Blog Archives

The reason Disney did this for their $200+ blockbuster? It’s the best part, it promises great things in those black and white sequences in the beginning. And they figure it’ll be a tipping point lure for those resisting any effort … Continue reading →

I know what you’re saying. Strong (“Sherlock”) would eat the young Scot for lunch. But it looks like a pretty good indie Brit crime thriller, with McAvoy as the cop out to bust the crime lord Strong.

There’s a hint of “Wait Until Dark” to this thriller, starring Michelle Monaghan as a blind woman whose lover is murdered. And then, just as he’s making her getaway — enter Michael Keaton. Director Joseph Ruben (“Sleeping With the Enemy”) … Continue reading →

It’s the latest film from the “Shotgun Stories” and “Take Shelter” director Jeff Nichols. Rural, brittle stories with unforgettably “off” characters. “Mud” opens at the end of spring.

“It gets worse when you get older.” Yeah, Keanu, it does. “On the nose” casting, putting Reeves in the lead role where he’s both confused, “dumb,” and somehow irresistible. “Generation Um…” opens in late May.

It goes into wide release late this month, this Stanley Kubrick “Shining” deconstruction. It got into a lot of festivals. Not a lot of awards. Film buffs still hold the Inscrutable Stanley the K in reverence, with some justification. I … Continue reading →

The big music first/film promotion second SXSW is underway, but the big films being hyped there are being pitched to critics like myself, seeing them basically at the same time, as they have “talent” traveling to Texas to talk up … Continue reading →

Think of this as a big, fat French Canadian hug of a movie. A perpetual screwup (Patrick Huard) is in debt to loan sharks, tells lies by force of habit, can’t do the simplest job (deliveries) as his family’s butcher … Continue reading →

I just love Danny Boyle, from “Trainspotting” and “Millions,” to even “Sunshine” and of course “Slumdog Millionaire.” And “Trance” has traces of his break-out films, “Shallow Grave” and “Trainspotting” — action, crime, and edge. James McAvoy, Rosario Dawson and Vincent … Continue reading →

The story of “The Bling Ring” — ripped from the headlines — concerned star-obsessed teens stalking and burgling the homes of LA celebrities, tracking their whereabouts like paparazzi so that they’d know when to strike. Vera Farmiga’s sister Taissa is … Continue reading →