Archives: movies
- “No Reservations”
Went to the Common today to see a total chick flick: No Reservations [NY Times Review], starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron Eckhart. I figured, hey, I've got lots of expired AMC Theaters gift certificates sitting around that have to be accepted in Massachusetts by law, and I've got time... why not? This film is a quiet, understated emotional triumph. Sure, we all love to watch Mrs. Douglas mope around the screen in a cute Chef's outfit, and who doesn't like Aaron Eckhart every moment he's on screen? The dude made Thank You for Smoking watchable, so he has talent. But... - The Omen
Rating: B+ So yea, I went to the movies on 6/6/06, to see the remake of The Omen. I was surprised to find the theater packed on a Tuesday night, but the full house added to the suspense. Here’s my quick review: ready? The story takes its time to develop, but its not “slow”. The production design was incredible, with on-location shooting in Italy, London, and Jerusalem. Julia Stiles is one of the better actresses of her generation, and it was interesting to see her play a wife and mother. Why is the Roman Catholic hierarchy always portrayed as evil?... - The Constant Gardener
Rating: A+ We had the opportunity to see The Constant Gardener (metacritic) a couple of weeks ago, and I neglected to post about it. I’ve never read a John le Carre novel — I remember him saying on Fresh Air that he was a former British intelligence officer, so I naturally assumed that his politics were more aligned with Tom Clancy’s, than Amnesty International. Now, I’m the kind of Liberal who squirms around radical activist-types, so when we were greeted at the cinema door by Amnesty representatives with their pamphlets and petitions, I wondered just what kind of action pic... - Liquid Television
Check out the trailer for the live-action film of Aeon Flux. It doesn’t look that promising, to be honest… Charlize Theron has a snappy black hair cut, but her outfit looks more PG-13 than the dominatrix-inspired garb Aeon wore in the MTV animated series. Ah well. If they really wanted to attract 13-year old boys, (and me), they’d do it right, and take the R rating…... - Ebert & Roeper Podcast
Seems like Apple’s deal with Disney to leverage content into Podcasts is building— I saw today that you can subscribe to the Ebert & Roeper (iTunes link) podcast. C’mon NPR, let’s get Fresh Air and On Point on board.... - John Doe Mexican
I received a message from our friend Karla today, about what her boyfriend Steve is up to this summer. He’s a public-school teacher, and is currently working to produce a documentary titled John Doe: Mexican, on border crossers in the Southwest. Sounds like an interesting project, which he will be blogging about: John Doe Mexican is an hour-long documentary that captures the struggle to value human life, even in death. The dead have no names here. For Mexican border crossers, Southern Arizona�s Sonoran desert is an unforgiving and, all too often, murderous landscape. John Doe Mexican follows a handful of... - Constantine
Presley was busy studying tonight (damn MBA school), so I figured I’d check out a movie. But what to see? An Oscar winner? Aviator? Million Dollar Baby? nah. Since I enjoy reading religious texts, I thought I’d check out the latest Keanu movie, Constantine. From the trailer, I thought it looked cheesy, but chock full of demons, and the occult… fun on a wednesday night, right? Well, yea… it was fun. Despite what the New Yorker might think: Constantine turns Catholic doctrine, ritual, and iconograph into schlock… Imagine Jewish version of the spectacle�Angel, starring Vin Diesel, in which God�s messenger... - Pauly Shore is Dead
"pauly & snoop", posted by nedward "Pauly Shore":http://paulyshore.com/ is in Boston this weekend, to show and promote his film, "Pauly Shore is Dead":http://www.paulyshoreisdead.com/, at the "Coolidge":http://coolidge.org/, and we braved the 2 degree-cold to wait in line for the midnight showing last night. During a Q&A before the showing, Pauly spoke very eloquently about the project, which he wrote, directed, produced and financed (from his stand-up earnings). I think we came for the kitsch value of seeing this _fallen icon_ from our youth -- the Wiez... but left having thoroughly enjoyed the film, for what it was. Ordinarily, movies that... - The Incredibles
I was incredibly impressed with "The Incredibles":http://www.theincredibles.com/, despite my well-known aversion to animated kiddie-fare. I never saw the "Toy":http://www.metacritic.com/video/titles/toystory/ "Stories":http://www.metacritic.com/video/titles/toystory2/, and "Finding Nemo":http://www.metacritic.com/video/titles/findingnemo/'s story was stale and Albert Brooks was insufferable, but this film is different -- it's funny, unexpected, and multi-layered. It's part _James Bond_, part _Spy Kids_ (never saw those either), and part _Rocky V_ -- that is, what happens after the glory days have passed you by. The good news is, this film is nothing like Rocky V. What can I say? I'm a suckah for "Holly Hunter":http://imdb.com/name/nm0000456/ and her gravelly Georgia drawl. For a contrast to... - Fahrenheit 9/11 & the year of the angry Liberal
We went to see "Fahrenheit 9/11":http://www.fahrenheit911.com at the "Fenway 13":http://www.nu-news.com/news/2003/05/28/Style/Best-Movie.Theater.Amc.Fenway.13-437198.shtml on Saturday night, and I became uneasy before the movie, because there were rent-a-cops milling about and checking bags. Were they expecting violence? Like a modern day _Outsiders_, with "MoveOn.org":http://moveon.org members clashing with the Young Republicans? There has been "much":http://www.slate.com/id/2102723 made of Michael Moore, and the controversy surrounding whether he can correctly claim the title of _documentarian_. On the "Today":http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3032633/?ta=y show, pseudo-journalist Matt Lauer nitpicked and argued with Moore as if he were host of "Fox and Friends":www.foxnews.com/foxfriends/. Truth is, the journalists who think Moore is utterly ruinous, ("Gwen Ifill":http://atrios.blogspot.com/2004_06_27_atrios_archive.html#108845977472633882... - The Prisoner of Azkaban
*Review: A+* Yes, we attended last night's showing of "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban":http://azkaban.warnerbros.com/, at 12:01am. And, despite some suggestions from my work mates, I did not play "dress-up":http://www.freep.com/news/metro/dicker5_20030505.htm. My reactions and excitement after seeing the 3rd installment on the big screen, directly parallels what I felt a few years ago when I dug into the "3rd Potter book":http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0439136350/suckahs-20 -- _Azkaban_ is where the series takes a much darker turn. The Dementors are frightening in the film, though the new director "Alfonso Cuar?n":http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0190859/ devotes far more energy to stoking fear of "Sirius Black":http://galleries.mugglenet.com/af/2004/sirius.black.escape.cfm, than of the prison and... - Battle Royale
Battle Royale has one of the best plot lines (and "fan following":http://www.battleroyaleonline.com/): Ninth grade students are taken to a small isolated island with a map, food and various arms. They have to fight each other three days long until the last one remains and are forced to wear a special collar which will explode when they break a rule. The Japanese are an absolutely amazing people.... - Thanksgiving Prefix
We're awaiting company for the holiday-- Presley's mom, mom's boyfriend Marc, and sister Kelly are joining us in a proper New England Thanksgiving. The pumpkin and corn breads smell wonderful, the turkey is still thawing, and we picked out a few nice wines to go with dinner. Ok, so maybe the Puritans didn't drink French wine-- or wine at all-- but I'm sticking to the "proper New England Thanksgiving". The funniest part (to me) was that our 1-month old Sears Kenmore refrigerator died yesterday-- luckily we were able to shuttle off various bits to neighbors' fridges, and get a repairman... - Full Throttle Boredom
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle is the most pointless movie I have ever paid money to see... and, yes, I did see Showgirls in the cinema. Someone explain to me what the hell this movie is about-- because I have no clue. Here are my questions: * + Who is that "Leo" kid? * + Why is there unrealistic CGI fight scenes every 35 seconds? * + Who is Bruce Willis' character? * + Why did that guy from the X-Files suddenly switch sides? * + For a followup, why did Crispin Glover switch sides? * + Why is Drew Barrymore... - Cronenberg's Spider
Over the weekend, I saw David Cronenberg's new Film Spider with Tbone, who wrote a review. One thing I'd like to comment on, are Miranda Richardson's several exceptionally noteworthy performances, as both Fiennes' Mother and Stepmother. The first character is a model of 1950s restraint and beauty, dutifully preparing dinner for her family and accompanying her husband to the Pub, though she'd rather be at home. This is the boy's (Fiennes) idealized vision of his Mother. Richardson plays the role much like Julianne Moore did in Far From Heaven. As an audience member, you can't hardly resist her virtue. The... - The Quiet American
*Review: A* I saw The Quiet American last week, and I wanted to do a quick review. Faithful to the Graham Greene novel, on which the film is based, it's a complicated movie with characters that are both flawed and heroic. Contrary to Miramax's fears, the movie is _not_ anti-American or unpatriotic-- still, it's a film worth seeing at this time of renewed American adventurism. Michael Caine and Brendan Fraser give exceptional performances, and the production design is faithful to the period, without getting nostalgic, ala Auto Focus and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.... - Shoot the Weather-people
OK, so I spent the weekend in Albany, at an interstate Courtyard by Marriott, because I met my parents there (half-way between Boston & Buffalo). I went swimming, shopped at the monstrous Crossgates Mall, and saw The Recruit. This was all fine. Until I had to decide what to do about the coming storm... Albany Dan was coming back from New York, and I wanted to go out and have some drinks... so we checked with the Weather Channel, and they seemed to think that the storm wouldn't start pounding New England until the afternoon, monday. LIARS! I left Albany... - Holiday Movies Roundup
Ok, I have no desire to truly review all of the movies that I've seen in the past few weeks, especially given Tbone's new and detailed reviews. But I would like to quickly say a few things about a few movies: Lord of the Rings Review: A+ Simply put, the best movie of the year. Viggo Mortensen should be a star the likes of which we haven't seen since Harrison Ford. Peter Jackson did a much better job the second time around, and I am only looking forward to the third film. Catch Me if You Can Review: A I... - Radio Cure
Review: A I enjoyed reading Tbone's review of the Wilco movie, I am Trying to Break Your Heart, and I'm glad to see someone else writing reviews on Suckahs. It's odd that a band like Wilco can generate so much buzz in the industry and among critics, yet remain a band with a small (but very dedicated) following. Despite some video rotation and buzz in 1994 on MTV, who sold Wilco in 1994 as an alternative-country act, they never really broke out. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is, in every measurable way, an extraordinary album. Yet, why can't I stand to listen... - Far From Heaven
Review: A+ Julianne Moore has always represented something peculiar to me-- an actress who get all the best roles, but rarely convinces me that she's worthy of that right. Case in point: Her accent in the Big Lebowski was downright irritating, have you seen the Shipping News(?), and the deal was sealed when she stepped into Jodie Foster's shoes in Hannibal. Yet people run around saying that she should be a nominated for 4 best-actress oscars every year. Well, let me temper my anger, because I've just watched Todd Haynes' masterfully written and directed Far From Heaven, starring Moore and... - Punch Drunk Love
Review: A+ This film is being sold in trailers as showing a radically different Adam Sandler... I believe Roger Ebert said that he couldn't look at an Adam Sandler movie the same way after this. Well, I don't think it's a totally new character for Sandler, but I agree that Punch Drunk Love both refines and expands on the funny nice-guy he's played in the past, while offering a new tarnished dimension. Sandler's character, Barry Egan, is a shy, slightly obsessive-compulsive, easily-spooked business owner, with 7 annoying passive-aggressive sisters who constantly pepper him with insults and drive him to... - Red Dragon
Quick review: B+ Red Dragon is enjoyable, even though Anthony Hopkins' performance is ridiculously irrelevant and even caricatured. Edward Norton, Emily Watson and Ralph Fiennes all turn in their usual excellent performances. Watson shines as a blind love-interest for the crazy serial killer, creepily played by Ralph Fiennes, who shows off his uncut member on film for the thousandth time... Norton does the laid-back intensity thing so well-- whereas fear almost seethed from Jodie Foster in her encounters with Hannibal, Norton looks almost bored by the old man. And who wouldn't be by now? Hopkins himself seems to be phoning... - Igby Goes Down
Review: A-I was excited last week when I walked into my neighborhood coffeehouse, and saw a stack of free movie passes on the counter. As it turns out, the free movie this time around was one I was looking forward to watching... Igby Goes Down. I really liked this movie-- it's brutally funny, despite the drugs, sex, and a jeff goldblum crotch shot (with his boxers on, mind you). When we were in New York City last, around the 4th of July, when it was 100 degrees, we all went to the Sunshine Cinema to see the Dangerous Lives of... - The Chelsea Hotel
Ethan Hawke has made a film called Chelsea Walls [WEBSITE] [VIEW TRAILER]. Jeff Tweedy of Wilco fame did the soundtrack, and the movie stars Uma Thurman, Kris Kristofferson, Vincent D'Onofrio & Natasha Richardson. The Chelsea Hotel used to be grand, the place to live for New York City artists. Mark Twain, Thomas Wolfe, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix; they all passed through the hotel's halls. Still, even though the iron facade has become rusty, new dreamers come every day, hoping to be inspired by the ghosts of the past.The film looks like the typical artsy-talky wankfest that...
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