FAST FIVE understands its target audience and does nothing to disappoint it. The fifth installment of the FAST AND FURIOUS franchise, not tied by the restrictions of being chronologically later than the previous ones, incorporates as many of the elements and characters as it can from those outings into its two hours and ten minutes… Read More »
PRIEST
PRIEST, based on the graphic novel by Min-Woo Hyung, is a dark and murky thing. The apocalyptic alternate universe, where vampires and humans have battled throughout history to the detriment of the planet at large, has confused both ennui and obvious symbolism with an arch style. Only Paul Bettany, as the title character taking it… Read More »
FORKS OVER KNIVES
FORKS OVER KNIVES is not a sophisticated piece of filmmaking, but it is a very effective one. Filmmaker Lee Fulkerson was not out to make art. He was out to engage in advocacy journalism, the which he does with great success, balancing facts, theories, and case studies, his own included, in pursuit of teaching his… Read More »
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN — ON STRANGER TIDES
Sometimes an actor finds a role that becomes his second self, so precisely does he embody it, and so identified does he become with it. William Powell had Nick Charles in THE THIN MAN series. Basil Rathbone became Sherlock Holmes to a couple of generations. Johnny Depp has Captain Jack Sparrow. Unlike Powell or Rathbone,… Read More »
HANGOVER PART II THE
The makers of THE HANGOVER 2 knew that they would have to up the ante considerably to justify another long strange trip with The Wolfpack. Alas, rather than wait for a suitably upped ante, or any ante at all, they decided to do a retread of the original, this time without the laughs, substituting humor… Read More »
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
The only real misstep in Woody Allens MIDNIGHT IN PARIS is, unfortunately, in the opening montage that shows the City of Lights progressing from morning to evening. While there is no denying that this is a city of seemingly limitless picturesque vistas that range from the familiar to the novel, Allen is entranced by too… Read More »
X-MEN – FIRST CLASS
X-MEN FIRST CLASS begins splendidly. The subtle character development, the rich backstory rooted in real history and equally real human experience, the vibrant storyline that is both a sharp consideration of the best and worst of human nature, and a thumping good adventure. And then, once the audience has been lulled into a sense of… Read More »
JUDY MOODY AND THE NOT BUMMER SUMMER
JUDY MOODY AND THE NOT BUMMER SUMMER is a diverting flick, full of bright colors and lively animation, that is calibrated to synch up with, and only with, the attention span of smaller children. The characters are of the stock variety, but, in the spirit, if not the strict interpretation, of the Cammedia dellArte, they… Read More »
MR. POPPER’S PENGUINS
MR POPPERS PENGUINS contains that ineffable quality of both whimsy and heart that makes it as irresistible to kids as it is to adults. Based on the novel by Richard and Florence Atwater, it is time-honored tale of a man who has lost the wonder of childhood only to regain it in the most unexpected… Read More »
THE ART OF GETTING BY
At one point in THE ART OF GETTING BY, its disaffected protagonist declares that he is allergic to hormones. Ironically, so is the film that tells his story, and thats a shame because the seething turmoil of emotions at work need more than the anemic frame given them here. George (Freddie Highmore) is a self-described… Read More »
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