Devil
It’s telling that when Devil’s trailer debuted in theaters, the tag line “From the mind of M. Night Shyamalan” elicited laughter. On the plus side, it’s the most satisfying thing the director has developed since Signs. (He’s the producer here) Unfortunately that isn’t saying much given his track record. 5 strangers are trapped in an […]
Rabbit Hole
Penetrating character study of a couple who has suffered the accidental death of their 4 year old son. In events and conversations, we grasp the depth of their loss gradually, layer by layer as they reveal their innermost thoughts. Some explicitly, but some, even more heartbreakingly, implicitly by their actions. The brilliance of the story […]
Blue Valentine
Emotionally draining portrait of a couple in crisis. Dean books a romantic night in a hotel in an attempt to save his faltering marriage. In touching vignettes both past and present, we see a love story unfold through the good and the not so good times. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams are absorbing as the […]
Flash Gordon
It’s difficult to judge a film trying so hard be ridiculously bad. Do you knock it for its cheesiness or do you celebrate it for its fun? I choose the latter as this always entertaining, never boring, update of the comic strip from the 1930s, manages to entertain by sheer spectacle. Flash is hijacked to […]
Tangled
An elderly witch kidnaps a baby princess possessing hair with the magical power to heal so that the aging woman might stay youthful forever. Update of the Brothers Grimm fairytale Rapunzel is among the most strikingly beautiful (and expensive) animated films ever made. Rapunzel’s hair is a technologically glowing blonde marvel and those thousands of […]