Claustrophobia is one fear we all have. Human beings love being able to move about and frolic. In fact, I love it so much that even riding a crowded train can become painful experience. So it’s surprising that the thought of being trapped inside a box has never crossed my mind. That is to say,…
Headhunters (directed by Morten Tyldum) is a crime thriller based on Jo Nesbo’s 2008 best seller of the same name and produced by the people that brought us the movie adaption’s of the Stieg Larsson trilogy. Don’t let that fact fool you into expecting more of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” however, as Headhunters…
There is a difference between realistic films, such as those made by John Cassavetes, and cinema verité, or films that try to approximate realism. Realistic films know they are fiction, but nonetheless mimic reality for the sake of art, whereas cinema verité attempts to fool viewers into thinking it is real. Matteo Garrone’s 2008, 137…
I’m not entirely sure why the ‘Redemption’ was added to the title of The Raid to make The Raid: Redemption but it doesn’t shy me away from wanting to see it. Picked up by Sony Pictures Classics, this domestic trailer actually scales back some of the sick action seen in the international red-band trailer, Americanizing…
Dave Brown (Woody Harrelson) is uncharitable, misogynistic, nihilistic, a racist, a chain-smoker, a raging alcoholic, and a bad father, but Rampart, the movie he’s thrust into, is astonishingly dull. Helmed by Oren Moverman, it explores the state of the LAPD circa the late ’90s but, despite what its title suggests, the film isn’t about the…
Daniel Espinosa’s Safe House is a lesson in “Filmmaking with Parkinson’s.” The choppily edited actions sequences — onslaughts of bright colors and enough “shaky-camera” to make Jason Bourne nauseous — are hard to endure. Moreover, they’re built on clichés: Coincidental protests (allowing the protagonists some cover), accidental assassinations, and a handful of close calls. Because…
As a heterosexual male, I am probably among the minority of those who have read Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books. I’m totally cool with that. I find the books funny enough without being degrading, intelligently written, and full of excellent, memorable characters. So I was more than a little leery when I heard that the…
