Category Archives: Movie Reviews

Review: Gravity

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Gravity, despite pulling aspects from a variety of familiar film styles, is a movie that feels unique, which is something with great appeal to me these days. It has much in common with Open Water, the 2003 film about a couple who are left behind while scuba diving, but it also borrows heavily from a variety of disaster movies where people are trapped or stranded and have to improvise a way to survive. And of course, it has a lot in common with Apollo 13, including the use of Ed Harris as the voice of mission control. (It even blatantly steals and idea from WALL-E and contains obvious references to Star Wars and Alien.) But its tone is drastically different from all of those films. Where those movies have a frantic aspect to them, with every moment devoted to the heroes solving the next problem or overcoming the next obstacle, Gravity has a peacefulness to it that sets it apart. And while there are moments of terror and suspense, the calm peaceful moments are what will stick with you after you’ve left the theater. Continue reading →

Not Exactly a Review: The Princess Bride

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It’s a bit funny for me to write a review of The Princess Bride, considering it’s a favorite film in our household, one which gets watched often and can be quoted in large chunks.  But until this past weekend I had never seen it in the theaters, unless my parents took me as a three year old when it originally came out (which I doubt).  It’s obviously a cult classic, and I watched it for years on TV before ever purchasing a copy of it.  I’ve read the book, and I have a tendency to take name tags which say “Hello, my name is…” at the top and filling in the rest of the tag with “Inigo Montoya.  You killed my father.  Prepare to die.”  So how can I even possibly review a film I adore, which I’ve seen countless times?  Instead, you’re going to get some scattered thoughts about the film, particularly what it was like seeing it on the screen for the first time.

Continue reading →

Review/Analysis: In a World…

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Review

In a World… is funny, random, charmingly sweet, a little romantic and an impressive feature length writing, producing and directing debut by star Lake Bell.  It’s also strongly feminist, but in a way that feels realistic while still sending a clear message.  The film, which was a hit at the Sundance Film Festival, tells the story of Carol Solomon, a struggling vocal coach whose father, Sam Soto, is one of the famous kings of the movie trailer voice-over industry.  You would think with a father who is a legend in the industry that Carol would have an easy way into the business, too, but her father not only is uninterested in giving her handouts (which his therapist tells him is just enabling Carol) but also doesn’t think women have any place in the industry.  It’s a boy’s only club, with Sam spending his time and energy promoting sleazeball Guztav Warner as the next generation of voice over powerhouse instead of his own daughter.  Sam makes his opinions clear to Carol before kicking her out of the house so that Sam’s groupie girlfriend can move in instead (nevermind the fact that she’s a year younger than his daughter.)

So Carol moves in with her sister and brother-in-law, Continue reading →

Review: The Butler

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I suppose this review should actually be titled “Review: Lee Daniels’ The Butler”, because of a silly dispute with Warner Bros. which required them to turn the simplistic title of The Butler into something that sounds vaguely ridiculous. But title disagreements aside, The Butler is an interesting amalgam of a film, which works as a whole even when some parts don’t hold up as well as they should. It’s one part biopic, one part fiction, with a healthy serving of Forrest Gump along with a good deal of racial politics. It has an immensely impressive cast and a solid balance between the family drama at the heart of the film and the somewhat gimmicky side of the story. Plus, it’s one that’s destined to tug at the heartstrings.

The Butler tells the story of Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker), who began life as a boy picking cotton on a Georgia plantation in the 1920s and ends up as a butler in the White House. Continue reading →

Review: The Wolverine

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How fair is it to review one film while comparing it to another?  It would be easy to simply say that The Wolverine is better than its predecessor (2009’s terrible X-Men Origins: Wolverine) and leave it at that.  But that would be grading on the steepest of curves, and would unfortunately give The Wolverine too much credit.  It’s true that it is a better film than Origins, which wasted an otherwise interesting character in boring backstory surrounded with a mess of jumbled X-Men mythology.  The Wolverine is undoubtedly more interesting and enjoyable, but for me it’s perhaps the final nail in the coffin for X-Men spinoffs.

The Wolverine opens in 1945 with the dropping of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan.   Continue reading →

Review: RED 2

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So far this year, Bruce Willis has starred in two action sequels which take place in Russia.  The first, A Good Day to Die Hard, was a joyless mess of a film to which I gave an overly generous review.  It wasn’t bad, per se, but it was bland and uninteresting, and seemed to have no concept of the films that had come before it.  The second, RED 2, fares considerably better, staying true to the spirit of the original while adding new characters and despite having a new director.

After the events of the first film, Frank (Bruce Willis) is trying to settle back into the quiet routine of retired life, along with his girlfriend Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker).  He hasn’t killed anyone in months, and the two spend their days shopping for deals at Costco.   Continue reading →

Review: Pacific Rim

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I was 12 when Independence Day came out in 1996, and it had so many things that appealed to 12 year old me.  It featured alien monsters, massive cinematic destruction, stunning effects, explosions and lots of action.  I imagine that if I were 12 years old today, Pacific Rim would seem to be right up my alley.  It’s got alien monsters (technically transdimensional monsters), destruction and explosions and stunning effects.  But, I like to think 12 year old me would have left Pacific Rim with the same sense of dissatisfaction that 29 year old me has.

Pacific Rim tells the story of humanity’s fight against Kaiju, giant Godzilla-like creatures that appear from a dimensional portal at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean and wreak havoc on the cities that border that body of water.   Continue reading →

Review: Despicable Me 2

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In the time since we last saw Gru, Margo, Edith, Agnes and the minions, they have grown into a family.  Gru plays loving father to his three, adopted daughters, going out of his way to cater to them as individuals.  His life of crime is behind him, and he and Dr. Nefario have turned his secret lair into a jams and jellies factory.  At Agnes’s birthday party, Gru dresses up as a fairy princess to fill in for the one he’d hired for the party, while the moms of the other kids at the party keep trying to set him up with their single friends.

However, when an arctic research station is stolen, along with a chemical that can turn the most gentle bunny into a vicious, purple killer (between Despicable Me 2 and The Lone Ranger, vicious bunnies are having a moment), the Anti-Villain League decides to turn to Gru for help.  After initially turning them down, he reconsiders and joins forces with them, in part to partly fulfill the longing for his old way of life.  He’s assigned an AVL agent, Lucy Wilde, and the two of them set up shop (literally) in a mall where they suspect the chemical has been taken.  And all the while, Gru’s minions seem to be disappearing. Continue reading →

Review/Analysis: The Lone Ranger

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The Lone Ranger is most likely not what you expect, though it probably has at least one or two moments (or silver bullets) aimed at you.  It’s not a devoted adaptation of the beloved TV show from the 50’s or the radio show from the 30’s.  It’s not a “Disneyfied” (hate that word, it’s so condescending) version of a Western, aimed at kids.  It’s not Pirates of the Caribbean on horseback, though your ability to enjoy The Lone Ranger might be related to your ability to enjoy that saga of movies.  It’s not even a live-action adaptation of Rango.  So what is it?

The Lone Ranger is a rip-roaring, funny, violent, subversive, political, Western action extravaganza.   Continue reading →

Review: The Blue Umbrella

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By this point it’s well known that all new Pixar films are accompanied in the theater by a Pixar short.  Over the years, these shorts, ten of which have been nominated for Oscars, have become as much a part of the Pixar experience as the feature films.  This year, Pixar attached a short entitled The Blue Umbrella to its release of Monsters University.

In some ways it’s difficult to review a film that only lasts six minutes.   Continue reading →