Reviews and commentaries about classic movies, long-forgotten titles, and new releases.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (movie 2014) review: Andrew Garfield is back in Marc Webb’s sequel that reeks of corporate demands. Emma Stone and Dane DeHaan costar.
Reviews and commentaries about classic movies, long-forgotten titles, and new releases.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (movie 2014) review: Andrew Garfield is back in Marc Webb’s sequel that reeks of corporate demands. Emma Stone and Dane DeHaan costar.
RoboCop (movie 2014) review: José Padilha remake has curious ideas and characters that are superficially developed. Joel Kinnaman and Abbie Cornish star.
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (movie 2014) review: Chris Pine and Keira Knightley are miscast in Kenneth Branagh’s mid-level failure.
Ender’s Game (movie 2013) review: Gavin Hood’s self-important yet superficial dystopian thrill-ride. Asa Butterfield and Harrison Ford star.
Captain Phillips (movie 2013) review: Tom Hanks’ American seaman is the wrong central character in Paul Greengrass’ unsatisfying political thriller. Barkhad Abdi costars.
The Fifth Estate (movie 2013) review: Benedict Cumberbatch creates a fuzzy Julian Assange in Bill Condon’s two-dimensional WikiLeaks’ drama.
Una Noche (movie 2012) review: Lucy Mulloy proves herself a capable screenwriter-director with this mostly Havana-set refugee drama.
Elysium (movie 2013) review: Matt Damon is turned into a conventional superhero in Neill Blomkamp’s well-intentioned but uneven dystopian drama.
Only God Forgives (movie 2013) review: Ryan Gosling and a malevolent Kristin Scott Thomas star in Nicolas Winding Refn’s sadistic thriller.
Pacific Rim (movie 2013) review: Guillermo del Toro delivers a relentlessly loud and dumb (but effective) action + horror mix. Charlie Hunnam stars.
The Lone Ranger (movie 2013) review: Johnny Depp is a key problem in Gore Verbinski’s bloated action Western. Armie Hammer costars as the title character.
World War Z (movie 2013) review: Brad Pitt stars alongside breathtaking zombie masses in Marc Forster’s splashy but dramatically disjointed horror thriller.
Man of Steel (movie 2013) review: Henry Cavill is badly hindered as the titular character in Zack Snyder’s costly and drab Superman reboot. Amy Adams and Michael Shannon costar.
The East (movie 2013) review: Zal Batmanglij and Brit Marling’s thriller suffers from an overabundance of self-seriousness that ultimately works against its socially conscious message.
The Hangover Part III (movie 2013) review: Todd Phillips’ threequel has turned out to be a waste of time, money and talent. Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis star.
The Great Gatsby (movie 2013) review: Leonardo DiCaprio is a charismatic presence in Baz Luhrmann’s flashy transfer of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel. Carey Mulligan costars.
Iron Man 3 (movie 2013) review: Otherwise worthy Shane Black and Robert Downey Jr. collaboration is irritatingly marred by its pandering to the overseers of the Chinese market.
Antiviral (movie 2012) review: Brandon Cronenberg gutsy thriller is too emotionally detached for its own good. Caleb Landry Jones and Sarah Gadon star.
War on Whistleblowers (movie 2013) review: Robert Greenwald presents an indictment of the United States government and its eagerness to maintain its dirty secrets hidden from view.
To the Wonder (movie 2012) review: None of the talent involved can disguise the fact that the latest Terrence Malick poem is a huge disappointment. Ben Affleck and Rachel McAdams …
Stoker (movie 2013) review: A personable Matthew Goode and Nicole Kidman star in this technically accomplished but narratively deficient Park Chan-wook thriller.
Dark Horse (movie 2011) review: A fantastic supporting cast (Mia Farrow, Donna Murphy et al) makes this tenebrous Todd Solondz comedy a must-see. Jordan Gelber has the lead role.
The Canadian (movie 1926) review: Silent era star Thomas Meighan and its rugged Alberta setting are the key reasons to check out William Beaudine’s rural drama. Also with Mona Palma.
The Loves of Pharaoh (movie 1922) review: Future Best Actor Oscar winner Emil Jannings chews the scenery in this disappointing Ernst Lubitsch epic. Dagny Servaes and Harry Liedtke costar.
South (movie 1919) review: Explorer Ernest Shackleton and his landmark Antarctic expedition are depicted in beautiful and harrowing detail in this silent era documentary.
Little Caesar (movie 1931) review: Edward G. Robinson is an iconic all-American gangster in Mervyn LeRoy’s landmark but creaky crime drama. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. costars.
Barry Fitzgerald and Bing Crosby in Going My Way. Going My Way (movie 1944) review: Leo McCarey’s Oscar-winning sentimental blockbuster. Going My Way (movie 1944) review: Multiple Oscar winner starring …
A Face in the Crowd (movie 1957) review: A hammy Andy Griffith and a didactic Budd Schulberg hinder Elia Kazan’s political drama with Patricia Neal and Anthony Franciosa.
Chloe, Love Is Calling You (movie 1934) review: Old indie mixes reactionary ideas about interracial love with vengeance and voodoo in tragic actress’ final little-seen film.
The Goose Woman with Louise Dresser and Jack Pickford. The Goose Woman (movie 1925) review: The Goose Woman (movie 1925) review: Great Louise Dresser in Clarence Brown silent classic At …
Huckleberry Finn movie: Lewis Sargent toplines sentimental William Desmond Taylor effort. Huckleberry Finn (1920) movie review: Huckleberry Finn movie review: Sentimental Fare Directed by Eventual Murder Victim Directed by William …
The Sadist with Arch Hall Jr. The Sadist (movie 1963) review. The Sadist (movie 1963) review: Curious B flick Say what you will about Arch Hall Jr. (and I know …