They Shot the Piano Player (2024)
Spanish director Fernando Truaba is one of those [...]
Archive for October, 2014
St. Vincent (2014)
Ten minutes into Theodore Melfi’s St. Vincent you’ve already figured out how it is going to end. Once the cute kid meets the crusty old coot next door who hates children – and humanity at large – the movie becomes a long slow drive down Highway Inevitable. When you reach the destination, there’s nothing to […]
The Book of Life (2014)
The Book of Life is a joyful, giddy experience, brimming with energy and life, which is odd to say since much of it takes place in the land of the dead. But don’t let that description dissuade you, just because it is about the dead does not mean it’s a dreary experience. It’s more about […]
The Judge (2014)
If you have any interest at all in the new legal thriller The Judge, then it is safe to say that you’re probably drawn in by the casting. Here in the same film are Robert Downey, Jr. – one of the best actors of his generation, and Robert Duvall – the great lion of the […]
In Defense of Empty Spaces: ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ at 35
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre creates an atmosphere that is comparable to rotten meat. Believe it or not, I mean that as a compliment. There’s a lot of death and decay in this movie, a lot of rotten, messy decomposition. What is unsettling is that this atmosphere hangs heavy over long silences in which nothing […]
Gone Girl (2014)
No one would blame you if you approached David Fincher’s adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s best seller Gone Girl with a bit of trepidation. In most cases a hugely successful book turned into a movie leaves its faithful audience with the feeling of “Did they even bother to read the book?” It is a relief to […]
Annabelle (2014)
Okay, let’s talk about this stupid doll. It’s not scary. Yes, it’s creepy because it’s made to look creepy in a movie sort of way. That’s the wrong approach. Dolls are creepy only when they were made to be cute and innocent and you can clearly see that somebody at the drawing board needed to […]
