As a general rule I enjoy quirky, different movies like Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom because their originalities put typical Hollywood product to shame in terms of quality and impact. That is again true in this case, though I must admit that […]
Continue reading »Category: Recent Releases
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012) ☆ ☆ ☆
I’m a sucker for big apocalyptic melodramas — there is no greater drama in my view than the end of our civilization — yet I also enjoy subtler takes on the psychology of cataclysm, and in that regard this movie […]
Continue reading »Crooked Arrows (2012) ☆ ☆ ☆
As inspirational sports movies go Crooked Arrows is fairly standard, what with its troubled coach, players who find it difficult to play as a team, unlikely rebound from adversity and ultimate triumph against all odds. What distinguishes this movie as something […]
Continue reading »Chernobyl Diaries (2012) ☆ ☆
The biggest fault I can find with horror films is that their premises all too often fail to sustain themselves. For instance, I felt Poltergeist was super scary until we learn that the haunted house was built on top of an […]
Continue reading »Men in Black 3 (2012) ☆ ☆ ☆
I’ve enjoyed the two comedic Men in Black adventures, but I don’t love them. I think that the intrinsic “bigger picture” dramatic value of having a semi-secret government agency protecting Earth from crazy aliens is sacrificed in each movie by focusing […]
Continue reading »The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012) ☆ ☆ ☆
Several elderly Britishers react to their unhappy circumstances with a life-changing decision to move to India once they see an ad for a pretty retirement home, known as the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for the Elderly and Beautiful. When they […]
Continue reading »Battleship (2012) ☆ ☆
I’ll admit that I’ve not been a fan of bringing board games to cinematic life, but I was actually looking forward to seeing how Hasbro’s game “Battleship” would morph into an alien invasion movie. Sadly, the board game is still […]
Continue reading »The Lucky One (2012) ☆ ☆ 1/2
It isn’t easy to make a realistic movie about relationships that ventures from the battlefields of Iraq to the bayou country of Louisiana, tells a romantic story with powerful sexual tension and yet is only rated PG-13. The Lucky One suffers […]
Continue reading »Marvel’s The Avengers (2012) ☆ ☆ ☆ 1/2
Not to be confused with the classic British television series, or the abominable American movie re-imagining of the classic British television series, Marvel’s The Avengers is intended to be the greatest superhero movie of all, chiefly because it brings together no less […]
Continue reading »Monsieur Lazhar (2011) ✰ ✰ ✰
This perceptive, engaging French Canadian film explores the ways in which a school tragedy affects its students and teachers (but not, interestingly, the parents). After a popular teacher hangs herself in an empty classroom, a small Montreal public school is […]
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