Of all movie genres, horror and comedy are the hardest to do right and the easiest for which to judge effectiveness. The barometer of a successful horror movie is this question: “Was it scary?” The barometer of a successful comedy is this one: “Was it funny?” Of course, once you can answer those questions … Continue reading
Joan Rivers is funny. I’m sorry, is that a controversial position? Because I honestly don’t know. I don’t know if it is, and I don’t know why it should be. I do hear things from time to time from various media outlets that indicate that there’s some significant backlash against her, and the documentary … Continue reading
What makes The Kids Are All Right such a special movie are the details. Director Lisa Cholodenko, who wrote the script with Stuart Blumberg, has an impressive knack for knowing how to indicate character and story with the tiniest gestures and visual cues, sometimes giving important moments just a brief second of screen time, … Continue reading
I don’t know if anyone’s mentioned this before, but that Angelina Jolie, boy, she is one striking lady. She really does have an uncanny ability to command the camera when she steps in front of one. In her new movie Salt, the effect is magnified, seeing as how she happens to be standing in … Continue reading
Cyrus was the only movie-going experience I could think up to follow Inception. In that spirit, the only quality that Cyrus has in common with Inception is that both movies had me going, and I can’t say that I could tell for sure where either one was going, right up until the very end. … Continue reading
Inception is a movie that will be talked about for years. There will be a lot of comparisons thrown around the second it hits theaters. People will strain to define it. Here are some of the movies that will come up (or have already been name-checked, in the advance reviews): Blade Runner. The Matrix. … Continue reading
I’m automatically endeared to a movie that creates a believable environment. I like a movie that takes me places I’ve never personally been – even if they’re places which I don’t really want to go. Winter’s Bone is that kind of a movie. It drops you directly into Missouri’s stark and distinctly rural Ozark … Continue reading
From July 9th through the 27th, the Film Society of Lincoln Center is screening an epic film series called “The Complete Clint Eastwood,” which will showcase many of Clint’s starring roles and the majority of his directing work. This is a New-York-specific event, but what I’m about to write will hopefully be of interest to … Continue reading
First things first: The Predators have Predator dogs now. I just want to say that it warms my heart to know that Predators are dog people. If it had turned out that they were into cats, I don’t know that I could take them as seriously. Their main competitors, the Aliens, are sweet on … Continue reading
Chaw is a movie about a giant killer pig. Do you really need more? Chaw is a recent Korean film from director Shin Jung-Won that screened as part of the 2010 New York Asian Film Festival. Why is it called Chaw? I don’t know. It’s Korean. We may not need to ask such … Continue reading