Man on a Ledge Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) Man on a Ledge is a colossally dumb heist movie that works more often than it doesn’t in spite of the filmmakers’ best efforts. That director Asger Leth and writer Pablo F. Fenjves would think this is a smart thriller feels insulting. It’s riddled with cliches and more than a little preposterous. […]
Shame Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) Does a film need a soul in order to be successful? Steve McQueen’s Shame doesn’t have one, but it’s hard to argue that the film doesn’t work on at least some level. The film is colder and more emotionally distant than perhaps any other from 2011, and the way it places us […]
Kung Fu Panda 2 Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) Kung Fu Panda 2, like so many other animated sequels (and sequels in general, really), is brought down by questions about its necessity. When money is the only compelling reason to make a film, it seems anathema to come up with a concept that doesn’t feel somewhat unworthy. It’s what plagued Cars […]
Higher Ground Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) 2011 featured a number of stellar directorial debuts. I’ve sung the praises of Sean Durkin’s masterful Martha Marcy May Marlene for months now, but J.C. Chandor’s Margin Call, Joe Cornish’s Attack the Block, and John Michael McDonagh’s The Guard were all varying degrees of intriguing and entertaining. Another of last year’s directorial […]
The Way Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) If you’ve ever seen a road trip movie, you know what you’re going to get out of Emilio Estevez’s The Way. Just because the characters travel by foot doesn’t mean it doesn’t follow a very familiar and pretty stale formula. And yet, The Way isn’t a total waste of time. It’s a […]
Manhattan Murder Mystery Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) Few would dispute that Woody Allen’s most fertile period was the late 1970s. Annie Hall and Manhattan are two of cinema’s most valued treasures, and for good reason. They are transcendent films, full of several magical moments. Allen’s 1980s pictures are also (mostly) exceptional. Crimes and Misdemeanors might be my favorite Allen […]
Hanna Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) Hanna isn’t quite the film you’d expect from director Joe Wright. The man who directed Pride and Prejudice and Atonement does an action-thriller? It’s an odd match on paper, but it works on film—at least as far as the story will allow. Wright’s film looks gorgeous. It sounds terrific. Yet, it’s totally […]
Everything Must Go Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) There’s a point in almost every comedian’s career at which he decides it’s time to get serious. Adam Sandler had Punch-Drunk Love. Jim Carrey had The Truman Show. Robin Williams had Dead Poets Society. Now, Will Ferrell has Everything Must Go. The film, writer/director Dan Rush’s debut, is completely devoid of Ferrell’s […]
The Beaver Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) The Beaver is about as strange as advertised. It’s hard to find conventionality in a film about a man who tries to overcome his depression by talking through a hand puppet. Unfortunately, quality can’t be measured through unconventionality, and though I wouldn’t call The Beaver bad, it’s a little disappointing. It never […]
Trust Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) David Schwimmer is probably the last person you’d expect to direct a hard-hitting drama about rape, but with Trust, he’s done just that, and he does a solid job. He certainly deserves a great deal of credit for the extraordinary performances he coaxes out of all four of the main actors involved. […]
Horrible Bosses Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) Horrible Bosses turns a brilliant premise and all the star power in the world into a limp mid-summer comedy that’s far from horrible but even further from living up to its potential. I was consistently amused while watching the film, but I rarely laughed out loud and I don’t think I ever […]
The Eagle Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) If The Eagle reached a little higher, it could have been a very good film. As it stands, it’s a harmless, sporadically entertaining swords-and-sandals epic. But I didn’t get the sense that there was much passion behind the scenes. Character development feels half-assed, the acting is subpar, and Kevin MacDonald’s directorial style […]
Thor Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) At a time when the superhero genre is steering itself toward reality (a la The Dark Knight), Thor seems like a fish out of water. Its characters actually have powers, it takes place in fantastical worlds, and logic and reason are its first casualties. And though a film like that might sound […]
Arthur (2011) Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) I went into Arthur expecting the worst. The film’s trailers were universally awful, and my general antipathy toward sequels left me feeling nervous. The original Arthur, a 1981 romantic comedy starring Dudley Moore, is a relatively delightful romp. But Russell Brand just didn’t seem like he belonged in this world. And he […]
Battle: Los Angeles Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) Battle: Los Angeles, I think, is a fair approximation of what would happen if aliens invaded the world of 24. The film is full of one-dimensional freedom fighters, as well as a badass, capable-of-anything superman. But it’s entertaining in a mindless sort of way. It definitely doesn’t live up to its amazing […]
The Company Men Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) John Wells’ The Company Men is a film I wanted to like more than I actually did like it. Where 2009 masterpiece Up in the Air looked at mass firings from the corporate point-of-view, this film takes a look at the personal difficulties that come as a result of being fired. What […]
