February 2010
8 posts
4 tags
Shutter Island (2010) review
The initial box-office success of Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island surprised me somewhat, since I’d read the source novel and felt it might be too downbeat to be a crowd-pleaser as a film (Mystic River, also based on a Lehane novel, did alright, but who remembers Gone Baby Gone?). Perhaps I was wrong, or perhaps Shutter Island came out at exactly the right time (postponed from a fall...
5 tags
The Red Riding Trilogy (2009) review
Although made for British television, the films of the “Red Riding” trilogy—Red Riding 1974, Red Riding 1980, and Red Riding 1983—are hardly your typical “made for TV” movies in style or substance. Adapted from a series of novels by David Peace (“1977” was omitted in the film versions), “Red Riding” paints a grim picture of the culture...
2 tags
Crazy Heart (2009) review
I’ve never claimed to be absolutely consistent in my criticism. I may feel Avatar is nothing more than recycled ideas from dozens of films, comic books, novels, and pop history books, and I wondered why The Wolfman made no real attempt to add any surprises or twists to its standard-issue werewolf story. So why would I give Crazy Heart a second glance, knowing in advance it was going to be...
3 tags
The Wolfman (2010) review
Sometimes, having seen so many films is a curse. I’m not surprised by much, and I constantly say to myself “that part came from this movie, that part came from that movie,” and so on. The Wolfman isn’t exactly a remake of its 1941 namesake (though character names and some plot elements have been recycled), nor does it rely too heavily on the numerous lycanthropic tales...
2 tags
Wisconsin Death Trip (1999) review
Is this a “documentary?” It depends upon one’s definition, I suppose. Based on a book which combined vintage photographs and newspaper clippings from late 19th-century Wisconsin, Wisconsin Death Trip relies heavily on live-action reenactments and voiceover narration (taken from those same newspaper accounts), so I would have to call it more of a quasi-documentary. Semantics, I...
3 tags
Unearthly Stranger (1963) review
One of the greatest and most self-explanatory film titles of all time is I Married a Monster From Outer Space, which could—if you allow a bit of hyperbole regarding the definition of “monster”—have been an alternate title for Unearthly Stranger. A low-budget science fiction film known mostly to genre fans from television broadcasts, Unearthly Stranger is quite good, but...
4 tags
From Paris With Love (2010) review
Luc Besson is what might be called a “producer-auteur,” someone who places his imprint on the genre films he’s associated with—think of the “Transporter,” “Banlieu 13,” and “Taxi” series and a movie like Taken—although he more often than not is not the director. From Paris With Love has some “typical” Besson aspects...
2 tags
Fish Tank (2009) review
In the past year, I’ve become a bit of an Anglophile, so when I read good things about Fish Tank (nominated for a BAFTA, Jury Prize at Cannes, etc.), I decided to give it a look, though the topic (teen girl tries to escape her sad life) isn’t one that would normally lure me into the cinema (the film is currently in “limited” theatrical release in the USA).
Despite being...
