Reviews Archive for January, 2009
Wilmington on Movies: New In Town and The Uninvited
New in Town (One-and-a-Half Stars) U.S.; Jonas Elmer Welcome to New Ulm, Minnesota, where the tapioca is fine, the snow is omnipresent,
Read the full article »Wilmington on Movies: Revolutionary Road, Inkheart, Notorious, Outlander and The Secret of the Grain
Revolutionary Road (Three-and-a-Half Stars) U. S.; Sam Mendes Revolutionary Road is one of these novels I’ve always been meaning to read
Read the full article »Short Take – I Love You Phillip Morris (views)
There’s nothing that can prepare you for I Love You Phillip Morris, a con-man, gay-romantic, prison-escape, sex-farce comedy-drama (based on an unbelievable true crime story… or was it?) which defies any expectations you bring to it. First-time writer/directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa are trying for something much more than the bitter satire of their…
Read the full article » 1 Comment »Wilmington on Movies: Defiance, Hotel For Dogs and Paul Blart: Mall Cop
DEFIANCE (Three Stars) U.S.; Ed Zwick Ed Zwick’s Defiance, based on a true-life story about Jewish partisans — who carve out a community-in-hiding in a Belorussian forest during World War 2 — is fairly unique among World War 2 movies, in presenting Holocaust-era Jews not as tragic victims and survivors, but as heroes and heroines…
Read the full article »The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
The science of sequels has bedeviled Hollywood for years. Which elements should be retained? Which altered? The makers of the follow up to The Chronicles of Narnia The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe faced an even more vexing problem. Should they go with the next C.S. Lewis book in the series, which has a compelling story…
Read the full article »Star Wars: The Clone Wars
It is said that flaws can be tolerated in friends and strangers, but not in one’s parents, and that definitely seems to be everybody’s opinion when it comes to the father of Star Wars, George Lucas. It is because the first movie was so good that the other films became so frustrating and their flaws so…
Read the full article »The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
The Criterion Collection release of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is so immaculate that the previous Paramount release is rendered unwatchable. Paramount’s presentation turns out to be extensively speckled-white speckles in the black areas of the screen and black speckles in the white areas of the screen-as well as being grainy and having…
Read the full article »Wilmington on Movies: Bride Wars, Marley & Me, Last Chance Harvey, The Reader and Not Easily Broken
Bride Wars(One-and-a-Half Stars) U.S.; Gary Winick How‘s this for a fractured high concept: Beauteous best friend brides-to-be turn vicious enemies for the stupidest reasons imaginable, and behave like viciously addled morons for two unfunny hours. Then (SPOILER ALERT FOR NEXT SIX WORDS) everybody makes up and makes nice.
Read the full article »An American Carol
I first saw David Zucker’s Airplane! in a crowded urban theater and the audience was laughing uproariously throughout the film, except for one gag, when the airplane’s wing knocks over the antenna of a radio station as the station is proclaiming, “Where disco lives forever.” The theater went dead silent, and remained that way until the next…
Read the full article »Honey West
It lasted just one season, but Honey West was such a breakthrough TV program that it easily overshadows Forbidden Planet as star Anne Francis’ best remembered role. The 1965-66 ABC Network series, spun off from Burke’s Law, was probably too expensive to renew, but it presented, for the first time, a female action heroine as the lead of an…
Read the full article »