The pitch meeting for “All Is Lost” must’ve gone something like this: “Robert Redford…in a boat for 90 minutes…lost at sea…and he may have a chance to win his first acting Oscar.” And obviously it worked. This film is a floating one-man show. Redford is the only performer seen on screen for the entire movie, playing the only […]
“Thor: The Dark World” is the latest Marvel superhero blockbuster. However, while our main character wears a cape and fights evil-doers, and the word ‘Dark’ is in the title, this is essentially a romantic comedy. Let me re-phrase that: a BAD romantic comedy. After Anthony Hopkins’ long, unnecessary intro about the evil Dark Elves, his […]
At one point in “Ender’s Game” Harrison Ford tells young protagonist Ender (played by “Hugo”‘s Asa Butterfield), “You will be remembered as a hero.” Well, I will remember this movie, about a teenage boy recruited to lead a military force in a battle against evil aliens, as one of the biggest wastes of time at […]
The late James Gandolfini shines in the romantic comedy “Enough Said”, which is the next-to-last film of his outstanding career and one that belongs near the top of his acting credits. Gandolfini stars as Albert opposite Julia-Louis Dreyfus’s Eva. They are both divorced, middle-aged parents of daughters who will soon be heading off to college. […]
I’d probably seen the second trailer for “Captain Phillips” 50 times before the film’s release. That’s no exaggeration. Every scene, every line was engraved in my mind. It’s too bad the trailer gives away far too much, but that’s true of practically all of them. In the case of “Captain Phillips”, since it is based […]
When I saw the first trailer for “Gravity”, I knew this was going to be one of the movie events of 2013: Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as astronauts in trouble in space, along with some amazing visuals. And the film doesn’t disappoint. “Gravity” is a heart-pounding adventure, set in a unique location. Bullock’s Ryan […]
Most critics have destroyed “Getaway”. And I’ll admit that it is one of those films that’s cheesy, way over-the-top, with logic taking a back seat to the action. But if you go along for the ride, as I did, it can also be a whole lot of fun. Ethan Hawke stars as former racecar driver […]
Tween girls, Rejoice! Yet another romantic action/fantasy book series that you so adore has made its way to the big screen. Following this year’s “Beautiful Creatures”, “The Host” (and Part 2 of the “Percy Jackson” series) comes “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones”, the film version of book 1 of what will eventually be a […]
“Paranoia” is perfect example of a film that deserved to be buried at the end of August. While Relativity Media bounced-back a bit with “Don Juan” and “Free Birds”, I’m not sure if the studio will be able to recover from this misstep. Much of the reported $35 million budget likely went to co-stars Harrison […]
“Jobs” is not a complete biography of one of the most influential icons of the modern age of technology. Instead, the film focuses on a slice of Apple founder Steve Jobs’ life and career. The movie begins with Jobs introducing the IPod at the 2001 Apple town meeting. Director Joshua Michael Stern (“Swing Vote”) then […]