Kick, Kick, Bang, Bang: Indonesian Martial-Arts Flick 'The Raid: Redemption'...
Any action fan who watches the Wales-born, Indonesia-based Gareth Evans’ new film The Raid: Redemption will recognize an epochal action prodigy/game changer at work and want him to make many more like...
View Article'The Cabin in the Woods' Builds a Mythology of Horror Amid Its Scares and...
Don’t read this review. If you’ve made it this far without anyone spoiling the surprises lurking in The Cabin in the Woods, don’t let me be the jerk who ruins it for you.
View ArticleA Sushi Master Chases Perfection in 'Jiro Dreams of Sushi'
There can’t be many situations more frustrating than the one in which Yoshikazu Ono finds himself in the new documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi.
View ArticleThe Dardenne Brothers Echo the Classics in 'The Kid With a Bike'
As much as it continues in the same fashion as their previous films, Belgian writer/directors Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's The Kid With a Bike brings to mind/nods to a few other finely observed urban...
View ArticleJoss Whedon Draws Up a Blueprint for the (Almost) Perfect Comic-Book Movie...
As novel as it seems for Joss Whedon to have brought together the four Marvel Studios franchises into one tentpole film in The Avengers, it’s been inevitable for as long as there have been movie...
View Article'Dark Shadows' May Not Satisfy Fans, But It’s Better Than the Usual...
Although Dark Shadows is not nearly the laff riot portrayed in the trailer, it doesn’t take its source material very seriously. But for those seeking a cool respite from the summer-movie season of...
View ArticleCreepy Cult Thriller 'Sound of My Voice' Asks the Audience to Fill in Too...
Sound of My Voice, a vaguely creepy and strangely bubbly thriller about a cult leader who could either be a savior from the future or a dangerous criminal (or perhaps both), has much in common with its...
View Article'Rowdy Rathore': A Textbook Intro to Bollywood's Action/Comedy/Melodrama
It takes a special kind of man to scare the bejesus out of bad guys while wearing a purple polo shirt. Indian actor and stuntman Akshay Kumar is exactly that sort of guy in Rowdy Rathore, a frothy,...
View Article'Prometheus' Answers Some Questions But Raises More
From the title’s allusion to Greek mythology on down, Ridley Scott and screenwriters Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof are intent on bringing the director’s recent trademark of handsome self-seriousness...
View ArticleThe Small Town of Carthage, Texas, Stars in Richard Linklater’s Elusive...
Bernie Tiede, the cheerful undertaker played to flouncy perfection by Jack Black in Richard Linklater’s Bernie, is a nice guy. Sure, he shot a defenseless old lady to death at close range with a...
View ArticleWes Anderson Blurs the Line Between Personal Vision and Stylistic Rehash in...
At times, Moonrise Kingdom plays out like Wes Anderson for Dummies, skimming the surface of this singular auteur’s cinematic finesse, rehashing ideas and themes he’s worked out with more clarity and...
View ArticleSteven Soderbergh and Channing Tatum Strip Away the Cliches About Male Exotic...
at this point there’s no telling which Soderbergh would show up for Magic Mike, but the potential seemed there for something genuinely subversive.
View ArticleMarc Webb’s Reboot of the Spider-Man Movie Franchise Survives Comparison to...
Besides his serendipitous name, there wasn’t much about director Marc Webb that suggested he was the right choice to helm The Amazing Spider-Man.
View Article'Ice Age: Continental Drift': Strictly for Kids
It’s all very fast and very loud, but it’s never particularly engaging. Kids will love it and that is of course what matters the most—give the filmmakers credit for understanding their target...
View Article'The Dark Knight Rises": Thrilling, But Not as Smart as Its Predecessors
In many regards, it’s an immense success, most strikingly in the degree to which it closes the series out by embracing what’s come before. In franchise-minded Hollywood, it’s unusual to see properties...
View ArticleBenh Zeitlin Builds a Fully Formed Fantasy World With 'Beasts of the Southern...
The world has ended a lot lately. We’ve seen doomsday scenarios brought on by vampires, viruses, aliens, comets, climate change, war, and any other calamity you can think of. Regardless of the method...
View Article'Farewell, My Queen': Visually Sumptuous But Dramatically Flat
Foppish finery. Palace intrigue. Creamy, swelling bosoms. Yep, it’s another film about life and love among the decadent elite in 18th-century France. Those elements may make you think of sensual...
View ArticleJeremy Renner and Tony Gilroy Inject New Blood Into the 'Bourne' Franchise
The first thing you need to know about The Bourne Legacy is this: It is not, in any meaningful sort of way, a Bourne movie. Jason Bourne’s shadow certainly looms large, but the elusive supersoldier...
View ArticleDead Alive: 'ParaNorman'’s Stop-Motion Charm Wins Over Even the Most...
Like the rare couples-therapy weekend that doesn’t end in visions of bloody murder-suicide, ParaNorman has rekindled a love affair that had long since lurched its way into indifference.
View ArticleDown and Dirty: Director Revels in the Violent Excess of 'Killer Joe'
If you’re waiting for a glimmer of redemption or even a fleeting moment of grace, you’ll still be waiting when the credits roll—Killer Joe is not that kind of movie.
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