Reviews Archive for May, 2011
Wilmington on DVDs: Pick of the Week, New. Biutiful
PICK OF THE WEEK: NEW Biutiful (Also Blu-ray) (Four Stars) Spain: Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu, 2011 (Roadside Attractions) In Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu’s sad and moving film Biutiful, Javier Bardem gives an extraordinary performance as a dying man named Uxbal: a small time Barcelona hustler working a variety of scams and shady deals to support his two young…
Read the full article »Wilmington on Movies: Meek’s Cutoff
Meek’s Cutoff (Three and a Half Stars) U. S.: Kelly Reichardt, 2011 Meek’s Cutoff, like the Coen Brothers’ True Grit, is an art film Western for a contemporary audience, and an unusually good one — made by a director and writer (Kelly Reichardt and Jonathan Raymond), who show a real feeling for what it…
Read the full article »Wilmington on Movies: Kung Fu Panda 2
Kung Fu Panda 2 (Two and a Half Stars) U.S.: Jennifer Yuh Nelson, 2011 Kung Fu Panda 2 is a cute, likable movie, done with a lot of skill and A-level talent, and with all the visual virtuosity we expect by now from big-budget cartoon features — especially from sequels to gigantic hits, like…
Read the full article » 1 Comment »Wilmington on Movies: The Hangover Part II
The Hangover, Part II (Two Stars) U.S.: Todd Phillips, 2011 I laughed a lot at 2009’s big comedy hit, The Hangover — that tense and raunchy tale of three longtime buddies at a wedding who wake up after a night of incredible but totally forgotten debauchery and have to try to figure out…
Read the full article »Wilmington on DVD: The Rest. I Am Number Four, The Roommate, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, El Topo, Hurry Sundown, Grand Prix
I Am Number Four (One a Half Stars) U.S.: D. J. Caruso 2011 (Touchstone/DreamWorks) Sometimes, you look at a movie, and you know it’s going to give you a bad time. But what can you do? I Am Number Four is a super-glossy, not very good science fiction teen thriller, produced by Michael Bay and directed…
Read the full article »Review: The Tree Of Life
“My favorite is a shot from the branches of a tree, looking down onto the grass, where the erratic play of two boys running in circles mirrors the motion of two dogs frolicking in the same frame. Malick slowly prepares us to take in just how whimsical and sensual and malleable the lives of children are, how they drink in everything around them without knowing whether it’s milk or poison.”
Read the full article » 6 Comments »Wilmington on DVD, Pick of the Week: Box Set. Silent Naruse
PICK OF THE WEEK: BOX SET Silent Naruse (Three Discs) (Three and a Half Stars) Japan: Mikio Naruse, 1931-34 (Criterion/Eclipse) He was a sad-looking man who’d had an unhappy love life, early feuds with his bosses, and little beyond his career to make him feel any joy or optimism about life. He’d been raised in…
Read the full article »The DVD Wrapup: Gnomeo & Juliet, Lemonade Mouth, I Am Number Four, Anton Chekhov’s The Duel, The Big Bang, Burning Palms …
Gnomeo & Juliet: Blu-ray According to one of those computer-generated lists of keywords on the IMDB.com website, nearly 70 television specials and movies – including “Gnomeo & Juliet” — owe their very existence to William Shakespeare’s “Romeo & Juliet.” (That it doesn’t include the delightful rom-com, “Letters to Juliet,” or the Soviet-era adaptation, “Romeo i…
Read the full article » 3 Comments »Wilmington on DVD, Picks of the Week: Kes, Gnomeo and Juliet
PICK OF THE WEEK: NEW Gnomeo and Juliet (Two and a Half Stars) U.S.-U.K.: Kelly Asbury, 2011 This movie seems to have a totally crazy idea — a musical animated feature riff on William Shakespeare‘s unbeatable Romeo and Juliet, with two sets of feuding lawn ornaments (mostly gnomes, but also a green plastic frog, and…
Read the full article »Wilmington on Movies: Midnight in Paris
Midnight in Paris (Four Stars) U. S./France: Woody Allen, 2011 Midnight in Paris is a funny valentine to the City of Light, a sweet, jazzy fairy tale about the wonders of Parisian art and artist cliques in the ‘20s — a time when you could actually (if you were connected enough) go to a…
Read the full article »Wilmington on Movies: Louder Than a Bomb
Louder than a Bomb (Three and a Half Stars) U. S.: Greg Jacobs & Jon Siskel, 2011 Louder than a Bomb made me feel good about some of the kids of today, made me feel that they’re probably being maligned, at least in part, by most other America movies…
Read the full article »Wilmington on Movies: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
The “Pirate“ series may be at its height of its production expertise here, it may look better than ever, and it may have recaptured some of the initial light, breezy touch. But, script wise, it’s clearly running out of planks to walk. Not enough to hurt the movie financially — but enough to justify at least some of the fussilade of amusing critical blasts the picture has generated. (Audiences will like the show better.)
Read the full article » 2 Comments »Wilmington on DVD, The Rest: The Mechanic, Blue Valentine, No Strings Attached, The Alien Movies
CURRENT AND RECENT DVD RELEASES The Mechanic (Two Stars) U.S.: Simon West, 2011 (Sony) Remember 1972? The great movie year of The Godfather, of Cabaret, of Deliverance, of Frenzy, and Junior Bonner, and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, Fellini’s Roma, Cries and Whispers, Solaris, Ulzana‘s Raid, The King of Marvin Gardens, Avanti!, Sleuth, and…
Read the full article » 1 Comment »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 »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…
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