For those who have been waiting with bated breath for the back story in the UNDERWORLD mythos, the time has come with UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS. Everyone else can go about their lives in an orderly fashion secure in the knowledge that they are not missing a thing. Set in a time somewhere before… Read More »
9
There will not be a more audacious, more theologically complex film this or any other year than 9. Melding spirituality with science, this animated post-apocalyptic fantasy suffuses the two seemingly opposite disciplines into a rich synthesis that favors the asking of a question over whether or not there is an answer that the asker is… Read More »
PONYO (GAKE NO UE NO PONYO)
Hayao Miyasakis PONYO is a sweet-natured flight of fantasy that lacks any real sense of conflict or danger. It makes up for it, at least for the younger set, with a delightfully absurd internal logic that is perfectly keyed into the way small children see the world. All things are possible, including a little girl… Read More »
SURROGATES
Ever since 18th century philosopher/ mathematician Rene Descartes first dreamed up the image of the ghost in the machine to explain the relationship of mind to body, the image has held potent sway with popular imagination. The concept itself, where the body ends and the person begins, is a question that many philosophers have addressed,… Read More »
ASTRO BOY
ASTRO BOY suffers a surfeit of sentiment. Sweet, sappy, and exhibiting only the briefest waftings of whimsy, the chipper boy-bot icon of Japanese manga and cheesy television fame is brought to animated life in a script that clips along briskly enough to keep kids engaged, but will leave adults twiddling their thumbs while being disappointed… Read More »
CORALINE
CORALINE dazzles on many scores, not the least of which is that it unstintingly respects the intelligence of its audience, adult and child. Based on the novel by Neil Gaiman, its been adapted for the screen as 3-D stop-motion animation and directed by Henry Selick, who also directed THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS. In this modern… Read More »
TWILIGHT SAGA — NEW MOON, THE
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON is the second film version of the wildly popular “Twilight” series of books and is much less interesting than the first one. Where before there was the delight of Bella (Kristen Stewart) discovering that the deep dark secret that the brooding love of her life, Edward (Robert Pattinson) and his… Read More »
PLANET 51
PLANET 51 is a perfectly sweet film that kiddies will adore. Their adults, on the other hand, may find it more of a slog. The story is predictable, the characters are stock. Both those failings are mitigated by good, if not dazzling, animation, and a mechanical rover, cleverly named Rover, that is in the mold… Read More »
MONSTERS VS ALIENS
Its hard to love a cockroach. Yet, as demonstrated by WALL-E, in the hands of the gifted storytellers and animators, its not an insurmountable hurdle. With the fine folks who created MONSTERS VS ALIENS, the unlovable insect has once again been redeemed. Unlike WALL-E, a different sort of film altogether that gave us something that… Read More »
TERMINATOR SALVATION
For all the explosions, gunfire, firestorms, and manly gnashing of teeth, TERMINTATOR SALVATION has an overriding weariness to it. The franchise, while robust box-office wise, has essentially been telling the same story now for a quarter of a century. A tale of time-travel, murderous cyborgs, and a father born decades after his son’s conception is… Read More »
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