Search Irreviews
-
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
Category Archives: 2009
I Love You, Man – a really good comedy about male friendship
I Love You, Man explores male friendship with humor and dignity I Love You, Man is an example of that rare beast: a modern, non-intellectual comedy that is not a parade of sub-moronic comic cliches, unbridled crassness, obnoxious stereotyping, and … Continue reading
Posted in 2009
Leave a comment
Cold Souls – a postmodern downer in sheep’s clothing
I am not a fan of Charlie Kaufman-type movies, but I went to see this film because I really like Paul Giamatti. I am also fond of Emily Watson and David Strathairn, so I figured: what the hell. After all, … Continue reading
Posted in 2009
Leave a comment
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
Leave a comment
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
Leave a comment
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
Leave a comment
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
Leave a comment
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
Leave a comment
State of Play – Good Stuff
The wrap on this film, according to reviewers, is that it doesn’t hold up to the classics in the genera. Are they kidding? Okay, it is not at the level of the best 1970’s political dramas, but compared to what … Continue reading
Posted in 2009
Leave a comment
Adventureland – it’s like flat Coke
Without Kristen Stewart, Adventureland would be unbearable. With her, it is still a major disappointment. Everyone seems to be giving this thing good reviews – what am I missing here? First off, in a movie like this music is very … Continue reading
Posted in 2009
Leave a comment
Sunshine Cleaning – a good little indie film!
The New York Times is so full of shit. They trashed this film and loved Duplicity, but I’m telling you it is a fun, well-made little indie film. It’s not great, but it is good. Amy Adams is an actress … Continue reading
Posted in 2009
Leave a comment
Irreviews 