The story of a youth who transcends the bland utopia of his world is a well thought out piece of dystopic sci-fi until the last act, when it goes off the rails and into the realm of fantasy – thoroughly undermining itself.
Category: Movie Reviews
TMNT Sparkles When Nothing’s Happening!
Here’s a first – when Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles lets the Turtles be teenaged guys, the film is strikingly funny and even, at times, endearing. When the story takes over it gets boring really quickly.
The Hundred-Foot Journey From Culture Clash To Multicultural Harmony!
The Hundred-Foot Journey is kind of an opposite of recent sleeper hit The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – an Indian family comes to Western Europe and cultures clash. A superb cast and some really elegant food make for an intriguing recipe.
About Alex: The Little Chill!
A failed suicide attempt leads to a reunion of old friends in About Alex, a quietly intense little film about life, love and the false intimacy created by modern telecommunications.
Guardians of the Galaxy Is Gamora Approved!
This evening’s advance screening of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy was notable for two things: 1 – it is, undeniably, the movie of the summer and 2 – in attendance was a very beautiful, very green young woman who, as I listened, filled her boyfriend in on the complete history of Gamora. After the movie, […]
Lucy Is a Magnificent Mess!
No one has ever accused Luc Besson of being a master filmmaker – despite gems like Léon: the Professional, La Femme Nikita and The Fifth Element. Part of that is because he likes to juxtapose things that are utterly real with things that are utterly ridiculous. Usually, that means putting a down-to-earth old school spy […]
Another Day, Another Curmudgeon Becomes Lovable – And So It Goes!
It’s a story we’ve seen many times before: curmudgeon (of not the lovable variety) succeeds in business while keeping himself in self-exile through a cloak of bitterness until a kid or a woman (sometimes both, as in this case) come into his life, break down his walls and reveal the wonderful person underneath. Usually, the […]
Le Carré’s A Most Wanted Man Makes the Mundane Matter!
In real life, espionage is not glamorous. It’s like police work – mostly plodding detail work and following up and generally boring ninety-nine percent of the time. John le Carré worked in that field long enough that when he writes about it, he writes with a real understanding of mechanics of the spy game. His […]
Wish I Was Here: What Becomes of Dreams?
Wish I Was Here is the movie that Zach Braff partially funded from Kickstarter. He wanted to do that so he could make the movie he wanted – and it’s several steps up from his decent but not quite wonderful Garden State. This is a movie about a man who has wake up and realise […]
Words and Pictures: If a Picture’s Worth a Thousand Words, What Are a Thousand Words Worth?
An alcoholic English teacher faces off against a partially disabled artist in a challenge to discover which is more powerful – a piece of art, or a piece of prose or poetry. Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche play the agreeably disagreeable pair as they set out to win their students to their respective views.
Sex Tape Is What You Might Expect – Fast, Loud and Very Intermittently Hilarious!
Annie writes a ‘mommy blog’ and her latest entry is bemoaning the lack of opportunities to have sex with her husband and recalling the way they screwed like bunnies when they were first together. One night she gets the kids off to Grandma’s place for a sleepover, but she and Jay can’t quite get things […]