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Recent Reviews
- Good Kill – An artistic exploration of drone assassinations
- Citizenfour – a fascinating and important topic, but a disappointing documentary
- Interstellar – Probably the best film of the year, certainly the most enjoyable!
- Laggies – a delightful little film about late-blooming misfits
- Two Days, One Night – it’s (almost) exactly what you expect it to be
- Whiplash – a disgusting, stupidly manipulative piece of absurdity.
- Still Alice – big stars, big production, but still just a Hallmark movie of the week
- Wild – it’s surprisingly well-made and fun to watch
- Black Sea – diverting, but sadly predictable
- Birdman (Or the Expected Emptiness of Pretension)
- Mr. Turner – Planet of the Ape
- The Imitation Game – It’s an abomination
- A Brief Word on the 2014 Oscar-Nominated Animated Shorts
- Kill The Messenger – The important and tragic story of Gary Webb, the mainstream media, and the CIA
- This is Where I Leave You – the latest in a long line of “family reunion” movies
- A review of summer cinema – it was pretty grim!
- The Trip to Italy – It never should have been made
- A Most Wanted Man – Superficially entertaining, but poorly-made and overrated
- Magic in the Moonlight – It’s pissing me off!
- The Purge: Anarchy – Surprisingly, it’s rather good
- I Origins – ambitious and entertaining
- Boyhood – a bit one dimensional, but its one dimension is lovely, impressive and fun to experience
- Obvious Child – cute, dignified and gutsy
- Snowpiercer – a fantastic, riveting science fiction action allegory
- Edge of Tomorrow – it’s fairly entertaining
- Begin Again – confronting the future of pop music head-on
- The Fault in Our Stars – not super-moving, but definitely enjoyable
- Hellion – a gritty tale of fucked up parents and children
- Night Moves – a cool, subtle portrayal of hippy-liberal activism turned violent
- Cold In July – an outstandingly fun and unusual film, and a paean for the 1980s
- Austenland – so horrible, I’m speechless
- Elena – 80 minutes of torture
- Lucky Them – Toni Collette takes center stage and lights up the screen!
- Belle – it means well, but God is it slow (and dull)
- Finding Vivian Maier – an okay documentary on a fascinating artist
- The German Doctor (Wakolda) – Diverting, but feels more than a little contrived
- Chef – it’s heart is in the right place
- Jodorowsky’s Dune – a bizarre and amazing documentary
- Hateship, Loveship – it goes down well
- Divergent – entertaining, but there’s a lot wrong with it
Author Archives: roguespirit
Julia & Julie – a really mixed bag
Emerging from the theater after seeing this film, my wife and I immediately concurred: Julia Child was right about Julie Powell. Here we have a person (Powell) who is essentially cooking as a stunt in order to get a book … Continue reading
Posted in 2009
Tagged 2010 Best Actress Nomination, A.O. Scott, Amy Adams, Julia & Julie, Julie Powell, Meryl Streep, Movie Review, Nora Ephron, Stanley Tucci
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In the Land of Women (2007) – a decent film that could have been great
In the Land of Women is a pretty good film. It could have been a great film. It had electrifying young leads: the warm and charismatic Adam Brody and the fabulous Kristen Stewart [editor’s note: this was before her acting took its … Continue reading
Posted in 2007
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Adam – a good “sunday night afliction movie”
This is a really good “movie of the week” about mental affliction – maybe the most enjoyable I’ve ever seen. But that’s all it is. This is not meant as a damning criticism, mind you. I enjoyed Adam, and I … Continue reading
Posted in 2009
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Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – so screwed up, it MUST be the product of market research
I don’t even know where to begin with this deeply disappointing film. I love the first 5 Potter films. They are warm, fun, endearing, well-written, exciting, with fabulous actors all around. They kept getting better, culminating in Order of the … Continue reading
Posted in 2009
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Mamma Mia – in its own way, it’s rather brilliant
Mamma Mia is obviously very light fair. There’s no need to see it if you don’t like ABBA songs, and even if you do you should also not have anything against silly musicals with almost no story. This film makes … Continue reading
Posted in 2008
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Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist – not un-enjoyable(!)
I love the story concept of Nick and Nora, and it is not un-enjoyable, I suppose (how’s that for a non-endorsement endorsement?) It has its moments, and it is cute and very earnest which tends to smooth over its problems … Continue reading
Posted in 2008
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Zack and Miri Make a Porno – when will the age of Seth Rogan finally run its course?
I do not understand the Seth Rogan industry. What is the appeal of this loosely connected collection of films by Rogan, Judd Apatow, and now Kevin Smith, all of which have plots born from a 7th grade boys locker room … Continue reading
Posted in 2008
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Sorcerer – Friedkin’s lost masterpiece … NOT!
Okay, so I think William Friedkin was in certain ways a fabulous film maker. Certainly The French Connection and To Live and Die in LA are landmarks, and the Exorcist, well either you like it or you don’t (it never … Continue reading
Posted in Films of the 1970s
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What About Me? – see it if you have the chance!
I saw a screening of this film at the Omega Institute this summer. It is a remarkable film by Jamie Catto and Duncan Bridgeman who comprise the “group” 1 Giant Leap. The film is 20% interview footage with various celebrities … Continue reading
Posted in 2009
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The Hangover – THIS is the sleeper hit of 2009???
First, Mike Tyson in a film is never a good idea. Second, the premise – that what these guys did is somehow all okay, normal and understandable – is revolting. Third, the comic timing of the actors is clunky, and … Continue reading
Posted in 2009
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