“Share ‘Banana Split’ with a Bestie”

A sweet-natured teen comedy about girlfriends, not a crappy slasher flick about killer robots. Continue reading →

Review: Silver Linings Playbook, 2012, dir. David O. Russell

Were I to describe Silver Linings Playbook in a single word, it would be “insistent”. We should consider the source, though; after all, David O. Russell is nothing if not blunt in his cinema and mercurial as a man. So when Silver Linings Playbook grips you by your lapels and stares you in the eyes … Continue reading →

Review: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, 2012, dir. John Madden

There’s very little to say about The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel because, frustratingly, it has nothing of real value to say itself. Maybe there’s some worth to inoffensive, light, fluffy films in that they provide reasonable entertainment for a couple of hours– and god knows I like my fair share of films that fit that description– … Continue reading →

Review: The Five-Year Engagement, 2012, dir. Nicholas Stoller

  There’s a near-fatal overload of ideas bouncing around in the hulking frame of Nick Stoller’s The Five-Year Engagement, his follow-up to 2010’s Get Him to the Greek. Primarily a comedy, the film examines not simply marriage—as the title dictates—but the reversing and alteration of gender roles in modern relationships, which I admit sounds high-minded … Continue reading →

Review: Beginners, 2011, dir. Mike Mills

To a point, Beginners is somewhat opaque. The film doesn’t boast a complex narrative– even when it’s operating at full non-linear capacity– but the devices used to serve the story are, occasionally, perplexing. Parts of Beginners occur in the thoughts of its protagonist, Oliver (Ewan McGregor), who in his head contrasts the way the world and people … Continue reading →

Review: Ceremony, 2011, dir. Max Winkler

“Are we in a rush or something?” It’s one of the earliest pieces of dialogue in Max Winkler’s debut picture, Ceremony, and I don’t know if he meant any irony by the statement but after an hour and twenty minutes that little quip perfectly encapsulates my feelings on the film. Winkler’s in a hurry to … Continue reading →

Review: The Ugly Truth, 2009, dir. Robert Luketic

I’m putting this out there right now: I’m actually not reviewing this movie, despite what the title says. Frankly, reviewing it would be far too easy, and while writing negative criticism is tons of fun there are times when it can be somewhat of a slog, almost a routine or a chore of some sort … Continue reading →