How painful must a historical reenactment be in order for it to establish authenticity? This was a question I had while watching 12 Years a Slave, director Steve McQueen’s follow-up to his devastating Shame. His latest tells the story of Solomon, played by Chiwetel Ejiofer, a free black man living with his wife and family in 1841. His skill as a violinist is noted by two white … [Read more...] about 12 YEARS A SLAVE New Movie Review
Film Critique
ABOUT TIME New Movie Review
About Time has one of the most intriguing opening scenes of the year. A young man named Tim (played by Domhnall Gleeson) is single, looking for love and has just turned 21. His Dad (Bill Nihy) summons him to his office and sits him down for a serious father-son chat. But instead of offering advice on life, girls or a career, Dad reveals that all the men in the family can time … [Read more...] about ABOUT TIME New Movie Review
JACKASS PRESENTS BAD GRANDPA New Movie Review
Sometimes being a movie critic is simply acting as a reporter and informing the reader what experience the movie in question has to offer. With comedies like Austin Powers, Napoleon Dynamite, and, yes, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa, I wouldn’t be doing my job without admitting right away that the audience and I laughed a great deal. In fact, I took my friend Tom with me and, … [Read more...] about JACKASS PRESENTS BAD GRANDPA New Movie Review
THE COUNSELOR New Movie Review
You know you're watching a film noir when the main character is presented with two choices and never picks the right one. Of course, if people in movies did the right thing, made the correct, morally responsible decisions and acted like good, upstanding citizens, we wouldn't have a movie. In Ridley Scott's The Counselor, Michael Fassbender stars in the title role of a … [Read more...] about THE COUNSELOR New Movie Review
MACHETE KILLS New Movie Review
There’s a website I love called Trailersfromhell.com, in which famous directors showcase their favorite coming attractions previews. Someone like Guillermo Del Toro or John Landis introduces and narrates a two-minute trailer, telling their personal experiences or the back story of the film in question. Sometimes, the filmmakers choose trailers for the likes of Rosemary’s Baby … [Read more...] about MACHETE KILLS New Movie Review