So many screens-- so little to see. GODZILLA is godawful. And put a big X through X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST. Coasting on the devotion of diehard fans who remember the back stories, this latest installment suffers from franchise burnout and never breaks a sweat. How about MALEFICENT? What could be better than Angelina Jolie [...]
The modern day spinner of cinematic fairytales, Wes Anderson, is like that other "Andersen"--Hans Christian-- in his telling of layered fables that have adults, as well as children in their sights. But Wes Anderson accentuates the comedy, like "concupiscent curds" atop a heady brew of murder, mutilation, and even deeper mayhem. His latest THE GRAND [...]
I am sitting here as a nor'easter wails outside, thinking about WINTER'S TALE and how cold it left me. It's also not going to do much for the ravishing young actress whose character "Lady Sybil" was killed off in DOWNTOWN ABBEY--Jessica Brown Findlay. Her career will remain in the deep freeze until a better movie [...]
I have just seen the first OSCAR WORTHY performance by an actress this year-- or any year: Cate Blanchett in BLUE JASMINE--Woody's latest and absolutely one of his best films, ever. It's become a cliche that writer/director Woody Allen's work had hit the doldrums critically for a bit, and lately, everything he's doing has been [...]
I've yet to see THE WOLVERINE and believe I am the LONE CRITIC who loved THE LONE RANGER. Here's the best & worst of the rest so far: 20 FEET FROM STARDOM--This revealing, heartbreaking documentary charts the careers, hopes, dreams, disappointments of the back-up singers who literally stand inches away from center stage-the voices behind [...]
This time around, Superman has not only lost his red underpants, he's lost his identity-- and he used to have two! Remember Christopher Reeve's charming, bumbling Clark Kent who kept his cape under wraps around Margot Kidder's sassy Lois Lane, that is-- just until he'd explode out of his glasses and suit in order to [...]
The cheap thrills of summer begin with the noisy, hyperactive and superficially entertaining third installment of IRON MAN 3—which pits Robert Downey Junior’s brash industrialist Tony Stark as the man in the can against a maniac called "The Mandarin." The third time's not the charm-- but in the words of one of my colleagues-- it [...]
LIFE OF PI which earned director ANG LEE an OSCAR this year-- is now out on DVD. If you're trying to decide whether or not to see, check out my new :30 Second Review feature with video to get the bottom line fast!
The Next Thing (TNT) Festival presented by ArtsEmerson:The World On Stage-- is right around the corner! It's a 10-day "mash-up" of film, music, and live performance edited on the spot and streamed live! TNT begins Feb 15 but as a prelude ArtsEmerson is screening Classics of World Cinema beginning Feb 1st. One of my all [...]
If you're in touch with your inner adolescent girl--and I am-- you'll love THE TWILIGHT SAGA:BREAKING DAWN- PART 2. I know it's been savaged in The Globe by Wesley Morris-- and many other critics. But honestly, having Wes review this film is like sending Andre the Giant to a pajama party--it's just not his milieu. [...]
