Movie Review Archive for December, 2011
Wilmington on Movies: The Adventures of Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin (Three Stars) U.S.: Steven Spielberg, 2011 The Adventures of Tintin — Steven Spielberg‘s second new film in release this season (the other was War Horse, and both of them came out last week) — shows us again to what extent he‘s still a kid at heart and maybe always will…
Read the full article » 2 Comments »Wilmington on DVDs. Co-Pick of the Week: New. Love Crime
Love Crime (Three Stars) France: Alain Corneau, 2010 (MPI Home Video) Movie murder mysteries can sometimes get too tricky and convoluted for their own good, and that’s pretty much what happens in Love Crime — a cool, nifty, well-constructed and very well-acted French film that would have been even better if it didn’t so hard to…
Read the full article »Wilmington on Movies: War Horse
War Horse (Four Stars) U.S.: Steven Spielberg, 2011 Steven Spielberg’s War Horse is the kind of open-hearted, expensively made, somewhat predictable movie that critic-cynics like to make fun of : “a noble steed!“ sneered one of my wittier colleagues as we rode an elevator down after the screening. But I’ve got to confess…
Read the full article » 10 Comments »Wilmington on Movies: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Fincher)
A handful of critics and commentators have complained that Fincher and his screenwriter Zaillian, haven’t changed the story enough, this time around. But it should be obvious by now that most of the vast world audiences for these stories don‘t want them changed, and that number definitely includes most of the people who’ve already read the books or seen the Swedish movies. Hewing to the original as much as possible: That was super-producer David O. Selznick’s rule on adapting beloved bestsellers and classics to the screen — from “David Copperfield” to “Gone with the Wind” to “Rebecca.” And Selznick was usually proven right.
Read the full article » 3 Comments »Wilmington on Movies. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol U.S.: Brad Bird, 2011 If you have even a little fear of heights — and I have a lot myself — there’s a scene in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, that should leave you, maybe literally, breathless. It’s the scene, already famous, where producer-star Tom Cruise, playing the Mission…
Read the full article » 1 Comment »Wilmington on Movies. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (Two and a Half Stars)
Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows (Two and a Half Stars) U.K.-U.S.: Guy Ritchie, 2011 There’s a level of sheer frantic busy-ness and glibly manufactured chaos in director Guy Ritchie’s and star Robert Downey, Jr. second Sherlock Holmes movie — Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows –that makes…
Read the full article » 2 Comments »Wilmington on Movies: Carnage (Three and a Half Stars)
Carnage (Three and a Half Stars) U.S.-France: Roman Polanski, 2011 1. Last Exit to Brooklyn In Carnage, which was adopted by the French writer Yasmina Reza from her hit play “God of Carnage“ , director Roman Polanski once again demonstrates his mastery of the claustrophobia of anxiety (and vice versa) — even though…
Read the full article »Wilmington on Movies: Young Adult (Two and a Half Stars)
Young Adult (Two and a Half Stars) U. S.: Jason Reitman, 2011 High School haunts us. It’s the great mystery we try futilely to solve afterwards, the great romance that often never happened, the paradise we imagine we lost but might regain, the great redemption that we dupe ourselves into believing can be earned…
Read the full article » 2 Comments »Wilmington on Movies: New Year’s Eve (One and a Half Stars)
New Year’s Eve (One and a Half Stars) U.S.: Garry Marshall, 2011 New Year’s Eve may be the punishment audiences get for making director Garry Marshall and writer Katherine Fugate’s Valentine‘s Day such a big movie hit last year. That schmaltzy, heart-up-your-sleeve, all-star show, you’ll remember, strung together a lot of clichéd romantic comedy…
Read the full article »Wilmington on Movies: The Sitter
The Sitter (One and a Half Stars) U.S.; David Gordon Green, 2011 Well, I’ve had it. After defending David Gordon Green for making Pineapple Express, a controversially violent stoner comedy that I think is well-acted, well-directed and funny, and after sparing some kind words for Green’s and buddy Danny McBride’s medieval four-letter-fest Your Highness,…
Read the full article »Wilmington on Movies: In Darkness
In Darkness (Four Stars) Poland: Agnieszka Holland, 2011 Sometimes we let the horrors of the past recede into a comforting mist of melancholy and remembrance and well-meaning cliché. We shouldn’t. History is always with us. Agnieszka Holland’s In Darkness, one of the best films of the year, is a drama of the Holocaust,…
Read the full article »Wilmington on Movies: Hugo
Hugo (Four Stars) U.S.: Martin Scorsese, 2011 Martin Scorsese’s Hugo — a movie masterpiece if there ever was one — is a film for film lovers to dream on. It’s an incredibility entertaining show. But how could it not be? Scorsese has made it at the peak of his craft and art,…
Read the full article » 1 Comment »Wilmington on Movies: Shame
Shame (Three and a Half Stars) U.S.-U.K.: Steve McQueen, 2011 There have always been lots of movies that show or exploit sex, but far fewer that try to explore it seriously, as a rich, meaningful subject, whether psychological or social. And there’s only a handful of that few that try to portray…
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