GLADIATOR II has all the spectacle and pageantry (can you say cast of AI thousands?) of its predecessor, and certainly the same amount of gruesome deaths as only Ancient Rome could devise them, but it is a lesser thing story-wise. Not a bad film, but one that comes down firmly on the side of that… Read More »
WONDER WOMAN 1984
At one point in WONDER WOMAN 1984, it’s as if we are is dared to think of the phrase “cat fight” as Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) tangles with one of the two villains of the piece, played by Kristen Wiig. I don’t quite know what to make of that in this troubled film that is… Read More »
JUSTICE LEAGUE
JUSTICE LEAGUE is a film with many problems. Some are inherent in an origin-style story that introduces several characters to what the filmmakers hope will be an audience eager to follow their further, individual, adventures. Some are just inexplicable. Take the plot device that is nothing short of asinine, and which I can’t discuss without… Read More »
THE HUNTED
Never have I missed Jet Li and Donnie Yen more than while watching Benicio Del Toro and Tommy Lee Jones slug it out in THE HUNTED. It’s sort of like watching two Claymation figures go at each other with all the subtlety and artistry that that implies. Points for consistency, though. This exercise in entertainment futility… Read More »
BASIC
The first words we hear Tom Hardy say in BASIC is in a conversation this ex-Army and currently DEA agent in Panama is having with a colleague, the gist of which is that if he doesnt have the trust of those around him, he cant function. Those are words that will figure greatly in the… Read More »
demonlover
The French have brought us many wonderful things: Voltaire, Manet, brioche. But it pays to remember that they as a people worship Jerry Lewis and Mickey Rourke. They also have no clue about producing even semi-decent rock music. I bring this up because I’ve just seen Olivier Assayas’ demonlover and the experience left me asking… Read More »
THE SITUATION
There is room for heartbreak but precious little for sentiment in Philip Haas’ THE SITUATION and its look at a particular time during the United States’ occupation of Iraq. Based on the experiences of journalist Wendy Steavenson, it is a stark film done in an almost documentary style that dwells on the contradictions of the… Read More »
ONE HOUR PHOTO
Its not a terribly original premise. Lonely guy longs for the warmth and comfort of a family and becomes attached to what he considers to be the ideal set up. Still, obsession can be tantalizing fodder for film when handled correctly, which in the case of ONE HOUR PHOTO, its not. It has all the excitement,… Read More »