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Zoom STOKER 2 stars out of 4 There will inevitably be those who defend Stoker by claiming anyone dismissing the film “just doesn’t get it.” In this case, they would be right, since celebrated South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-Wook (Oldboy, Thirst) has been saddled with a story that makes absolutely no sense. Wentworth Miller, best known as an actor in the TV series Prison Break, has written a script that for some baffling reason was on 2010′s “Black List” of the best unproduced screenplays. READ FULL REVIEW HERE

STOKER

2 stars out of 4

There will inevitably be those who defend Stoker by claiming anyone dismissing the film “just doesn’t get it.” In this case, they would be right, since celebrated South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-Wook (Oldboy, Thirst) has been saddled with a story that makes absolutely no sense. Wentworth Miller, best known as an actor in the TV series Prison Break, has written a script that for some baffling reason was on 2010′s “Black List” of the best unproduced screenplays.

READ FULL REVIEW HERE

04.07.13 ♥ 2
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Zoom SMALL APARTMENTS 3 stars out of 4 Swedish director Jonas Åkerlund, who made his name back in the 90′s with music videos for artists like Prodigy and Madonna, hasn’t exactly had a smooth cross-over into the realm of feature filmmaking. With only two movies to his name, 2002′s hyperkinetic but ultimately hollow drug satire Spun and 2009′s Horseman, a serial killer dud starring Dennis Quaid, Åkerlund has struggled to find his voice away from the music video world. With his latest feature Small Apartments, it’s clear that the prospect for commercial or critical success is nil, seeing as the movie is being dumped directly to video after screening at 2012′s SXSW festival. It should be said right away that this is one polarizing affair, but that also infers people will actually see it. READ FULL REVIEW HERE

SMALL APARTMENTS

3 stars out of 4

Swedish director Jonas Åkerlund, who made his name back in the 90′s with music videos for artists like Prodigy and Madonna, hasn’t exactly had a smooth cross-over into the realm of feature filmmaking. With only two movies to his name, 2002′s hyperkinetic but ultimately hollow drug satire Spun and 2009′s Horseman, a serial killer dud starring Dennis Quaid, Åkerlund has struggled to find his voice away from the music video world. With his latest feature Small Apartments, it’s clear that the prospect for commercial or critical success is nil, seeing as the movie is being dumped directly to video after screening at 2012′s SXSW festival. It should be said right away that this is one polarizing affair, but that also infers people will actually see it.

READ FULL REVIEW HERE

03.21.13 ♥ 1
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Zoom SIDE EFFECTS 3 stars out of 4 Steven Soderbergh is a chameleon-like filmmaker with an incredible body of work spanning multiple genres. From his 1989 indie breakthrough Sex, Lies, and Videotape, to his more mainstream successes such as Erin Brockovich and The Ocean series, Soderbergh’s work radiates intelligence and quality. If anything, his Hollywood movies give him the financial ability to fund his more avant-garde stuff, such as 2005′s Bubble and 2009′s The Girlfriend Experience. Both of those, as well as entries such as 1991′s Kafka and 1996′s Schizopolis, reveal Soderbergh as a director both intrigued by what constitutes the fringes of indie cinema as well as the deconstruction of genre tropes. READ FULL REVIEW HERE


SIDE EFFECTS

3 stars out of 4

Steven Soderbergh is a chameleon-like filmmaker with an incredible body of work spanning multiple genres. From his 1989 indie breakthrough Sex, Lies, and Videotape, to his more mainstream successes such as Erin Brockovich and The Ocean series, Soderbergh’s work radiates intelligence and quality. If anything, his Hollywood movies give him the financial ability to fund his more avant-garde stuff, such as 2005′s Bubble and 2009′s The Girlfriend Experience. Both of those, as well as entries such as 1991′s Kafka and 1996′s Schizopolis, reveal Soderbergh as a director both intrigued by what constitutes the fringes of indie cinema as well as the deconstruction of genre tropes.

READ FULL REVIEW HERE

03.17.13 ♥ 1
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Zoom SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK 3 stars out of 4 The secret to understanding David O. Russell’s latest film is realizing that, despite early hints that it may be something edgier, Silver Linings Playbook is basically a stripped down version of a romcom. This is not really a negative criticism of the film, nor is it an indictment of the genre as a whole. Yes, romcoms have been notoriously shitty, what with all of the Adam Sandler turds clogging up the cinematic toilet in recent years, but if done well, the conventions can be very satisfying. READ FULL REVIEW HERE

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

3 stars out of 4

The secret to understanding David O. Russell’s latest film is realizing that, despite early hints that it may be something edgier, Silver Linings Playbook is basically a stripped down version of a romcom. This is not really a negative criticism of the film, nor is it an indictment of the genre as a whole. Yes, romcoms have been notoriously shitty, what with all of the Adam Sandler turds clogging up the cinematic toilet in recent years, but if done well, the conventions can be very satisfying.

READ FULL REVIEW HERE

02.02.13 ♥ 2
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Zoom DJANGO UNCHAINED 2.5 stars out of 4 When discussing a new film by Quentin Tarantino, it inevitably becomes a situation where one ends up reviewing Quentin Tarantino more than the actual movie itself. This is because unlike any other filmmaker in recent memory, save for perhaps Martin Scorsese or Paul Thomas Anderson, Tarantino has an unparalleled ability to put his own individual stamp upon his work. Granted, Scorsese has worked in a variety of genres with tremendous range, while Anderson is still developing his thematic preoccupations, but both are directors who make films only they could have made. Call it the auteur theory or what have you, but  for better or worse, Tarantino belongs in this discussion. Unlike the aforementioned filmmakers, though, Tarantino seems stuck within his own created universe of pastiche fanboyism. READ FULL REVIEW HERE

DJANGO UNCHAINED

2.5 stars out of 4

When discussing a new film by Quentin Tarantino, it inevitably becomes a situation where one ends up reviewing Quentin Tarantino more than the actual movie itself. This is because unlike any other filmmaker in recent memory, save for perhaps Martin Scorsese or Paul Thomas Anderson, Tarantino has an unparalleled ability to put his own individual stamp upon his work. Granted, Scorsese has worked in a variety of genres with tremendous range, while Anderson is still developing his thematic preoccupations, but both are directors who make films only they could have made. Call it the auteur theory or what have you, but  for better or worse, Tarantino belongs in this discussion. Unlike the aforementioned filmmakers, though, Tarantino seems stuck within his own created universe of pastiche fanboyism.

READ FULL REVIEW HERE

01.31.13 ♥ 3
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Zoom THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY 3 stars out of 4 When director Peter Jackson won the Best Picture and Director Oscar for 2003′s Return of the King, it was the first time a movie in the fantasy genre had snagged the top prize, which signaled a paradigm shift within the industry. It proved two things; one, that these kinds of movies could be made on a large scale and deliver with audiences at the box office and two, that critics could actually take this kind of thing seriously.  READ FULL REVIEW HERE

THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY

3 stars out of 4

When director Peter Jackson won the Best Picture and Director Oscar for 2003′s Return of the King, it was the first time a movie in the fantasy genre had snagged the top prize, which signaled a paradigm shift within the industry. It proved two things; one, that these kinds of movies could be made on a large scale and deliver with audiences at the box office and two, that critics could actually take this kind of thing seriously. 

READ FULL REVIEW HERE

01.26.13 ♥ 2
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Zoom LES MISERABLES 1.5 stars out of 4 Les Misérables, translated from French, can be read as “The Miserable Ones”, “The Wretched Poor”, and “The Victims”, which, ironically, are all apt descriptions for sitting through this nearly unbearable adaptation of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s musical, based upon Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel. READ FULL REVIEW HERE

LES MISERABLES

1.5 stars out of 4

Les Misérables, translated from French, can be read as “The Miserable Ones”, “The Wretched Poor”, and “The Victims”, which, ironically, are all apt descriptions for sitting through this nearly unbearable adaptation of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s musical, based upon Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel.

READ FULL REVIEW HERE

01.15.13 ♥ 2
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Zoom THIS MUST BE THE PLACE 3.5 stars out of 4 This Must Be The Place is a complete marvel of a movie, employing a patchwork of genres—from eccentric character study to a Nazi hunting-road trip movie—that continuously upends expectations. For here’s a film from well respected Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino (II Divo) that has ambition and oddness to spare, as well as having the fortitude to cast Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn in a role that has him doing a veritable homage to Robert Smith of The Cure. READ FULL REVIEW HERE


THIS MUST BE THE PLACE

3.5 stars out of 4

This Must Be The Place is a complete marvel of a movie, employing a patchwork of genres—from eccentric character study to a Nazi hunting-road trip movie—that continuously upends expectations. For here’s a film from well respected Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino (II Divo) that has ambition and oddness to spare, as well as having the fortitude to cast Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn in a role that has him doing a veritable homage to Robert Smith of The Cure.

READ FULL REVIEW HERE

12.18.12 ♥ 0
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Zoom FLIGHT 2 stars out of 4 Flight, the new film from celebrated director Robert Zemeckis, will undoubtedly receive strong reviews from critics and maybe even snag a few Academy Award nominations. First of all, it’s got an impeccable pedigree. Zemeckis, for one, has directed some of the most successful films of all time, including the Back To The Future series, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Forrest Gump, while A-list movie star Denzel Washington has delivered a string of powerhouse performances in movies like Glory, Malcolm X, and Training Day. READ FULL REVIEW HERE 

FLIGHT

2 stars out of 4

Flight, the new film from celebrated director Robert Zemeckis, will undoubtedly receive strong reviews from critics and maybe even snag a few Academy Award nominations. First of all, it’s got an impeccable pedigree. Zemeckis, for one, has directed some of the most successful films of all time, including the Back To The Future series, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Forrest Gump, while A-list movie star Denzel Washington has delivered a string of powerhouse performances in movies like Glory, Malcolm X, and Training Day.

READ FULL REVIEW HERE 



12.10.12 ♥ 0
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Zoom SKYFALL 3 stars out of 4 If Casino Royale was a Bond movie for those who generally don’t like Bond movies, and Quantum of Solace a Bond movie that nearly toppled the new Daniel Craig-starring franchise, than Skyfall is a Bond resurrection movie. Not that the plot is notably complex or anything; in fact, it’s pretty straightforward, centering on a stolen hard drive containing the names of NATO agents linked to terrorist organizations, but director Sam Mendes has injected the franchise with an artistic flair not seen in past outings. READ FULL REVIEW HERE


SKYFALL

3 stars out of 4

If Casino Royale was a Bond movie for those who generally don’t like Bond movies, and Quantum of Solace a Bond movie that nearly toppled the new Daniel Craig-starring franchise, than Skyfall is a Bond resurrection movie. Not that the plot is notably complex or anything; in fact, it’s pretty straightforward, centering on a stolen hard drive containing the names of NATO agents linked to terrorist organizations, but director Sam Mendes has injected the franchise with an artistic flair not seen in past outings.

READ FULL REVIEW HERE

12.05.12 ♥ 3
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