrez’s aesthetics as it is by his inclusive approach; the film invites uninitiated members of its … Continue reading
A Constant Visual Feast 