Hancock - Dir. Peter Berg (2008)
Fluffy, lowbrow humor of first half works somewhat, but darker drama of second half works not at all.
Ultimately fails due to insistence of shoving conventions of the superhero genre into a production that shouldn't have been a typical superhero film.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
3:10 To Yuma
3:10 To Yuma - Dir. James Mangold (2007)
Has none of the gritty realism of The Proposition or artsy existentialism of Seraphim Falls or The Assassination of Jesse James. But, that's just fine for this action-packed, gun-slinging affair.
The genre archetypes of hardened outlaw and emasculated frontiersman are dusted off and given a renewed lease on life.
Has none of the gritty realism of The Proposition or artsy existentialism of Seraphim Falls or The Assassination of Jesse James. But, that's just fine for this action-packed, gun-slinging affair.
The genre archetypes of hardened outlaw and emasculated frontiersman are dusted off and given a renewed lease on life.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Wanted
Wanted - Dir. Timur Bekmambetov (2008)
Nerdy pushover summons the testicular fortitude to man up. Becomes assassin extraordinaire.
A gun-toting guilty pleasure. Super-stylized action film not afraid to go for the hard R.
Lacks the outlandish characters, acerbic wit, and nihilistic edge of the original comics.
Nerdy pushover summons the testicular fortitude to man up. Becomes assassin extraordinaire.
A gun-toting guilty pleasure. Super-stylized action film not afraid to go for the hard R.
Lacks the outlandish characters, acerbic wit, and nihilistic edge of the original comics.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Charlie Bartlett
Charlie Bartlett - Dir. Jon Poll (2008)
Neurotic rich boy gets kicked out of fancy pants academy. Sent to public school and becomes de factor psychologist.
Like the lead character this film is a little too smug and assure of itself. Familiar, yet passable, high school dramedy.
Worth noting mainly for a strong performance by Robert Downey Jr. His turn as an alcoholic principal makes my mouth water at what he'll bring to the table for Iron Man 2 ("Demon in a Bottle~!").
Neurotic rich boy gets kicked out of fancy pants academy. Sent to public school and becomes de factor psychologist.
Like the lead character this film is a little too smug and assure of itself. Familiar, yet passable, high school dramedy.
Worth noting mainly for a strong performance by Robert Downey Jr. His turn as an alcoholic principal makes my mouth water at what he'll bring to the table for Iron Man 2 ("Demon in a Bottle~!").
Monday, June 23, 2008
In Bruges
In Bruges - Dir. Martin McDonagh (2008)
The bastard love child of Mamet, Tarantino, and Fellini.
Wicked dialogue and a splendidly written script by playwright McDonagh, who makes his feature film debut.
Does tend to veer far too sharply from slapstick to dark humor to just plain dark.
The bastard love child of Mamet, Tarantino, and Fellini.
Wicked dialogue and a splendidly written script by playwright McDonagh, who makes his feature film debut.
Does tend to veer far too sharply from slapstick to dark humor to just plain dark.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
The Restless
The Restless - Dirs. Cho Dong-oh & Jo Dong-oh (2006)
A wandering warrior must protect the heaven and the Earth.
South Korean Wuxia epic with an convoluted script packed with far too many underdeveloped and muddled ideas.
Like The Banquet and The Promise, a martial arts epic that offers plenty of eye candy while failing to provide a satisfying story.
A wandering warrior must protect the heaven and the Earth.
South Korean Wuxia epic with an convoluted script packed with far too many underdeveloped and muddled ideas.
Like The Banquet and The Promise, a martial arts epic that offers plenty of eye candy while failing to provide a satisfying story.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Control
Control - Dir. Anton Corbjin (2007)
Biography of the late-Ian Curtis.
Breaks the conventional molds of the music biopic through sheer force of will.
Exceptional black and white cinematography that effectively conveys the melancholic sounds of Joy Division and the depressed, working class life of Manchester, England.
Biography of the late-Ian Curtis.
Breaks the conventional molds of the music biopic through sheer force of will.
Exceptional black and white cinematography that effectively conveys the melancholic sounds of Joy Division and the depressed, working class life of Manchester, England.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Beowulf
Beowulf - Dir. Robert Zemeckis (2007)
Olde English poem translated into manly Hollywood action film.
Animation is alternately gorgeous and stiff.
Plastic faces may give you the night terrors.
Still, Angelina Jolie makes for one hot, nekkid cartoon character. The things she'd do with that tail.
Olde English poem translated into manly Hollywood action film.
Animation is alternately gorgeous and stiff.
Plastic faces may give you the night terrors.
Still, Angelina Jolie makes for one hot, nekkid cartoon character. The things she'd do with that tail.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
The Happening
The Happening - Dir. M. Night Shyamalan (2008)
The trees have it in for us.
The Village may have had an idiotic, twist ending, but at least it had an ending. Shyamalan's latest disasterpiece is all build and no payoff.
Shyamalan's keen sense of direction and suspense is enough to lift this above his last two bombs, but not enough to overcome laughable performances.
M. Night, swallow your pride. Hire a script doctor.
The trees have it in for us.
The Village may have had an idiotic, twist ending, but at least it had an ending. Shyamalan's latest disasterpiece is all build and no payoff.
Shyamalan's keen sense of direction and suspense is enough to lift this above his last two bombs, but not enough to overcome laughable performances.
M. Night, swallow your pride. Hire a script doctor.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
The Foot Fist Way
The Foot Fist Way - Dir. Jody Hill (2006)
Like a bad Will Ferrell movie filtered through a bad Napoleon Dynamite ripoff.
Danny McBride tries too hard with his Ferrell-esque, wacky, angry man routine.
Is it a better Tae Kwon Do movie than Best of the Best? No, I don't think so.
Like a bad Will Ferrell movie filtered through a bad Napoleon Dynamite ripoff.
Danny McBride tries too hard with his Ferrell-esque, wacky, angry man routine.
Is it a better Tae Kwon Do movie than Best of the Best? No, I don't think so.
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