SUBMARINE, a delightful surprise from Wales, takes the familiar coming-of-age tale and gives it an approach so original as to make the familiar seem fresh. The protagonist, Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts) is painfully self-aware and deliciously oblivious, a hopeless romantic when it comes to the coolly ironic Jordana Bevan (Yasmin Paige), and a cynical observer… Read More »
BAD TEACHER
Many actresses seek to prove their acting chops by removing their makeup, frumping their wardrobes, and otherwise de-emphasizing their most glamorous assets in roles that call for them to emote high drama while being noble. In BAD TEACHER, Cameron Diaz slathers on the eyeliner and lipstick, hikes her tight skirts to dizzying heights, and wipes… Read More »
THE DEVIL’S DOUBLE
As evidenced by the continuing popularity from the histories of Suetonius on down to the modern tabloid, bad behavior among the rich, famous, and/or powerful is a source of endless fascination for the rest of us. That being the case, there is a built-in magnet for THE DEVILS DOUBLE, based on the life of Iraqi… Read More »
TALK TO HER (HABLE CON ELLA)
Spains Pedro Almodovar has become a darling of world cinema with his absurdist take on the battle of the sexes. In dissecting what it is that draws us together and drives us apart, he doesnt exaggerate the situation so much as show his characters acting as insanely as any of us would, given half the… Read More »
BULLET TO THE HEAD
It was a gutsy thing to do casting Jason Momoa as the villain in BULLET TO THE HEAD, what with star Sylvester Stallone obviously being under the impression that he is still in his action-hero prime, and Momoa being all that Stallone ever was and a whole lot more. Momoa, all musky charisma and bulging… Read More »
FAHRENHEIT 9/11
It has been said that Harriet Beecher Stowe helped start the Civil War with her novel, Uncle Toms Cabin, which enumerated the evils of slavery in shocking detail to a nation that had all but turned a blind eye to what was known as the peculiar institution. It may just be the idealist in my… Read More »
TEAM AMERICA — WORLD POLICE
TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE is a scatter shot film that forces one to ponder who, exactly, the target audience is. Ten-year-olds whose potty training went badly? Others whose emotional and intellectual development was arrested for that or any of a multitude of other reasons? Ultimately the only certainty is that this flick is yet another… Read More »
CONSTANTINE
I can see where CONSTANTINE, based on the graphic novel Hellblazer, might have seemed like a good idea for a movie. Good versus evil on a cosmic scale, special effects whipping across the screen with a wild abandon not unlike the whirlwind to be found in the second circle of Hell, and a cynical anti-hero… Read More »
HOSTAGE
There are two things that viewers of HOSTAGE, the latest film starring and co-starring Bruce Willis, can be grateful for. One, most of it takes place is a spectacular mansion that is visually stunning. Two, we dont have to see Mr. Willis naked again. Theres a tattoo on his person that he displayed in THE… Read More »
SIN CITY
SIN CITY is not for the faint of stomach. It may or may not be for the faint of heart, either, but there is such a solid, irresistible core of romanticism anchoring the interrelated tales that loosely form the narrative, that true believers in true love might be able to get past the part where… Read More »