1/2
This is an abridged version of a review I wrote for Christianity Today Movies. To read this review at its original source, click here.
Ever since Francis Ford Coppola abdicated the rights in 1974 after The Godfather II, no one has mastered the crime epic better than Michael Mann. It is still a source of profound amusement that the man responsible for the garish Miami Vice television series managed to cement a name for himself with some of the most brazenly intelligent action films made in the past several decades. Mann’s Heat (1995) is, in my opinion, flawless. There are certainly better films, but for my money, I wouldn’t change a thing about it, a compliment I pay very few movies. It’s inevitable that Mann’s latest film, Public Enemies, will be compared to that masterpiece and it is not an unfair comparison. Indeed, Mann seems to invite the association, making it impossible to ignore. [read more]
This review first appeared in The Colorado Springs Gazette. To read this review at its original source, click here.
My Sister’s Keeper is the sort of film that requires a pre-film checklist. Overpriced soda? Check. Overpriced popcorn? Check. Pocketful of tissues? Check. Based on the book by best-selling author Jodi Picoult, My Sister’s Keeper is directed by Nick Cassavetes who collaborated on the script with Jeremy Leven, both of whom were most recently responsible for opening the sluices of your tear ducts in The Notebook. This is not an indictment as it doubtless will be for some critics; as tragedy and tears are a part of life, they should also be a part of our entertainment. If My Sister’s Keeper feels melodramatic and contrived, it is, at least, sincerely so. [read more]
This review first appeared in The Colorado Springs Gazette. To read this review at its original source, click here.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen actually surprised me. It was not at all as bad as I thought it was going to be.
It was far, far worse. [read more]
I know it is not as fashionable to say this as it once was, but I love Woody Allen. After exiling himself to London and Barcelona for a handful of films, the native New Yorker has returned to his Manhattan roots where he belongs (which isn’t to say he didn’t make a couple of great films during his banishment). True, Allen is known to repeat himself, but when was the last time you turned down that particular red wine, that beloved vacation spot, or that favorite meal just because you didn’t want to repeat yourself? We come back to Allen for the same reason we return to anything we find irresistible — because we love it. But don’t mistake Whatever Works for a nostalgia piece. It was written nearly 30 years ago and recently dusted off. If it feels and sounds like old school Woody Allen, that’s because it is. [read more]
This review first appeared in The Colorado Springs Gazette. To read this review at its original source, click here.
Actor/director Harold Ramis is no Mel Brooks, though he tries in Year One, a hit-and-miss comedy that may have some wondering if we’ve already seen it all before (History of the World anyone?). Sardined full of funny actors and shot on convincing locations rather than the usual L.A. backlots, Year One has a lot going for it, but in the end simply prefers juvenilia over cleverness. [read more]
This review first appeared in The Colorado Springs Gazette. To read this review at its original source, click here.
A friend of mine described The Proposal as a cross between the sparkling, albeit conventional Devil Wears Prada and the more recent, completely mechanical New in Town. He’s exactly right. Still, despite its less than original pedigree, The Proposal is a perfect example of a predictable, formulaic script elevated by fine acting and palpable chemistry. [read more]
1/2
I’ve often said that we need fewer movies in which people fall in love and more in which we are introduced to characters already entrenched in devoted, complimentary relationships. Where is the movie that picks up after the romantic comedy ends? Away We Go is that movie, a beguiling dramedy both euphoric and heartbreaking. It’s been a long time since I’ve genuinely not wanted a film to end. For me, Away We Go is the year’s first contender for Best Picture. [read more]
This review first appeared in The Colorado Springs Gazette. To read this review at its original source, click here.
Imagine That and its young female star have something in common: they are both adorable. [read more]
1/2
This review first appeared in The Colorado Springs Gazette. To read this review at its original source, click here.
The original 1974 version of The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, on which this new film from director Tony Scott (Top Gun, Man on Fire) is based, is not exactly remembered as a classic. So why remake it? Or if you must, why not remake it smarter? Instead, 2009’s Pelham is a broad reinterpretation, missing even the limited social nuance embedded within the first film. Louder, faster and burdened by excessive stylistic flourishes, Pelham is the ultimate exercise in irrelevant redundancy. [read more]
Near the opening of The Hangover, four men gather on the rooftop of Caesar’s Palace, Sin City glittering like so much neon forbidden fruit below them. They are in Las Vegas to celebrate Doug’s (Justin Bartha) impending nuptials, or more accurately, see to it that his last night as a bachelor is as debauched as humanly possible. Flanked by his best friends Phil (Bradley Cooper) and Stu (Ed Helms), and his future brother-in-law Alan (Zach Galifianakis), Doug smiles naively while Phil lifts a shot glass heavenward and intones, “To a night we’ll never forget.” So much for that idea. [read more]
