The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990, Brian De Palma)
It’s amazing anyone could screw up The Bonfire of the Vanities–and I’m only making that statement based on the movie and the material in it (never having read the book)–but if anyone was going to do...
View ArticleGone Baby Gone (2007, Ben Affleck)
There’s one singularly profound moment in Gone Baby Gone, when Affleck plus vieux has one of those filmic moments directors rarely have. He takes a broken, melodramatic scene and makes it sublime. It’s...
View ArticleThe Dark Knight (2008, Christopher Nolan)
Before I get into the meat of this response, there are a few things I want to get out of the way. First, I was really glad when I heard some guy talking about how he didn’t like the movie as everyone...
View ArticleTeachers (1984, Arthur Hiller)
It must have been Bette Midler’s former manager, Aaron Russo (Teachers‘s producer), who somehow confused Arthur Hiller as the creative force behind The Hospital. Teachers is very much like The...
View ArticleThick as Thieves (2009, Mimi Leder)
Maybe ten years ago, Thick as Thieves wouldn’t be a direct-to-DVD release (it’s actually a hit, which is kind of scary). Ten years ago, Mimi Leder hadn’t bombed out with Pay It Forward, Antonio...
View ArticleRed (2010, Robert Schwentke)
I was unhesitant to enjoy Red. It’s one of those ensemble feel-good pieces (like Sneakers or Ocean’s Eleven), but it’s not a particularly upbeat feel-good piece. But I was rather hesitant to approach...
View ArticleRobin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991, Kevin Reynolds), the extended version
It’s sort of amazing how little personality Kevin Reynolds brings to Robin Hood. I suppose his direction is adequate, but his shots are absent any creativity. Of course, maybe the shots were very...
View ArticleDanny the Dog (2005, Louis Leterrier)
Danny the Dog is better than it should be–it’s not as good as it could have been, but it’s definitely better than it should be. The film finally gives Jet Li an appropriate English language role. Here,...
View ArticleOblivion (2013, Joseph Kosinski)
There’s not much original about Oblivion. Most of the sci-fi elements are familiar, as are most of the plot twists; the unfamiliar ones play like sci-fi elements no one had been able to do before...
View ArticleNow You See Me (2013, Louis Leterrier), the extended edition
Now You See Me plays a little like Ocean’s Eleven without Steven Soderbergh and a great cast of supporting character actors instead of lead actors doing an ensemble. Except maybe Jesse Eisenberg. He...
View ArticleClean and Sober (1988, Glenn Gordon Caron)
In hindsight, as the film settles during its final scene, it becomes clear a lot of Clean and Sober is obvious. Director Caron and writer Tod Carroll withhold a few pieces of information until that...
View ArticleRobin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991, Kevin Reynolds), the extended version
It’s sort of amazing how little personality Kevin Reynolds brings to Robin Hood. I suppose his direction is adequate, but his shots are absent any creativity. Of course, maybe the shots were very...
View ArticleDanny the Dog (2005, Louis Leterrier)
Danny the Dog is better than it should be–it’s not as good as it could have been, but it’s definitely better than it should be. The film finally gives Jet Li an appropriate English language role. Here,...
View ArticleOblivion (2013, Joseph Kosinski)
There’s not much original about Oblivion. Most of the sci-fi elements are familiar, as are most of the plot twists; the unfamiliar ones play like sci-fi elements no one had been able to do before...
View ArticleNow You See Me (2013, Louis Leterrier), the extended edition
Now You See Me plays a little like Ocean’s Eleven without Steven Soderbergh and a great cast of supporting character actors instead of lead actors doing an ensemble. Except maybe Jesse Eisenberg. He...
View ArticleThe Dark Knight Rises (2012, Christopher Nolan)
Much of The Dark Knight Rises is rushed. The film runs over two and a half hours and director Nolan can’t find anything he wants to spend much time on. He’s got a lot of characters to occupy that run...
View ArticleSeven (1995, David Fincher)
Seven is a gorgeous film. It’s often a really stupid film, but it’s a gorgeous film. Even when it’s being stupid, it’s usually gorgeous. Director Fincher has a beautiful precision to his composition;...
View ArticleMillion Dollar Baby (2004, Clint Eastwood)
Million Dollar Baby has a somewhat significant plot twist. Well, it actually has a couple of them. And neither comes with much foreshadowing. A little in Paul Haggis’s script, which director Eastwood...
View ArticleStreet Smart (1987, Jerry Schatzberg)
Somewhere around the halfway point in Street Smart, when both female “leads” get reduced to a combination punching bag–figuratively and literally–and damsel, the movie starts to collapse. It doesn’t...
View ArticleRobin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991, Kevin Reynolds), the extended version
It’s sort of amazing how little personality Kevin Reynolds brings to Robin Hood. I suppose his direction is adequate, but his shots are absent any creativity. Of course, maybe the shots were very...
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