With his faux-documentary, TROLLHUNTER, filmmaker Andre Ovredal has pulled of the difficult trick of adding fantastic elements to reality and make it seem perfectly reasonable. Certainly the evocative landscape of his native Norway, craggy mountains and hushed valleys shrouded in mist and snow, give credence to the idea that trolls really do roam among the… Read More »
TROLLHUNTER
With his faux-documentary, TROLLHUNTER, filmmaker Andre Ovredal has pulled of the difficult trick of adding fantastic elements to reality and make it seem perfectly reasonable. Certainly the evocative landscape of his native Norway, craggy mountains and hushed valleys shrouded in mist and snow, give credence to the idea that trolls really do roam among the… Read More »
PARANORMAN
Laika Studios latest animated film, PARANORMAN, is a story with heart, soul, and a killer funny bone. The humor ranges from the broad to the subtle, and even ventures into that most dangerous of territories, the poignant, and it does so with a sure hand, backed up with an astounding feat of animation. Norman (Kodi… Read More »
WRECK-IT RALPH
WRECK-IT RALPH may be set in the world of video games, but its conceit is set firmly in the most classic of paradigms, the Hero’s Journey. The mythic realms are made of bits and bytes, but the landscapes are just as magical, just as forbidding, and the tasks nothing short of Herculean. Not that any… Read More »
MATRIX RELOADED, THE
As with all reviews of sequels, the first thing to get out of the way is how well this installment stands on its own. Answer, not at all. If you havent seen THE MATRIX, good luck making sense of whats going on. It wouldnt hurt to have seen the animation, LAST FLIGHT OF THE OSIRIS,… Read More »
X-MEN 2
Alas it is all too true that for the most part when it comes to filmed entertainment, we are forced to choose between spectacle and story. Think, for example, of the gulf between STAR WARS: ATTACK OF THE CLONES and THE PIANIST. X-MEN 2 presents us with a third option. First-rate and imaginative special effects… Read More »
CLAIRE
Milford Thomas CLAIRE is a subtle and bewitching work of art in which innocence has the same driving force and emotional impact as the cynical irony of so many contemporary films. This is a silent film made in the 21st century that captures that genre with a startling accuracy and a palpable reverence. Further, it… Read More »
MIRACLES — THE COMPLETE SERIES
The only bad thing about the release (finally) of the television series MIRACLES on DVD is that it becomes all the more apparent how criminally short-sighted ABC was giving such a raw deal to this enigmatic and challenging series during its all too brief run on that network. Seeing the seven episodes that were never… Read More »
DARKWING DUCK — THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON
He is the terror that flaps in the night. Gamely wading through sibilant-heavy consonance, a bevy of femmes fatale, and a crime-fighting style that depends more on dumb luck than critical thinking skills, Darkwing Duck wages an iffy battle against crime in St. Canard. With his looming sidekick, Launchpad, a precocious daughter, and trademark swirling… Read More »
THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES
THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES is that perfect nexus of childlike wonder and the terrors of the id. In other words, the perfect fairy tale that is about much more than the magical creatures, some of whom are cute, some of whom are anything but, and some of whom can be both, though rarely at the same… Read More »