October 2008
38 posts
Doug Bentin on the “B” Attitudes: Ed Gein aka In...
What would Halloween be without discussing a “B” horror film? This essay includes a few spoilers, but nothing to get all hacked up about.
If black humor refuses to capitulate to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, it also refuses to take them seriously. We can only contemplate death soberly if there is some means of avoiding it. When faced with the inevitable, laugh, clown, laugh. And the more...
Gene Triplett Review: RocknRolla
Writer-director Guy Ritchie dives into the depths of the London underworld again and comes up with “RocknRolla,” another audacious crime comedy in the “Snatch” tradition that is brutally funny for its first 90 minutes before sinking under the weight of its own violent and profane excesses.
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George Lang Review: The Changeling
Clint Eastwood’s “Changeling” details a dark period in Los Angeles’ history, during which the city’s police department, fueled by corruption and inexhaustible bravado, botched the investigation of the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders, in which nearly 20 boys were abducted and killed.
At the center of “Changeling” is an unflinching performance by Angelina Jolie as a mother victimized by...
Kim Brown Review: High School Musical 3 Senior...
There’s no doubt about it. “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” might as well be called “The Zac Efron Show.” And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
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Michael Smith Review: The Changeling
Director Clint Eastwood and star Angelina Jolie go back in time with both their story and storytelling style in “Changeling,” the true tale of one woman’s search for her missing child and her fight against corrupt 1920s Los Angeles cops. What happened to Christine Collins was so shocking and offensive, no sensationalizing of the events was necessary. Eastwood instead...
Matt Price: Nolan gives "slippery answer" on third...
At the Hero Complex blog at the L.A. Times, director Christopher Nolan gives a somewhat unclear answer on whether or not he’s returning for a third “Batman” film:
Well … let me think how to put this. There are two things to be said. One is the emphasis on story. What’s the story? Is there a story that’s going to keep me emotionally invested for the couple of years that it...
Evan Derrick Review: Max Payne
At some point in the film, the titular Max Payne is forced to enter a spooky apartment in search of his ex-partner who may have Important Information about who really killed his family. Gun drawn, he whips around darkened corners, malicious shadows stalking him across the wallpaper, at which point my colleague turned to me and whispered, “Why don’t people ever turn on the lights?” Which makes...
Phil Bacharach DVD Review: Journey to the Center...
At one point in Journey to the Center of the Earth, our intrepid hero soaks in the computer-generated razzle-dazzle inside the core of our planet and muses with wonder, “Doesn’t this just completely blow your mind?”
Meh. Not so much. Sure, this 3-D riffing on Jules Verne’s 1864 sci-fi classic is good-natured, family-friendly fare, but ultimately the flick is too goofy to...
James Vance Review: My Father the Lord
The measured rhythms and heartbreaking story of “My Father My Lord” are not for the casual moviegoer, but those interested in serious cinema taken straight with no chaser will find much to appreciate.
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Kim Brown Review: Sex Drive
The teen comedy “Sex Drive” delivers cheap thrills, bawdy humor and one very sweet ride.
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James Cooper Review: W.
It is difficult to imagine a film based on the life of George W. Bush that would garner praise from the right. What would that film look like? The subject matter itself presents a bit of a quagmire for any filmmaker brave enough to take on such a daunting endeavor. The crucial question becomes how you make a movie about a man who comes across as a caricature of himself. Specifically, despite the...
Doug Bentin on the "B" Attitudes: Red Riding Hood
Here’s a question for the genuine movie buff to ponder: is a picture worth watching in its entirety just for the sake of a fascinating single moment? How much awful are you willing to tolerate for a flash of awesome? Is every movie worth sticking with all the way through the final reel just in case there’s a trick ending or blaze of acting glory that repays you for the 90 minutes you feel you’ve...
Michael Smith Review: The Secret Life of Bees
The characters who populate “The Secret Life of Bees” are full of grace. The soundtrack is soothing and soulful. The Southern Gothic setting drips with literate authenticity. The film is a fantasy most of the time, perhaps without realizing it, when it’s not portraying the harsh reality of 1964 South Carolina. The picture wants to be both, and that’s hard to do.
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George Lang Review: I Served the King of England
Those who seek out “I Served the King of England” will be wined and dined by Jiri Menzel’s epic Czech tale of a man made rich by circumstance and laid low by political naivete. But while all that might sound intimidating, there’s also cutting satire and choreography worthy of Busby Berkeley — thick helpings of farce that help illustrate an everyman’s odd and exhilarating life.
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George Lang Review: Max Payne
Measured against the low bar set by video game adaptations, “Max Payne” serves as a minor victory, boasting a discernable story, solid supporting performances and an aesthetic that owes just as much to film noir as it does to cut-rate “Matrix” effects. Yes, someone cared enough to make an actual movie based on a “third-person shooter” instead of just a series of slow-motion...
James Vance Review: The Life and Work of Dr....
The cult of the aging fratboy still celebrates Hunter S. Thompson for the drug-addled gun nut persona he cultivated at the height of his popularity. But as the new documentary “Gonzo” points out — the late writer’s wildman schtick was simply the delivery system for a complex and surprisingly melancholy set of values.
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Michael Smith Review: Body of Lies
Did you like “The Departed” enough to see it dressed up in Middle East attire?
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James Cooper Review: Religulous
Sinners, rejoice! Bill Maher has found religion!
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Evan Derrick Review: Religulous
Full disclosure: I take my faith fairly seriously, which places me squarely in the demographic that Bill Maher is attacking in his new documentary, Religulous. Given that, reviewing this film could be akin to a member of the Bush administration reviewing Fahrenheit 9/11 or an Orthodox Jew reviewing The Passion of the Christ. Read the following with a salt shaker close by.
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Clif' Warren Review: Nights in Rodanthe
“Nights in Rodanthe” re-teams Diane Lane and Richard Gere, who proved their on-screen chemistry in “The Cotton Club” years ago, and lately in “Unfaithful,” which won an Academy nomination for Lane as Best Actress in 2002. That chemistry still holds true.
Remaining faithful to the novel, George C. Wolfe has directed Lane and Gere in a beautifully told tale of a mid-life romance, for both...
Michael Smith Review: Religulous
Stack them up, says Bill Maher: Joseph Smith, Jews and Jesus can’t all be right, and they’re likely all a lot of hogwash. Put together religion and ridiculous and you get “Religulous,” the frequently hilarious anti-religion documentary by comic Bill Maher that is, depending on one’s opinion, an act of remarkable courage or stupidity.
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Michael Smith Review: City of Ember
“City of Ember” is a fun throwback to old-fashioned adventure movies. And yet, as a gloriously absent-of-special effects science- fiction fantasy, it feels like something pretty original for today’s tech-savvy young audiences.
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Kim Brown Review: Flash of Genius
After watching “Flash of Genius,” you’ll not look at your windshield wipers the same way again.
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James Vance Review: The Edge of Heaven
Beneath the generic old-Hollywood title that’s been slapped on for English language release, “The Edge of Heaven” is a fine and touching drama about love, responsibility and forgiveness in the face of heartbreaking loss.
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Brandy McDonnell Review: City of Ember
“City of Ember” feels like the type of old-fashioned, live-action family adventure Disney used to make before turning its focus to making every breed of dog talk onscreen. Instead, “City of Ember” comes from Walden Media, which specializes in family-friendly fare adapted from young adult books, and Playtone, Tom Hanks’ production company.
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George Lang Review: The Duchess
If it were a term paper on the life and influence of Georgiana Spencer, Saul Dibb’s “The Duchess” would get only a passing grade — too many elements of Spencer’s short life get short shrift in this 105-minute, boiled-down rendering. But thanks to Keira Knightley’s charismatic portrayal, there is just enough to send people to the books for a detailed history of the Whig Party’s dynamic damsel...
Michael Smith Review: The Express
It’s fair to say that Ernie Davis is one of the greatest sports heroes that most people have never heard of. “The Express” is a winning sports film that aims to enlighten those beyond the most avid, and most elder, of sports fans who know the name from having memorized a list of names, on which one can find, “Ernie Davis, winner of the Heisman Trophy, 1961.”
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The Movies I Love: Doug Bentin on Freaks
Freaks Freaks (MGM, 1932) was first released over 75 years ago. I think I’ve avoided giving away the movie’s biggest surprise, but there are a few fairly insignificant spoilers ahead.
Freaks is a movie that has to be seen either more than once, or not at all. It generates a kaleidoscope of reactions when seen for the first time, and it’s impossible to sort them all out with a single...
Evan Derrick: 10 Ways to Become a Better Film...
This article evolved from various observations, both fully-formed and fragmented, that had been swirling around in my noggin’ like some kind of primordial goo. I’ve discovered, retrospectively, that some are more valuable than others, but there is inherent value in the entire piece, since as all lists like this are wont to do, it provides a firestarter for discussion.
Fair warning:...
Gene Triplett, The Oklahoman, story on Michael...
Michael Cera and Kat Dennings really are the title characters they play in “Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist.”
He’s 20, and she’s 22, so they’re a bit past their high school years, but not so far beyond their teens that they’ve lost their love for indie rock and the downtown Manhattan clubs that blast it full volume well into the night. And the onscreen chemistry between the young stars...
Kim Brown Review: Nick and Norah's Infinite...
It’s official. The mix-tape is dead. But thanks to “Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist,” its spirit lives on, albeit in CD form. This lovely film is a throwback to those wonderful up-all-night teen comedies of the ’80s and ’90s like “Sixteen Candles” and “Dazed and Confused.”
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George Lang Review: Nick and Norah's Infinite...
“Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” looks like “Juno” but thinks like “Sixteen Candles.” This night ride through New York City’s indie rock culture is a strong showcase for stars Michael Cera and Kat Dennings, but then director Peter Sollett takes side trips into gross-out humor that don’t fit with Nick and Norah’s native intelligence.
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Phil Bacharach DVD Review: The Visitor
Richard Jenkins is one of those character actors you see often, and often take for granted. Whether it’s as the gay police detective in Flirting with Disaster or the deceased mortician in HBO’s defunct series Six Feet Under, Jenkins is one of Hollywood’s most dependable go-to character actors. It’s no wonder that he has been a favorite of such notable filmmakers as the Coen...
Michael Smith Review: Blindness
After creating motion pictures like “City of God” and “The Constant Gardener,” director Fernando Meirelles proved to be a filmmaker with vision, and that should have enlightened “Blindness,” a disappointing epidemic thriller about mankind’s frail nature.
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Gene Triplett Review: Appaloosa
Great Westerns are about as few and far between as desert watering holes these days. But Ed Harris has a firm grip on the reins of “Appaloosa” and the classic elements of the genre, even as he follows a left-handed fork in the dramatic trail to those thrilling days of yesteryear that John Ford and Howard Hawkes never chose to take.
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Brandy McDonnell Review: Flash of Genius
Greg Kinnear’s absorbing, unheroic portrayal of inventor Bob Kearns elevates “Flash of Genius” above the usual syrupy inspirational tales, turning the fact-based story into an engaging human drama.
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Cory Cheney Column: Urban Tulsa, 10-1-08
Eagle Eye is a mishmash of other movies that have come before it. It’s Wargames and 2001. It’s a prequel to The Terminator. It’s Short Circuit. It’s Enemy of the State.
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