The Forgaughtens: Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2003)
I was pretty forgiving when I wrote last week about the 2000 Charlie’s Angels film. Yes, it’s packed with some really inappropriate and disappointing instances of cultural appropriation, but the three leads and the film’s very manic “turn of the millinnium” energy help it mostly succeed nonetheless. Thankfully, its sequel, 2003’s Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle […]
The Last Boy Scout Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) It’s easy enough to look at The Last Boy Scout and assume it’s a close relative of 48 Hrs. or Lethal Weapon. They’re all action comedies to one extent or another. They feature an interracial pair with contrasting and clashing styles investigating a crime or larger criminal conspiracy. And in the case […]
The Forgaughtens: Lucky Number Slevin (2006)
Slevin. SLEVIN! If I asked you to tell me what a movie called Lucky Number Slevin was about, and you said, “It’s probably about a terrible case of mistaken identity that gets a man in a towel caught between two brutal crime lords,” well you’d be right, but I’m pretty sure you’d have cheated. Anyway, […]
Die Hard Review
RATING: (4 STARS) There’s a reason why, 25 years after its release, John McTiernan’s Die Hard is such a ubiquitous film. There’s a reason why it’s been sequelized and duplicated to death. There’s a reason why, following it, Bruce Willis became a star. There’s a reason why it’s often named among the very best action […]
Die Hard 2 Review
RATING: (3 STARS) To top the original Die Hard would have been damn near impossible. That director Renny Harlin followed it up with something as entertaining as Die Hard 2 is both surprising and satisfying. Harlin follows the first film’s formula almost to a fault, but it capitalizes on the first film’s strongest asset—its setting. […]
Looper Review
RATING: (4 STARS) Looper represents a quantum leap forward for Rian Johnson as a filmmaker. Brick and The Brothers Bloom have their admirers, but these films are child’s play compared to what Johnson achieves with this trippy time-travel tale. It’s a genuine masterclass in storytelling, as not a single element in this sprawling story feels […]
Moonrise Kingdom Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) Moonrise Kingdom opens with a shot of an immaculately tidy room in a quaint, old-fashioned home on the New England coast. Suddenly, the camera pans right on the perfectly straight line to another such room, with three similarly—and oddly—dressed boys. They play a symphonic record and sit down in perfect symmetry. It […]
Red Review
RATING: (3 STARS) It’s hard to watch Red and not smile at least a little. Of course, it’s absolutely ridiculous, but it never takes itself too seriously. Is it as funny as it could have been? Probably not (I think an R-rating would have done the film wonders), but you’ll almost certainly have a good […]
