Magic (as it is performed) is a hard sell for me; I’ve never loved either the illusions themselves nor the showmanship required to distract the audience from perceiving those illusions. It is difficult for me to appreciate such trickery and […]
Continue reading »Category: Recent Releases
The Call (2013) ☆ ☆ ☆
Since winning her Oscar way back in 2001 beautiful Halle Berry has made her share of turkeys (Catwoman, Perfect Stranger, Gothika, Movie 43, Catwoman, etc.), but The Call is not one of them. The Call is surprisingly realistic, suspenseful and even thrilling. […]
Continue reading »No (2012) ☆ ☆ ☆
One of the five Best Foreign Language entries for the 2012 Oscars is this Chilean political film directed by Pablo Larrain. No is a historical reenactment, using actual footage from the time period, of the 1988 political campaign to unseat the […]
Continue reading »Emperor (2013) ☆ ☆ 1/2
When Hollywood tackles history sometimes the result is an uneasy mixture of what really happened and what might have happened. This is certainly the case with Emperor, which spotlights the dilemma facing General Douglas MacArthur (Tommy Lee Jones) when he […]
Continue reading »Phantom (2013) ☆ ☆ 1/2
I’ve always liked submarine movies (and books, too); their tight, self-contained, claustrophobic, danger-filled environments invite hypertensive intensity and action, often with global consequences. Phantom is an intriguing addition to the genre, positing that in 1968 a Soviet submarine attempts a mission […]
Continue reading »Snitch (2013) ☆ ☆ ☆
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson may never become a powerhouse actor, but he’s certainly a likable, professional presence in a surprising range of motion pictures. Snitch has him as a hard-working construction boss whose teenage son (Rafi Gavron) makes a really stupid […]
Continue reading »Dark Skies (2013) ☆ ☆ 1/2
Some types of movies (fantasy, for instance) don’t interest me much, but anything with an alien is bound to coax me to a theater. What struck me about Dark Skies is the feeling of deja vu, the impression that I’ve seen […]
Continue reading »A Good Day to Die Hard (2013) ☆ ☆
With this fifth in the long-running Die Hard action series, I think I can finally admit that I’ve seen enough of NYC detective John McClane and his family. This time he (Bruce Willis) is in Moscow, trying to find his wayward […]
Continue reading »Safe Haven (2013) ☆ ☆ 1/2
The new filmic adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel is a little corny, a little sexy and for the most part rather obvious. But its stars, Josh Duhamel and Julianne Hough are compelling enough to maintain interest for most of […]
Continue reading »Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013) ☆
It is difficult for me to imagine a more ill-conceived feature film than this one. Even with television audiences embracing shows like “Once Upon a Time” and “Grimm,” the idea of bringing fairy tales to life on the big screen is […]
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