Mel Gibson’s HACKSAW RIDGE begins with a quiet shot looking down (from heaven?) on corpses. They are horrific, with bits missing and gore everywhere. It’s a moment that will quickly give way to the battle of Okinawa that made them. Bodies ripped by bullets falling to the ground, others engulfed in flames running in panic.… Read More »
Unsteady UNFINISHED BUSINESS
And so in UNFINISHED BUSINESS, THE MAN IN THE GRAY FLANNEL SUIT discovers that business as usual in the 21st century is less about facing the difficulties of conformity than it is about taking a cue from the local anarchists. In the spirit of that anarchy, the film refuses to conform to the principle of… Read More »
FOUR CHRISTMASES
The most interesting thing about FOUR CHRISTMASES, and it is slim pickings at best, is that from the dull farce that starts it, it so precipitously takes a steep nosedive into melodrama of the most predictable, sloppy sort. Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon, game and able players as are the rest of the veteran cast,… Read More »
COUPLES RETREAT
You cant fault people for wanting to take a trip to French Polynesia on someone elses dime. The water is so very blue, the sunsets are so very spectacular, the palms swaying the trade winds are so very alluring. And yet, as Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn sat down to write the screenplay set there,… Read More »
DILEMMA, THE
Director Ron Howards stated purpose in making THE DILEMMA was to make a comedy after taking a hiatus from the genre. He has yet to achieve his goal. There are more laughs in SCHINDLERS LIST. Rather than creating a smart comedy of manners and morals involving adultery coming between best friends, Howard has instead taken… Read More »
WATCH, THE
Simultaneously subverting and celebrating several genres of he-man testosterone flicks, from horror to buddy action flick, to, heaven help us, the existential suburban angst of John Updike, THE WATCH does what a good synthesis should. It becomes more than the sum of its parts, inviting the audience in on the joke, and then taking that… Read More »
THE INTERNSHIP
Google is a company for which innovation and original thinking are integral. THE INTERNSHIP, set at Google, is the exact opposite. A good-natured enough flick, it is, nonetheless, obvious, predictable, and painfully low on actual laughs. That last wouldnt be such a problem if it werent putatively a comedy. It gets worse. Starring and co-written… Read More »
DODGEBALL — A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY
There are some things that just cant be defended rationally, but nonetheless hold an irrational sway over us. A banana split falls into that category. Whatever molecules of calcium, protein, and potassium that the confection contributes to our nutritional requirements, they are more than outweighed by the sticky, gooey wonders of all that is bad… Read More »
BE COOL
It should be a rule of filmmaking that when the plot fizzles out, the film should end. Actually, it should end before any signs of fizzle appear, but that, perhaps, is asking too much. In any case, it is the sin that afflicts BE COOL, the sequel to GET SHORTY, a film that did not… Read More »
MR AND MRS SMITH
MR. AND MRS. SMITH probably started life as a script that was a very clever satire on the state of modern matrimony. What finally made it to the screen, however, is instead a schlocky vehicle for its stars, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. There are a few moments when one sees a dash of savvy… Read More »