8 years ago
Theatrical (10 posts found)
Coming to a theater near you
“Brick Mansions” Offers Parkour But Not Much Else
Brick Mansions takes place in a dystopian Detroit (only four years from now) where huge mansions lie abandoned and taken over by gangsters. Hospitals and schools have been removed and to combat the anything goes nature of the newly formed compounds, law enforc...
Read more →
“Locke”: A Bold and Economical Work of Art, Led by a Magnetic Tom Hardy
Steven Knight's debut feature as director, last year's Hummingbird (or, to go by its more generic US title, Redemption), misplaced the screenwriter's normally sharp sense of the plight of the lost and the disadvantaged amidst a too-basic morality play. But the...
Read more →
No Michelin Star for “Tasting Menu”
Roger Gual's Tasting Menu is a light, summery invitation for a conventionally attractive film date that won't necessarily turn into a lifelong thing. Despite its pretty face, this cinematic partner's IQ is slightly too low to get you seriously hooked.
The d...
Read more →
“A Haunted House 2”: Better Than The Original, Worse Than Everything Else
"This bitch heavy as hell, cuz!"
For Marlon Wayans' first installment in the A Haunted House franchise, I detailed fifty examples of "humor" contained within the parody. As the inevitable sequel began with the above quote, it was clear that A Haunted House ...
Read more →
“Bears” Is As Cute As It Is Unnecessary
The last time I visited Katmai National Park via documentary film, it was through Grizzly Man. This Alaskan nature preserve is where bear enthusiast Timothy Treadwell met his end at the teeth and claws of one of his beloved animals. This is a very dark thought...
Read more →
“Transcendence” Needs A System Upgrade
The greatest frustration of Transcendence is that, as its narrative slowly tailspins out of control, we can observe a fleeting glimpse or two of the film it could have been amidst its clunkier overtures. Among the myriad of 2014 releases unleashed upon viewing...
Read more →
“Oculus”: Turns Out It Was Just A Reflector
Not being able to tell what's real and isn't real in movies, let alone those of the horror genre, has become such an overused, pretentious cliche when it comes to faux-profound filmmakers. So much so that when a film like Oculus comes along and does it so damn...
Read more →
“Only Lovers Left Alive”
The main character in Only Lovers Left Alive is literally a romantic. Adam (Tom Hiddleston) is a centuries-old vampire, and according to his lover Eve (Tilda Swinton,) his personality was shaped by Romantic-era “assholes” like Shelley and Byron. Now he resides...
Read more →
“Cuban Fury” Needs More Than Just Corazón
One, two, three. Five, six, seven. That Latin rhythm plays almost nonstop throughout the movie Cuban Fury. You can trace the history of salsa through its soundtrack, from Benny More to Tito Puente to Willie Colon to Mark Anthony. Yet, even with a “best of” pla...
Read more →
“Draft Day” Talks Football And Not Much Else
Kevin Costner has been on a real tear of late; between last year's Man of Steel, and the early 2014 one-two punch of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and 3 Days to Kill, he's been popping up everywhere, and with increasing frequency. Draft Day, then, feels like an in...
Read more →
