His slow-motion prowess and action-film chops add a surreal element, but Bay’s camera leers at the world the same way his characters do. He wants to celebrate his “heroes” at the same time he’s making fun of them, but his over-the-top delivery gives him away. On top of that, the constant narration gives away too much of the mystery of their motives and it ends up trying way too hard to be funny.
{ 0 comments }
In the movie, John Cusack plays Emerson Kent, an emotionally broken-down CIA black ops agent who’s been assigned a shift babysitting numbers-station broadcaster Katherine (Malin Akerman), who is somehow a sought-after cryptography expert, despite having dropped out of college.
{ 0 comments }
Oblivion isn’t a total loss, but it is disappointing not only to see the film abandon the interesting sci-fi issues around its central love triangle, but also see it devolve into a series of hackneyed action-movie cliches — including some really insulting third-act dialogue.
{ 2 comments }
Oblivion features an interesting premise, that is quickly marred by familiar Sci-Fi tropes and MacGuffins that plunge the film into terribly predictable and familiar territory.
{ 0 comments }
David Cronenberg’s adaptation of ‘Naked Lunch’ is out now from The Criterion Collection in an extras-packed Blu-ray. The cinema’s most intellectual purveyor of psychological torment masquerading as body horror proved himself up to the task of bringing Burroughs’ hallucinatory masterwork to the screen.
{ 0 comments }
Graceland, the second feature from director Ron Morales, features a story that isn’t necessarily new to American audiences, but it’s set in a place that is. Morales’ kidnapping thriller unfolds in the Philippines
{ 0 comments }
The Central Park Five is a documentary (appearing on PBS tonight) about five young men wrongly accused of rape and assault in New York in 1989. It’s a story that will make you disappointed in humanity and righteously angry at those responsible for incarcerating the wrong people.
{ 0 comments }
In It’s a Disaster, writer-director Todd Berger presents a situation most of us would consider a personal potential catastrophe in our heart of hearts, and turns it into an actual disaster movie.
{ 0 comments }
If you’ve seen the trailer, you are probably expecting an action-based crime thriller where a frustrated local cop (Bradley Cooper) chases down a mysterious motorcycle bandit (Ryan Gosling) who’s been robbing banks. Luckily, there’s a lot more to the movie than that.
{ 0 comments }
The latest from direct Derek Cianfrance offers a bigger story than expected as what begins as a small-time crime story turns into a mediation on fathers, sons and legacies both intentional and accidental.
{ 0 comments }
With beautiful visuals, a thumping and energetic soundtrack, and a more than capable cast of actors, Danny Boyle’s ‘Trance’ should have been much better than it was.
{ 0 comments }
Kansas City FilmFest 2013 starts tomorrow at the Alamo Drafthouse Mainstreet , and here’s a review of one of the festival’s films, a romcom called ‘One Small Hitch.’
{ 1 comment }
Kansas City FilmFest 2013 starts tomorrow at the Alamo Drafthouse Mainstreet , and here’s a review of one of the festival’s films, ‘The Discoverers’ starring Griffin Dunne.
{ 0 comments }
The story around The Sapphires is far more interesting than the film itself, which takes a fascinating historical context and filters it through a by-the-numbers romantic comedy filter.
{ 1 comment }
“What a terrible idea.” That’s all I could think when I first heard they were remaking The Evil Dead. Once the credits started rolling however, a completely different phrase was in my mind: blood poetry.
{ 0 comments }
