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Sitting through Rock of Ages is akin to being trapped at karaoke night at the local dive, where you’re pummeled by ill-advised renditions of ’80s hair metal and can’t make it through the evening without some asshole breaking into “Don’t Stop Believin’”. As Journey so eloquently put it in that song: the movie never ends, it goes … Continue reading
When Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary consulting detective was dusted off and re-interpreted for the big screen by Guy Ritchie in 2009, the result was a light and breezy but intriguing and re-invigorating take on one of the most adapted characters of all time. It proved that there was still life left in Holmes, as … Continue reading
Ridley Scott’s return to science fiction for the first time in 30 years has all the earmarks of a re-awakened giant wiping the sleep from his eyes. Equal parts intriguing and infuriating, its oblique approach to some big questions is unsatisfying. Much has been made of Prometheus‘ “is it or isn’t it?” status as a … Continue reading
A formulaic thriller from the Tony Scott-Joe Carnahan school of filmmaking, Safe House is exactly what its name implies — a safe, watchable, and ultimately forgettable espionage drama that provides a couple of hours’ slick worth of diversion that evaporates shortly after the credits roll. It’s Three Days of the Condor stripped to bone. Ryan … Continue reading
Pulp space opera at its finest, John Carter is this year’s first truly fun piece of escapist filmmaking, arriving just in time to liven up a sluggish winter box office. Based on the 1912 novel A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (creator of Tarzan), the movie does a fair but choppy job of adapting … Continue reading
The theatrical release of Act of Valor couldn’t have been timed better, arriving as it does on the heels of some high-profile special forces missions that reached a crescendo with last year’s elimination of Osama bin Laden courtesy of SEAL Team 6. The SEALs have become media darlings, to the extent that retired Delta Force … Continue reading
A disparate mix of grit, violence, religious awakening, and sociopolitical commentary, Marc Forster’s biopic Machine Gun Preacher asks the age-old question “Who would Jesus shoot?”. Based on the last decade or so in the life of ex-biker/ex-con Sam Childers (played here by Gerard Butler), it’s a message movie at conflict with itself. The story opens … Continue reading
An ode to what it’s like to be 12 years old an in love, Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom isn’t the writer-director’s smoothest feature, but it feels like his purest. It’s difficult not to label Anderson’s filmography as “twee” — sure, the term fits, but it also overlooks the emotional depths he plumbs via his parades of eccentric square … Continue reading
A perfunctory and wholly unsatisfying experience, Snow White and the Huntsman is a glossy, bloated, and hollow movie that is stunning to look at but far too dull to invest much interest in. First-time director Rupert Sanders is a virtuoso in terms of visual flair, but he has a tin ear when it comes to actual storytelling. In short: … Continue reading
Veteran actor Ralph Fiennes makes his directorial debut with a bold adaptation of William Shakespeare’s devastating take on cults of personality. In a bold step, Fiennes has abandoned the story’s original ancient Roman setting in favor of “a place called Rome” that resembles a modern war zone, keeping the original dialogue and utilizing modern trappings … Continue reading
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