Tilda Swinton

Trainwreck Review

Trainwreck Review

RATING: (3.5 STARS) Trainwreck is just the funniest Hollywood comedy in years. No big deal. It generates its laughs by subverting and embracing in equal measure the romantic comedy formula, and because it can do the former so well, it feels fresher than it ever ought to. Though the Amy-Schumer-penned film suffers from Apatow-itis—symptoms include […]

The 20 Best Performances of 2014

The 20 Best Performances of 2014

It was a great year for acting, and I still haven’t seen some of the year’s most acclaimed performances. If David Oyelowo (Selma), Julianne Moore (Still Alice), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), J.K. Simmons (Whiplash), Timothy Spall (Mr. Turner), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Beyond the Lights), or anyone else bowls me over the way they have so […]

Only Lovers Left Alive Review

Only Lovers Left Alive Review

RATING: (3 STARS) Only Lovers Left Alive might not amount to a hill of beans, but damn if it isn’t one sexy, crazy, wildly enjoyable movie. Adam (Tom Hiddleston) and Eve (Tilda Swinton) are two vampires trying to get by. That’s the film. But what it’s lacking in plot and, I guess, purpose, it more […]

Snowpiercer Review

Snowpiercer Review

RATING: (3.5 STARS) After months and months of waiting, wondering whether the notorious Weinstein Company would allow director Bong Joon-ho to share his true vision for Snowpiercer with the world, the film is finally here (in theaters and on VOD), and surprisingly, it’s awfully straightforward. That isn’t to say it’s not a little weird, but […]

2013 TIFF Movies to Watch: #30-#21

2013 TIFF Movies to Watch: #30-#21

Continuing my TIFF preview today with lots of big-name acting talent: Streep, Roberts, McGregor, Witherspoon, Firth, Johansson, Eisenberg, Wasikowska, Hiddleston, Swinton, Hemsworth, and more. 30.) August: Osage County Program: Gala Presentation Distributor: The Weinstein Company Directed by: John Wells Written by: Tracy Letts Starring: Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Abigail Breslin, Sam Shepard, Dermot […]

Moonrise Kingdom Review

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 […]

We Need to Talk About Kevin Review

We Need to Talk About Kevin Review

RATING: (3.5 STARS) We Need to Talk About Kevin is the best horror movie in years. It’s the antithesis of a Saw or a Paranormal Activity film in that it’s based in the real world rather than one full of ghosts or, you know, murderous puppets. It depicts a parent’s worst nightmare: That his or […]

2012 OSCAR PREDICTIONS: One Year Out

2012 OSCAR PREDICTIONS: One Year Out

I realize it’s a bit silly for 2012 Oscar predictions this far out, but I can’t help it. With the multiplex fare so bad this time of year, I need something to be excited about, so why not dig into the prestige films later this year? The odds say much of what looks Oscar friendly […]

Burn After Reading Review

Burn After Reading Review

RATING: (3.5 STARS) There are two types of Coen Brothers films—ones that examine human nature and consequence and others that are just utterly absurd. Burn After Reading, like The Big Lebowski and Raising Arizona, falls squarely into the latter category. It’s a film about incomprehensibly dumb people doing incomprehensibly dumb things. None of it makes […]

I Am Love Review

I Am Love Review

RATING: (1.5 STARS) I Am Love is a fascinating example of how a film can try to do many things and fail at pretty much all of them. It’s a film with two very different halves. The first is a well-intentioned, meandering ensemble piece. The second is a comical descent into overblown melodrama. It’s full […]

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Review

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Review

RATING: (4 STARS) Until 2008, David Fincher was primarily a genre director—a damn good one, for sure, but a genre director nonetheless. With Se7en and Zodiac, many would argue that his specialty was serial killer films. So I think it surprised a lot of people that he was taking on a project as complex and […]