A movie director’s first obligation to his audience is to provide appealing, or at least interesting, characters. Not far down the list, however, is providing dialogue that the audience can understand. I don’t want to sit there thinking, what did he say? – even if, as in this movie, it probably doesn’t matter. (If I […]
Wow! – a movie about real people and real relationships; no fancy sets or photography, not even gorgeous movie stars. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is the personification of needy, but in her usual winsome way, and the teenagers are convincing teenagers (I loved Chloe). The movie’s anchor, though, is the late, great James Gandolfini. When he says, […]
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is not my favorite actor (viz., Lincoln, Premium Rush), but his intelligence illuminates this fun story of a porn addict who has to learn that giving yourself in love is better than meaningless sex. The supporting actors are all sensational, in the style of Silver Linings Playbook, and the surprisingly non-erotic use of […]
A formulaic movie about Formula 1: every cliche of the sports movie is rolled out, with only the world of auto racing offering any novelty. The close-ups of the drivers and their cars are riveting, and Chris Hemsworth and the two leading ladies are easy on the eyes; but in the end we are left […]
It’s hard to know how “realistic” a movie set in 2154 is, but the scenes of LA were reminiscent, in a good way, of Johannesburg in director Neil Blomkomp’s prior, better movie, District 9. Matt Damon on Earth was more convincing than Jodie Foster up in Elysium, but what is consistent in all these adventure […]
Not a bad movie, but an absurd mess. I say not bad because there was a lot of beauty, and if you know a lot about kung fu those parts might have been interesting. All I know about kung fu after watching this movie is that it doesn’t make you sweat, it allows you to […]
This movie about troubled youths in…exactly what kind of facility?…exposed my lack of empathy, as I didn’t find myself caring about anyone on-screen. Brie Larson had a Cate Blanchett-type role, but as much as I enjoyed watching her I couldn’t believe her character. First, she was absurdly perfect and self-controlled as a counselor tending to […]
Jennifer Anniston was way too good for Jason Sudeikis, let alone this movie, although she was seriously unconvincing as a stripper. Still, as spoofs go, there were plenty of cute, fun moments. I never looked at my watch, or worried that anything bad would actually happen.
I’m not wild for films about losers, and Miles Teller, besides being a 25-year-old high-school senior, was definitely a loser. Shailene Woodley was wonderful in the Molly Ringwald role, but instead of making me happy, their reunion at the end was disappointing: she could do better. All he had done was pick her up to […]
Woody Allen looks back, through Tennessee Williams to Shakespeare and the Greeks, to give us a classic tragical heroine. There is no story ‘arc,’ as is the Hollywood norm; instead, we are left to watch the inexorable, inevitable descent of Jasmine French from Hamptons high to homelessness. When she appears to have a chance to […]
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