Fifty-plus years after THE DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES, you would be forgiven for thinking that a contemporary film on a similar topic would have something new, or trenchant, or revelatory, or even different to say about addiction. Alas, THANKS FOR SHARING is the one that demands the forgiveness. This is a pasteurized, cliché-ridden piece… Read More »
ESCAPE PLAN
And so, as was inevitable, Stallone and Schwarznegger are together again and starring in their trademark (putatively) action flick, ESCAPE PLAN. These titans of trashy genre flicks are not stupid. They know what their fans expect of them, and they are also know what bodies that were in their prime more than two decades ago… Read More »
THOR: THE DARK WORLD
In THOR: THE DARK WORLD, there may be no suspense about how the latest nefarious plot to destroy the universe will turn out, but there are plenty of clever tricks along the way courtesy of the real star of the film, Thors trickster brother, Loki. Not that Thor, once again in the toothsome person of… Read More »
ENDER’S GAME
ENDERS GAME presents the viewer with just the sort of philosophical conundrum posed in the film itself. What to do with a film that is a refreshingly intelligent, morally challenging tale , but based on a novel by Orson Scott Card, a man whose views on gay rights are repugnant? It is perhaps jejune to… Read More »
SAVING MR. BANKS
I have three problems with SAVING MR. BANKS, only one of which springs from knowing how much of the story has been Disney-fied. A feature film is not real life, even when based as this one is on actual events if for no other reason, as someone once said, real life doesnt have to make… Read More »
OLDBOY
I cant pretend that I havent seen the original Korean version of OLD BOY, the one that blew away an international audience and earned cult status. Yet, even knowing the twist, nicely rearranged for this remake by screenwriter Mark Protosevich, is not enough reason to dismiss this flick. Despite Josh Brolins committed performance as a… Read More »
HUNGER GAMES — CATCHING FIRE
The thing to keep in mind about THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE is that it suffers from being the middle installment of an established trilogy. Which is not to say its bad. Far from it. Its a dynamic and genuinely exciting adventure flick. Yet, for those who are unfamiliar with either the first installment, or… Read More »
THE HOBBIT — THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG
THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG is the best middle film that money and talent can produce. This is not an indictment, it is, rather, an embrace of the inherent problem of the second of three filmic installments, viz to wit, if you havent seen the first one, there is little even the most resourceful… Read More »
THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY
There are perhaps more reasons to NOT do a remake of a classic film than reasons to do so, yet THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY is that rare and delightful example of why its only perhaps, not always. It is also a bold re-imagining of both the short story by James Thurber, and the… Read More »
47 RONIN
Credit where its due. For all its faults, 47 RONIN doesnt Hollywood-up the traditional ending to the legend that inspired both it and the several other treatments filmed over the years. It also, in those final moments, finds a sweeping, bittersweet poetry that had been missing in the rest of the film. Not that it… Read More »
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