Forget subtexts about the influence of media violence on young and impressionable minds. Forget the other subtext about effect of family dynamics in forming the characters of those equally young and impressionable minds. Though both are present in KICK ASS, based on the comic book by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr., and employed as… 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 »
WOMAN IN BLACK, THE
Daniel Radcliffe, fresh from the preternatural success of the Harry Potter films, stays close to his cinematic roots with THE WOMAN IN BLACK. A smidgen too young for the role of widowered father of a four-year-old, at least for 21st-century sensibilities, he and the film use the tender vulnerability of both his years and his… Read More »
STARDUST — DVD
STARDUST, based on Neil Gaiman’s fairy tale novel for grownups by the same name, is a sweeping, whimsical, and sometimes downright terrifying film brought to life with charm and smarts. Charlie Cox as the hero unawares is pitch perfect bumbling through derring-do and fond first love as he traverses terrains as different but equally treacherous… Read More »