John Patrick Shanley’s WILD MOUNTAIN THYME, based on his play Outside Mulligan, is a charmer of an Irish muddle. Committed in its gentle eccentricity, it essays to find the mythic in the quotidien and darn near pulls it off. At least sly humor abounds as the determined Rosemary (Emily Blunt) pines for Anthony (Jamie Dornan)… Read More »
RING, THE
All that THE RING asks of us is to bide our time until the dynamite last 20 minutes or so, when all questions are answered, all patience is rewarded, and the preparations for the sequel can begin. For the other 95 minutes, we must watch an interesting premise made as bland and colorless as the rain-washed streets… Read More »
RIDING IN CARS WITH BOYS
Okay, Ill admit it. Until now, I have been immune to the acting charms of Drew Barrymore. Actually bemused, disconcerted, and frankly puzzled would be a better way to describe it. Sure, shes cute as a bugs ear and sweet as a honey pie, but a screen presence? No, I just didnt see it. Then… Read More »
SEASON OF THE WITCH
SEASON OF THE WITCH is not a painfully bad film. Its not a particularly good one, either. Rather, it falls into that middling ground of an effort that provokes in the audience the collective sigh of Eh, Ive seen worse. And they have. GULLIVERS TRAVELS springs to mind, and would that it would spring out… Read More »
MR. DEATH
There is a nagging question at the heart of Errol Morris’ latest meditation on the foibles of humanity, MR DEATH. Do we use facts to make up our minds about things, or do we find facts that confirm what he already want to believe? And, more importantly, why do we choose to believe what we… Read More »
CONNIE AND CARLA
In the good old days of Technicolor® musicals, Judy and Mickey would decide to put on a show in their parents barn. Because of everyones high spirits and some ultra professional production values, the farm or the mill or whatever was in peril of foreclosure would be saved and there would be a triumphant finale… Read More »
THE AVIATOR
Crash and burn is a painfully apt metaphor for the life of Howard Hughes (Leonardo DiCaprio) as told in Martin Scorseses THE AVIATOR. We even see two such events in the course of its almost three hours of running time. Unlike the tidier myth of Icarus, though, Hughes story is more than just genius meeting… Read More »
STEP UP
STEP UP is a surprisingly wholesome bit of fluff with an amiably charismatic cast and a script that should be cited for violating the basic tenets of solid scriptwriting. Uneven, undecided, and rife with everything except aliens from space and a natural disaster, it’s further hobbled by cliches, bouts of stale dialogue, inadvisable turns into… Read More »
THE HELP
THE HELP, based on the novel of the same name by Kathryn Stockett, gently but firmly peels away they dry rot of racism that festered beneath the gracious, etiquette obsessed façade of southern gentility before the civil rights movement. What is remarkable, and a remarkably difficult line to walk, is that it does so while… Read More »
THE WAY WAY BACK
THE WAY WAY BACK is a sensitive, intelligent coming-of-age tale that is never trite, maudlin, or melodramatic. Instead, it harbors a strong sense of reality when it comes to adults acting like children and vice versa. It brings you up short with its very first shot. That would be of Steve Carells eyes in a… Read More »