Each year when I put together a list of the best movies—whether for work or for fun—it usually doesn’t take much effort. There are, generally, five or six movies that stand out above the rest, whether they’re huge Hollywood blockbusters or tiny indie gems. This year the story is a little different. When going back […]
Out of the Furnace is so dark, gritty, and earnest, it’s a wonder it was made in a film world where irony rules. The movie’s inhabitants—mostly blue collar factory workers, cops and their families in dying Braddock, Pennsylvania—take their lives seriously, and so does their director and co-writer Scott Cooper. Unfortunately, Out of the Furnace […]
It’s December, and that means the awards-fodder movies are out. And guess what. Some of them are good! Here’s a list of five movies that range from near-great to head-scratching (but worth seeing) to one guilty pleasure. The Book Thief If Life is Beautiful is absolutely the wrong way to make a non-military World War […]
A quick rack of the brain and I come to this conclusion: I cannot remember a major, big budget action film that is at once so emotionally draining, deeply dramatic, and incredibly bleak. Thought the death of Rue was difficult in The Hunger Games? Just wait to see what happens when Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta […]
Fourteen years is a long time between chapters in a movie. Think about all the sequels, prequels, and bologna that take their time getting to the big screen, and you’ll find beaucoup bad movies: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace; Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull; and 2010, for all its […]
Mere mortals, just who is Thor? Norse god? Superhero created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby? Bastard stepchild of the Marvel Avengers series? At this point, it’s not clear that anyone knows, least of all the filmmakers behind Thor: The Dark World. Is Thor a funny guy? Fear not, he’ll be beating someone […]
Robert Redford has long been one of our greatest movie stars. He’s never been one of our greatest actors. For every compelling performance he gives—Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969); All the President’s Men (1976)—he gives several bordering on narcolepsy. Just look at him in The Company You Keep (2013); this is a man […]
Following a screening of The Counselor, one critic said: “It’s nasty film. Very well made…if that’s what you’re into.” Judging just from The Counselor’s plot (going into business with Mexican cartels), who wrote it (Cormac McCarthy), and its location (the Texas/Mexico border), there should be no mystery as to what you’re in for. But there […]
The early reviews for Machete Kills have largely been unkind, and the big gripe appears to be that Machete Kills is too long, too repetitive, and too super violent. How many of these critics have seen a Robert Rodriguez movie before? I think that if you choose to see a Rodriguez film—whether your editor directs […]
Sometimes when watching a movie that’s emotionally distressing, one has to ask, “Just how much pain can we watch these characters endure? What’s the endgame here?” Director Paul Greengrass’ Captain Phillips is one of those movies. It stars Tom Hanks as the titular captain of the container ship Maersk Alabama that was laid siege by […]