Looper
In 2074, time travel is possible but it’s outlawed. This however doesn’t stop the mob from sending their targets 30 years back into the past. This is where specialized assassins called loopers wait to kill and cleanly get rid of a body that technically doesn’t exist. One day Joe must “close the loop” and finish […]
End of Watch
Two beat cops are partners as well as buddies. Together they serve and protect South Central Los Angeles. One is married, the other has just met a girl. In their regular patrolling of the area they routinely have entertaining conversations. Observe Jake Gyllenhaal as Officer Brian Taylor and Michael Peña as Officer Mike Zavala lob […]
Dredd
Note: Dredd is offered in a 3D version as well. As I feel that format (1) actually makes things look worse and (2) solely exists to charge $4 more for the very same film, I watched this in the clearer, brighter, and less expensive 2D. Dredd is a character featured in British science-fiction oriented 2000 […]
The Master
Let me first preface my review by saying, I am a fan of director Paul Thomas Anderson. Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love, There Will Be Blood: I’ve found something interesting in everything he’s ever done. Needless to say my expectations for his latest opus, The Master, were high. Unfortunately I’m sad to report, […]
Arbitrage
A powerful Wall Street hedge-fund executive seeks to sell his trading company to bigwig banker James Mayfield. In order to get the best price, Robert Miller struggles to hide the precarious position his once healthy business empire now holds. He does so with questionable practices that threaten to destroy the lives of his investors as […]
Samsara
Samsara is a wonder to behold. The Sanskrit word means “continuous flow”, the repeating cycle of birth, life, death and reincarnation. This non-verbal documentary was filmed over four years in 25 countries around the world across 5 continents by director/cinematographer Ron Fricke. Baraka was Fricke‘s 1992 experimental cinema that covered much of the same territory. […]
Kaboom
Gregg Araki is a polarizing filmmaker. He’s guaranteed to alienate at least slightly conservative tastes even before we begin to make sense of the plot. On the one hand, Kaboom is a frivolous comedy highlighted by the warm glow of a brightly colored visual palette. The enthusiastic, youthful cast engenders a playful mood that attracts […]
Sleepwalk with Me
Mike Birbiglia is a brave guy. The comedian wrote, directed, and stars in Sleepwalk with Me, yet he’s not afraid to portray himself as a first class jerk. This independent comedy is a caustic tale seemingly based on his own life, an intensely personal statement. This motion picture had humble beginnings in 2008 as a […]
Robot & Frank
Frank is suffering from dementia. We discover this as we follow him through his daily routine. He says he’s going to Harry’s which is a restaurant that has been closed for a long time. It’s now a froufrou bath products store. He asks his son, Hunter, How’s Princeton?, a school he graduated from 15 years […]