Captain America: The Winter Soldier Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) It’s been a long time since a Marvel movie totally worked. When Iron Man premiered in 2008, it was so tonally unique and such a breath of fresh air. But The Incredible Hulk was dull and overly moody. Iron Man 2 proverbially shot first and asked questions later. Thor, Thor: The Dark […]
Snow White and the Huntsman Review
RATING: (2 STARS) Snow White and the Huntsman is a concept in search of a cinematic purpose. Because its creators can’t find it, they attempt to win their audience over with flashy, extravagant special effects. They fail. The film is almost painful to watch. It’s incredibly episodic, and the connective tissue between scenes is flimsier […]
The Hunger Games Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) While reading Suzanne Collins’ novel, The Hunger Games, you’re immediately struck by the story’s cinematic potential. A dystopian future, an elaborate death match, and an angsty young-adult love triangle—what’s not to like? But with the good comes the potentially terrible—opulent cities with multi-colored buildings, the inevitable neutering down of the novel’s bloodier […]
My Week with Marilyn Review
RATING: (2 STARS) The story in My Week with Marilyn is one that seems quite cinematic. Two screen legends butt heads on set while one fools around with a young assistant director once her husband leaves town. It’s juicy, deserves to be told, and could have made for a fine motion picture. But in the […]
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Review
RATING: (4 STARS) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a superior thriller that accomplishes the unfathomable in condensing John le Carré’s masterful British espionage novel into an appropriately dense but followable two-hour film. And shockingly, not a ton of important detail is lost in the translation. Director Tomas Alfredson (following up the sensational Let the Right […]
The Adventures of Tintin Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Though The Adventures of Tintin is breezy fun, one can’t help but think the pairing of Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson should have turned out something more exciting than this. Much has been made of the meeting of the minds of Indiana Jones and The Lord of the Rings, but not a […]
Captain America: The First Avenger Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Captain America: The First Avenger, the final Marvel origin story before The Avengers next May, is a blast from start to finish. Chris Evans equips himself well as the “star-spangled man with a plan,” and Joe Johnston proves himself more than capable of delivering when it comes to solid superhero action. Hugo […]
Frost/Nixon Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) In my review of All the President’s Men, I said I think I’m inclined to love pretty much any film about Nixon and the Watergate scandal. It’s a larger-than-life moment in American history that’s ripe for dramatization. Such is what happened with Ron Howard’s “Frost/Nixon,†an adaptation of the Tony Award-winning play […]
