Director Delmer Daves‘ 1957 western about a cattle rancher forced into the role of getting a dangerous killer out of town finds new life on home video as 3:10 to Yuma is the latest classic to get the Criterion treatment. Dan Evans (Van Heflin) is a struggling rancher with a wife (Leora Dana), two sons […]
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Star Trek Into Darkness outdoes the 2009 reboot in every way.
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A new Blu-ray presentation of the The Great Escape is out now, featuring all of the insightful extra features from the 2004 two-disc Collector’s Edition DVD set.
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The mix of a snow-stained winter setting, lost money, drugs, and pitch-black comedy gives Fuck Up (Et Slags liv) a distinctly Coen brothers flavor: a comparison the movie seems proud of.
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With his film version of The Great Gatsby, Baz Lurhmann creates a glittery and overstuffed adaptation that has all of the facts of the book right, while missing the skepticism and queries posed by it’s narrator and author.
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Michael Mohan’s ‘Save the Date’ explores some of the same ground as ‘When Harry Met Sally…,’ but with the self questioning and skepticism that make it more approachable and believable to a contemporary audience.
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Focusing on an emotionally stoic and sexually unfaithful foursome, and one magically restorative hard shell suitcase, Bob Byington’s 76-minute episodic narrative would not have the impact or charm had the budget been ten million dollars. In the confines of low budget independent film, Somebody Up There Likes Me is refreshing and poignant.
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At its core, Iron Man 3 is a screwball comedy about Tony Stark and Pepper Potts, post-intergalactic invasion. What makes it so enjoyable as formulaic escapist entertainment are the little tweaks that Black has made to the template.
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The armored avenger’s third outing is a high-speed, action-heavy romp that deepens some existing characters, introduces some interesting new ones and is surprisingly funny throughout.
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The whole movie feels like one of those badly managed high school theatricals where it’s considered a victory if everyone at the back of the gymnasium can hear the actors.
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It is good for all film snobs, when they want to dismiss Bay as thoughtless and utterly lowbrow, to remember that Criterion put out versions of both The Rock (spine #108) and Armageddon (spine #40). They had good reason to do so.
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His slow-motion prowess and action-film chops add a surreal element, but Bay’s camera leers at the world the same way his characters do. He wants to celebrate his “heroes” at the same time he’s making fun of them, but his over-the-top delivery gives him away. On top of that, the constant narration gives away too much of the mystery of their motives and it ends up trying way too hard to be funny.
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In the movie, John Cusack plays Emerson Kent, an emotionally broken-down CIA black ops agent who’s been assigned a shift babysitting numbers-station broadcaster Katherine (Malin Akerman), who is somehow a sought-after cryptography expert, despite having dropped out of college.
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Oblivion isn’t a total loss, but it is disappointing not only to see the film abandon the interesting sci-fi issues around its central love triangle, but also see it devolve into a series of hackneyed action-movie cliches — including some really insulting third-act dialogue.
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Oblivion features an interesting premise, that is quickly marred by familiar Sci-Fi tropes and MacGuffins that plunge the film into terribly predictable and familiar territory.
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