They Shot the Piano Player (2024)
Spanish director Fernando Truaba is one of those [...]
Archive for November, 2013
Évocateur: The Morton Downey, Jr. Movie (2013)
I have to admit that ever since news of his death from lung cancer in 2001, I hadn’t given much thought to Morton Downey, Jr. Not to seem unkind, but truthfully, there wasn’t much to think about. Downey’s legacy in television history is so forgettable that the subsequent generation has no idea who he was. If you’ve […]
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013)
It may no longer be possible to make a successful biopic that captures the entire sweep of a man’s life. Gone are the days of sweeping epics about larger-than-life leaders like Lawrence of Arabia or Gandhi or even Malcolm X. In our information age, it may no longer be possible to make a grand womb-to-tomb […]
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” does something unheard of for a science fiction thriller – it makes a remarkable comeback in its second half after a disastrously dull first act. That’s unusual when you consider that most event pictures of this scale – and of this genre – open well and then go on automatic […]
Blue is the Warmest Color
Forget, for a moment, that “Blue is the Warmest Colour” is the story about two women in love. Here is a movie so universal in its themes and so broad in its emotions that it could really be about people of any gender, race or sexual orientation. While Hollywood films simply prattle on about love […]
Dallas Buyers Club
“The Dallas Buyers Club” opens with a scene that doesn’t mean much at first. We are at a rodeo; bull and rider are let out of the pen. The bull flails around in the ring while the rider holds on for dear life. Elsewhere, overlooking the proceedings, are a man and a woman in shadow […]
Thor: The Dark World (2013)
If you peel back the expensive production values and the fancy schmancy special effects, “Thor: The Dark World” – the latest superhero blockbuster from Marvel Studios – reveals itself to be a $170 million-dollar B-picture. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Actually, it’s reminiscent of those cheap sword and sandal pictures from the 1960s with […]
Ender’s Game
“Ender’s Game” is like a multi-million dollar video game that you never get to play. The ads confidently inform us that “This Is Not A Game”, but gee, it sure looks like one. The characters shoot at each other, and then shoot at selected non-human targets. Ships fly around in formation while a player directs […]
