Posted on November 11, 2011 by Darren
It’s funny. I always figured that long-term critical re-evaluation was sort of a one-way street. I guess it always seemed that people were talking about “classics” that got an unfair rap from critics and audiences on initial release, but have subsequently become amongst the most influential films within their genre. I’m talking about movies like Blade Runner or The Thing, movies that were attacked on initial release, but have undergone a massive transformation and vindication in popular consciousness. I generally figured that good films that got bad reviews would eventually be found and praised for the quality productions that they were, while over-praised mediocre (or worse) films would languish in purgatory, forgotten about, save the occasional television re-run. So I’m surprised at the way the tide seems to have turned against Juno in the five years since the film’s original release.
Well, that's one response...
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Academy Award, Academy Award for Best Picture, arts, Blu-ray Disc, David Edelstein, diablo cody, film, george lucas, Golden Globe, Golden Globe Award, Internet Movie Database, juno, Movie, no country for old men, review, rotten tomatoes, star wars, Top Lists | 2 Comments »
Posted on November 10, 2011 by Darren
Staten Island is a convoluted little film that seems to shameless emulate several anthology films, with the most obvious influence being seen in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, borrowing the device of telling three interlocking but distinct stories set in different timeframes relating to the same bunch of characters. Still, that’s not necessarily a reason to dislike the film, which manages to offer an interesting, if not comparable, set of tales. James DeMonaco probably should have realised that borrowing so heavily from a classic film sets a ridiculously high standard, and one the movie falls far short of reaching. Still, there are moments where the film does work, even if they seem evenly-spaced with awkward and pointless sequences.
One psychotic mobster, sitting in a tree...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: ethan hawke, film, Little New York, Manhattan, Movie, New York City, non-review review, pulp fiction, quentin tarantino, review, Seymour Cassel, Staten Island, Vincent D'Onofrio | Leave a comment »
Posted on November 8, 2011 by Darren
I know nothing of baseball. Unlike the other great American sporting pastime of American Football (or, I guess, “football” to them), I simply can’t wrap my head around the activity, which seems (to me) to be a strange mix of rounders and the imaginary “whack bat” from The Fantastic Mr. Fox (which was undoubtedly intended as a parody of cricket, to mix my metaphors even further). It takes a lot for me to invest in a movie about an activity that I can barely comprehend, and Moneyball accomplishes that, by managing to craft one of the most telling and relevent sporting movies I’ve seen in quite some time. I think the film does struggle to establish an emotional connection, but it’s a very clever and very intriguing little movie.
Field of dreams...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Beane, Billy Beane, brad pitt, fantastic mr. fox, film, jonah hill, Moneyball, Movie, non-review review, Oakland Athletics, Peter Brand, philip seymour hoffman, Pitt, review, United States | 2 Comments »
Posted on November 8, 2011 by Darren
I have a soft spot for Soderbergh’s Ocean’s Thirteen. Yes, it’s big and vacuous and ultimately empty, with a bunch of celebrities sitting around and enjoying each other’s company, but it’s also fun and diverting, composed by a director with a wonderful eye. I’d argue that it’s almost as solid as Ocean’s Eleven, and a damn sight stronger than Ocean’s Twelve.
In con men circles, that would be called "the Selleck"...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: al pacino, brad pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones, danny ocean, Ellen Barkin, film, george clooney, Movie, non-review review, Ocean's 13, Ocean's Thirteen, review, Soderbergh, Steven Soderbergh | Leave a comment »
Posted on November 7, 2011 by Darren
Ken Loach’s Route Irish is a fascinating little thriller, even if it does ultimately feel quite shallow and end in a rather unsatisfactory manner. Indeed, it’s very hard to construct a mystery where the audience already knows the answer, based on experience within the genre. Framed as an investigation into the death of a contractor in Iraq, the culprits behind the assassination are obvious from the moment the film starts rolling, which means that none of the twists and turns pack any punch – because we already know the answer. However, Loach is a director skilled at offering atmosphere and mood, and he makes a valiant effort to overcome the script’s rather obvious deficiencies.
Paying the ferryman...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Baghdad, film, iraq, iraq war, John Bishop, ken loach, Mark Womack, Middle East, Movie, non-review review, review, Route Irish, Route Irish (film), United States | Leave a comment »
Posted on November 5, 2011 by Darren
We Need to Talk About Kevin is powerful, visceral cinema. It’s the kind of movie that makes you want to take a nice long, hot shower after coming home. It’s unsettling in a way that doesn’t rely on cheap shocks or gratuitous violence – it just makes you feel unclean. Truth be told, I think that any film taking this sort of subject should feel this uncomfortable – I’m not sure I could stomach a film about this sort of thing that wasn’t uncomfortable. However, while the disjointed structure of the film adds a wonderful complexity and sense of uncertainty, I can’t help but feel that certain aspects were a little tooambiguous – falling into the familiar trap that one must have read the book in order to fully grasp everything that’s going on. Still, it makes for a very unsettling viewing experience.
Baby trouble...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, Eva, Ezra Miller, film, john c. reilly, Kevin, Lionel Shriver, Lynne Ramsay, Movie, non-review review, review, Rory Kinnear, Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin | 5 Comments »
Posted on November 4, 2011 by Darren
It’s tempting to look back at Old School in the wake of the massive success of The Hangover and claim “I saw Todd Phillips’ potential first!” After all, massive critical, commercial and audience hits don’t come out of nowhere, and the early work of a given director should probably give some indication of their hidden talent. However, I don’t really see too much of The Hangover in Old School, a film that I like, even if I don’t love it. There are a few similarities in content and structure, but I still can’t see anything in the film that would have led to me to “keep an eye” on Phillips. It’s a solid fratboy comedy, but it’s not anywhere near a classic.
Ferrell was on a hot streak when this came out...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: 40 Year Old Virgin, Ellen Pompeo, film, Hangover, Jeremy Piven, Luke Wilson, Movie, non-review review, Old School, review, Todd Phillips, Vince Vaughn, will ferrell | 2 Comments »
Posted on November 1, 2011 by Darren
John Carpenter’s The Thing is almost the perfect late-night Halloween viewing experience. It’s one of those movies that is gloriously trashy entertainment, with any number of visceral thrills, but also more deeply unnerving. Updating the 1951 The Thing From Another World, and arguably remaining truer to the original story, Who Goes There?, John Carpenter’s adaptation perfectly captures the unnerving paranoia of a world where there’s no promise that anybody is exactly what they claim to be. In space, nobody can hear you scream, but your odds aren’t too much better in the white Antarctic tundra.
What sort of Thing could do that?
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Alien (film), Carpenter, film, John Carpenter, Kurt Russell, Movie, non-review review, review, ridley scott, the thing, The Thing (1982), Thing, Thing From Another World, William F. Nolan | 5 Comments »
Posted on October 27, 2011 by Darren
I think that, as a general trend, the quality of computer-animated films has increased significantly over the past number of years. I think there are a variety of reasons for this – the most obvious being that it seems to be easier to do, and so more companies are trying; but also because there’s an increasing body of work that offers hints on what to do and how to do it. While Pixar remain the undisputed champions of computer-generated animation, I think we’ve seen an increasing number of high-quality releases from all studios in the past few years. Despicable Mesees a new studio throwing their hat into the ring and it makes for an impressive debut. While there’s still room for improvement, Despicable Me is fast and fun, and remarkably uncynical for a children’s movie about super-villains.
Aiming for the moon...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: despicable me, film, Illumination Entertainment, IPod, jason segel, Megamind, Movie, non-review review, Pierre Coffin, review, Shark Tale, Steve Carell | 2 Comments »
Posted on October 24, 2011 by Darren
It’s very hard to make a movie about politics without feeling a little bit forced – as if you’re shoehorning in a particular viewpoint or an ideology, setting up strawmen for the movie to bulldoze over on the way to the final scene. It’s to director (and actor) George Clooney’s credit that The Ides of March manages to avoid seeming too preachy or too staged, instead opting to comment on the nature of political integrity, rather than accusing specific ideologies of having it or lacking it. Set within a Democratic Presidential Primary, the movie shrewdly avoids focusing on an ideological or political gap, instead contemplating the harsh realities of any political maneuvering.
Are the gloves coming off?
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: bill clinton, Clooney, film, george clooney, Ides of March, Morris, Movie, non-review review, Ohio, politics, review, Ryan Gosling, The ides of March, United States | 6 Comments »
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