I tried, guys. I promise you I tried. Oh, how I tried to give Vice, the new Adam McKay movie, a fair shake; tried not to read the movie as “The Big Short, but wicked extra, and also obnoxious.” But I couldn’t, because that’s exactly what it is, times ten, and don’t let any clever types try … Continue reading
Summer’s a time to brighten up, warm up, and feel good, so if you’re in the mood to feel bad, your options are limited. You could watch The Handmaid’s Tale, which will force you to feel bad and also just naturally make you feel bad with its badness; you could also skip that and watch the … Continue reading
I’m on again, off again with Denis Villeneuve; I’m unabashedly wild about Enemy, but I never could stand Prisoners and I can only enjoy Sicario as long as I don’t think too much about it. With Arrival, I’m closer to Enemy than not – it worked on me, and worked on everyone around me, which may be because it’s genuinely good … Continue reading
…well, it’s here. I am referring both to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and my review of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which just went up at Paste moments ago. Put in short: I kind of hated it in a very ambivalent way. It’s a terrible movie, and watching it exhausted and agitated me to no … Continue reading
Paul Thomas Anderson has unleashed a hypnotic, attention-grabbing, evocative teaser for his latest, The Master– and if you haven’t guessed already, it really made an impression on me. Continue reading
When Jason Segel capitalized on the critical and financial success of his breakout hit Forgetting Sarah Marshall three years ago by securing the green-light to write his own Muppets film, my world stopped turning for a day. Muppets? In the 2010s? And envisioned by a man who not only represents a perfect human foil to everyone’s … Continue reading
What makes the efforts of one director superior to those of another? If one person wins Best Director, does it stand to reason that they should also win Best Picture? I had these two questions– and sub-questions pertaining to both, as well as variations on each of said questions– rolling around in my head after … Continue reading
Part 2 of my 2011 preview commences…now! (Part 1 can be perused here, at your leisure.) X-Men: First Class— By happy coincidence, the first trailer for Matthew Vaughn’s period prequel to the X-Men franchise hit just last week, and guess what? It looks really good. Focusing specifically on the relationship between Erik Lehnsherr, the man … Continue reading
Near the end of Junebug, audience surrogate Madeleine sits with Eugene, her father-in-law, and talks quietly and cautiously. She has only just met her husband’s (Alessandro Nivola) family, based in North Carolina, knowing very little about them and about him. Speaking about her mother-in-law, Peg, she muses, “She’s a very strong personality.” Eugene responds with … Continue reading
A Constant Visual Feast 