MCN Originals Archive for May, 2011
Wilmington on Movies: Thor
THOR By Mike Wilmington Thor (Three Stars) U.S.: Kenneth Branagh, 2011 High on the endless spires and bridges of Asgard, plunged in a vast gloom in monumental, sinister “Viking Noir” decor, besieged by Frost Giants, and always in danger of tumbling into New Mexico, dwells the Odin family. Ah, the Odins! There…
Read the full article »The DVD Geek: The Black Swan
There is a natural grain in the cinematography that is preserved, for better or worse, in the image transfer. In that the entire world of the heroine may be crumbling about her, the grain seems appropriate, and after the first few minutes, it is no longer a bother. The DTS sound mix is excellent, and the directional effects are often chilling.
Read the full article »Wilmington on Movies: Bridesmaids
Bridesmaids (Three and a Half Stars) U.S.: Paul Feig, 2011 Kristen Wiig is one funny lady, and Bridesmaids — in which she is both star and co-writer — is one funny movie. That’s hardly news. “Bridesmaids” is one of the best reviewed, best liked Hollywood comedies of the year. By current consensus, it’s also…
Read the full article »The DVD Wrapup: The Rite, Araya, Freedom Riders, Shoeshine, Pale Flower, Solaris, The Other Woman, The Roommate …
The Rite: Blu-ray For movies about demonic possession to work, it helps that viewers either believe that Satan actually exists or that the filmmaker is able to convince us simply to suspend disbelief for the next two hours, or so. Although Mikael Hafstrom’s supernatural thriller, “The Rite,” doesn’t break much new ground on the subject…
Read the full article » 1 Comment »Wilmington on DVD, Picks of the Week: The Illusionist, Patton, Tracy & Hepburn: The Definitive Collection, Mon Oncle
PICK OF THE WEEK: NEW The Illusionist (Four Stars) France: Sylvain Chomet, 2010 (Sony Classics) In this wonderful feature cartoon, master old-style French animator Sylvain Chomet (The Triplets of Belleville) takes an unproduced Jacques Tati script about an aging magician (who looks and dresses just like Tati, with trench coat, hat, lanky frame and mildly distracted air),…
Read the full article »The Weekend Report: May 15, 2011
Thor was at the vanguard (and Asgard) of weekend movie sales with an estimated $32.9 million. The session also featured two new national releases with titular but not content links. The macha comedy Bridesmaids ranked second with $24.3 million while the 3D horror thriller Priest was a couple of notches behind with $14.4 million.
Read the full article » 2 Comments »Friday Estimates: May 13
Thor stays in the lead, but not by much as Bridesmaids is a step stronger than many expected. Priest, in any D, is not.
Read the full article »Review: Bridesmaids
Let’s get this out of the way right up front: I liked Bridesmaids, quite a lot. It’s true, generally speaking, that comedies about weddings tend to give me hives right from the trailer. But … this one was produced by Judd Apatow, and I actually like most of the films he’s been involved with. The…
Read the full article » 1 Comment »Review – Midnight in Paris Is Okay
In the 11 years of the new millennium, Woody Allen has made 11 films. Up until his latest, Midnight in Paris, one (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) is very, very good, but still couldn’t break into his personal Top 10 all-time. One is good (Match Point). And the other eight range from passable to horrible. The standard…
Read the full article » 45 Comments »The DVD Wrapup: Blue Valentine, Something Wild, Sledgehammer, Justin Bieber, Broken Hill …
Blue Valentine: Blu-ray No matter how joyous it is to watch love bloom, on and off screen, it’s that much more painful to watch it wither and die on the vine. It’s even worse, knowing children are trapped inside their parents’ mad world, as well. Long ago, John Cassavetes set the standard by which all…
Read the full article » 5 Comments »The DVD Geek: The King’s Speech
Near the beginning, there is a clever audio metaphor employed, as Firth’s character makes an embarrassingly halting speech over a cavernous public address system, and while it is perfectly effective on the DVD’s 5.1-channel Dolby Digital track, the moment is chillingly enhanced by the detail afforded through the DTS track on Anchor Bay’s Blu-ray.
Read the full article »The Weekend Report: May 8
The god of thunder – Thor – hammered an estimated $65.8 million to handily reign at the top of the weekend box office charts. The session also saw a pair of counter-programmers bow nationally with the sweetly romantic Something Borrowed slotting third with $13.2 million and Jumping the Broom a breath behind at $13 million.
Read the full article »At the TCM Classic Film Festival: From An American in Paris to Fantasia
The second edition of the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood…. It began and it ended in that most magical of all super-Hollywood movie palaces, Grauman‘s Chinese Theatre — with two great examples of the kind of things Hollywood does best: A classic Gene Kelly Hollywood Musical and a classic Walt Disney feature length cartoon: An…
Read the full article » 1 Comment »Wilmington on DVDs: The Dilemma, 12 Angry Men, Smiles of a Summer Night, The Green Hornet
PICK OF THE WEEK: NEW The Dilemma (Three Stars) U.S.: Ron Howard, 2011 (Universal) Vince Vaughn and Kevin James make a nice couple in The Dilemma, a buddy-comedy-drama (or maybe a drama-buddy-comedy) in which they play a couple of Chicago pals-since-college and business partners. Vaughn is fast-talking huckster Ronny Valentine and James is slower-talking design…
Read the full article » 1 Comment »Friday Estimates: May 6
Thor hammered his way to a $25 million Friday landing him somewhere between Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk. Fast Five leads the rest of the pack even with a big drop from last week.
Read the full article »Friday Estimates by Klady
Thor – $25.5m Fast Five – $10.5m Something Borrowed – $4.7m Jumping The Broom – $4.1m Rio – $1.9m So the domestic number on Thor may be more dead on than it seemed as the film got a critical pass this week. The Friday number, even with a nice Thursday night launch, is almost exactly…
Read the full article » 55 Comments »Interview: Jodie Foster’s Tango With Depression In The Beaver
Jodie Foster’s directed a third feature. The one with Mel Gibson and the beaver hand-puppet? The Beaver is a rich fable about depression and fear and hope, piercing, personal, bruised. (I think it liked it more than a few opening week critics.) While Gibson’s two roles are his best (and most intense) in memory, other…
Read the full article »Thor: The big, the blonde and the arrogant
“Thor himself, who has by now yanked off his shirt, and in so doing, rendered Jane, her assistant and even her gray-haired mentor speechless at the sight of his deliriously well-formed body. Even a rowdy IMAX audience in Los Angeles fell silent as Thor’s gigantic man-boobs and superhero six-pack molested our eye sockets in all of their 3D glory.”
Read the full article » 2 Comments »16 Weeks Of Summer 2011: The MIDDLE MOVIES Charts
Not every summer movie is meant to be a blockbuster. In spite of many reports of its demise, the film industry’s middle class still exists. It’s filled with comedy and horror and edgy thrills, with a few nods to grown-ups along the way.
Read the full article » 48 Comments »The DVD Wrapup: The Green Hornet, Mao’s Last Dancer, A Somewhat Gentle Man, Julian Assange, Brian Eno, Bloodsucking Nazi Zombies …
The Green Hornet: Blu-ray 3D If ever a marriage were made in comic-book heaven, it was the one that joined French fantasist Michael Gondry and the venerable “Green Hornet” franchise. The ceremony originally was arranged for 1997, after Gondry had completed a series of music videos for Bjork, but before he and Charlie Kaufman collaborated…
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