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While January is traditionally the dumping ground for misfit movies, there are always a few that manage to surprise.Contraband is a pulpy, efficient and unpretentious remake of the 2008 Icelandic thriller Reykjavík-Rotterdam. Baltasar Kormákur, star of the original film, directs the Hollywood remake and keeps it moving at a fast pace. Chris Farraday (Mark Wahlberg) is a [...]
As the first female prime minister of the United Kingdom and a key player in 1980s world politics, Margaret Thatcher deserves a tough-but-fair biopic shedding light on her strengths and weaknesses as a person and as a leader. Until such a movie arrives, we have The Iron Lady, a standard, surface-level biopic that’s orderly and clean [...]
The shocking twists in The Devil Inside begin immediately. Even before the first scene there’s a title card informing us that “the Vatican did not endorse this film nor aid in its completion.” That’s huge! Normally the Roman Catholic church is heavily involved in the production of cheap, uncreative horror films! It’s pretty much their main focus. [...]
After two music-themed films that were better than you’d expect, writer/director Todd Graff has hit a sour note withJoyful Noise. This overlong and forgettable comedy about a gospel choir is so uninspiring that I’m not even concerned about using the “sour note” cliche. The movie deserves no better! Graff’s Camp and Bandslam were refreshing in the way they addressed [...]
The action sequences are executed with the confidence of a veteran… The fourth film in the franchise and the first live-action endeavor from director Brad Bird (The Incredibles, The Iron Giant), Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is filled with the verve and clarity of his animated action sequences while lending just enough gravity and remote plausibility to the [...]
Another Earth is an excellent example of science fiction rooted in the present day and from the fantastic opening sequence to the quizzical final scene the audience will be glued to the screen. Co-writer Brit Marling is Rhoda Williams, a bright young woman who is fascinated by the universe and accepted into an Astrophysics Program. [...]
These days, it’s typical for rushed and ineffective sequels to be released into theatres to capitalize on the success of a hit film. While it has taken only two years for Robert Downey Jr.’s sleuth to return to screens, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows stands as an exception to the rule. Arthur Conan Doyle purists may [...]
Julia Leigh’s Sleeping Beauty has nothing to do with fairy tales. Instead, this quiet Cannes Film Festival honoree is an adaptation of Japanese author Yasunari Kawabata’s novella “House of the Sleeping Beauties” (1961), in which wealthy old gentlemen visit a brothel to pay for the privilege of sharing a bed with a willingly-drugged young lady of the [...]
“This is not Juno,” director Jason Reitman said, just before presenting his latest film, Young Adult, to a packed Alamo Drafthouse in Austin on Monday. The occasion was a “super secret” screening with a custom poster giveaway (bribe?), not unlike the other previews in Paramount’s pre-release tour. Afterwards, comedian and star Patton Oswalt bared his soul, destroyed a drunken [...]
Starring: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron Director: Ridley Scott U.S. Opening Date: March 9, 2012 THEY SAY Visionary filmmaker Ridley Scott returns to the genre he helped define, creating an original science fiction epic set in the most dangerous corners of the universe. The film takes a team of scientists and explorers on a [...]