Movie Review: Much Ado About Nothing
Expectations are a funny thing, and they almost always get the better of us. Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing is a craftily made Shakespeare adaptation with great performances all around, but you would do well to expect more Bard, less Whedon. That Whedon was able to make this adaptation on a micro-budget, film it … Read more
Movie Review: The Story of Luke (Guest Post)
In Alonso Mayo’s debut film The Story of Luke, Luke (Lou Taylor Pucci), a twenty-five-year-old autistic man, grew up never knowing his parents. His mother abandoned him when he was young, and he never knew his father. He was raised and sheltered by his grandparents. After his grandmother dies, he finds himself living alongside his … Read more
Movie Review: Quartet
Quartet is a quiet drama-comedy that tells the story of four older men and women living at Beecham House, a home for retired musicians, and their struggle to maintain their identities as they reach old age. Well-known as a prolific and successful actor, Dustin Hoffman decided to step behind the camera for Quartet, his first … Read more
Movie Review: Elza (Le bonheur d’Elza)
Elza (also known as Le bounheur d’Elza) is a semi-autobiographical independent drama about a young French woman and her search to find her estranged father in Guadaloupe. Directed and co-written by Mariette Monpierre, the movie is notable for being first narrative film by a female Guadeloupean director However, despite the promise of a highly personal, … Read more
Movie Review: The Promised Land (Guest Post)
When I saw the first TV spots for Promised Land back in late November, I mostly ignored the actual content of the advertisement in favor of the text that ran right after the title. It looked like this: That list of names got me all hot and bothered. Notoriously hit-or-miss director Gus Van Sant (Good … Read more
Movie Review: Not Fade Away
While I am an avid HBO original series enthusiast (Rome, Deadwood, etc.), I admit never got acquainted with David Chase’s The Sopranos. I remember the show’s rise and its subsequently immense popularity, but I was too young at the time to start watching and I haven’t found the time to since. In any case, Chase … Read more
Movie Review: Cloud Atlas (Guest Post)
After seeing Cloud Atlas, I completely understood why it received such mixed reviews from critics. From the moment the film opens, it is immediately apparent that it is no ordinary Hollywood story. But does the risk of “uniqueness” make or break the film? Personally, I believe it was a brilliant choice. I can definitely say audiences … Read more
Movie Review: Lincoln
Lincoln could have been a terrible film. Steven Spielberg has little left to prove at this point, having directed some of the very best genre films ever made. As if to confirm my fears about the film, the first trailer for Lincoln sported cheesy melodramatic dialogue hammed up by a boring stock orchestral track. Sitting down at … Read more
Movie Review: The Big Picture
“You can hide from your past, but you can never erase it.” With that simple tagline, it becomes clear that The Big Picture is a movie we’ve seen before: a successful man does something unspeakable, and spends a good deal of time trying to bury his transgression. It is unfortunate that director Eric Lartigau, who … Read more
Movie Review: Argo
Ben Affleck has had a strange career. As far back as his early films with Kevin Smith (Chasing Amy, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back), he’s taken a lot of flack for his acting. But the moment he got behind the camera with Gone Baby Gone, audiences and critics put away their complaints as they … Read more
