Writer/director Rian Johnson has developed a reputation for uncompromising, inventive work (with “Brick” and “The Brothers Bloom”), and his latest, the sci-fi brainteaser “Looper,” is no different. While his features are intricately designed and heavily considered, Johnson’s not one to keep an eye on pace, often so enamored with screen particulars ...
It’s difficult to believe “Pitch Perfect” was scripted by Kay Cannon, a vastly talented writer who made a name for herself working on “30 Rock,” a job that requires ingenuity, a samurai-sword-sharp sense of humor, and a mathematical understanding of screen timing. Cruelly, “Pitch Perfect” is a glorified episode of “Glee” with a “Family Guy” funny b...
The particulars of film distribution have kept “The Hole” from American eyes for quite some time now. Originally shot in 2008 and released in Europe in 2009, the feature finally makes its way west for reasons that aren’t immediately clear, but I’m grateful regardless. The latest from director Joe Dante, “The Hole” is a modest production with a hear...
There’s a polar opposite difference between the gloriously elastic animation of “Hotel Transylvania” and its wretched screenplay, and it’s a heartbreaker to see such a wonderful premise torpedoed by a lack of storytelling consideration. A rare foray into spooky business for family audiences, the feature contains such promise that it seems almost im...
It’s a rare event to find an author not only writing the screenplay adaptation of his own work, but directing it as well. It’s a heavy workload for Stephen Chbosky, who attempts to make the nuances of his book, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” compute on the big screen. Although gifted a trio of inspired performances from the lead actors, “Wallfl...
“Bringing Up Bobby” has all the good intentions in the world to tell an honest story about separation and the lasting sting of mistakes. Writer/director Famke Janssen (the “X-Men” star making her filmmaking debut) portrays her story earnestly, massaging an arc of personal responsibility that’s kindly enough, but rarely is it ever felt down deep in ...
There’s an enormous gust of passion blowing through “Unconditional,” though it seldom has the force to lift leaden scenes off the ground. Being a Christian production, its intention is peaceful enough, with a concentrated effort to reduce the audience to a puddle of tears through acts of goodness and confession. However, that aspiration to extract ...
As Hollywood anoints Jennifer Lawrence as the Next Big Thing, there’s some unfinished business to tend to before she bathes in her “Hunger Games” franchise success or tastes Oscar glory with the upcoming “Silver Linings Playbook,” and its name is “House at the End of the Street.” Shot before her stint as Katniss in “The Hunger Games,” this B-list t...
The last time we saw the character of Judge Dredd on the big screen, it was in a 1995 Sylvester Stallone vehicle from Disney. While interestingly designed and occasionally inspired, “Judge Dredd” was a misfire, tanking an opportunity to bring the cult comic book bruiser (first inked in 1977) to life in the manner he was originally conceived. It too...
“The Master” attempts to simulate a collapse of hope brought on by tremendous trauma and acts of self-destruction. It’s the latest from Paul Thomas Anderson, one of the great filmmakers of our time, who makes a long-awaited return to screens after his last picture, 2007’s “There Will Be Blood,” barnstormed through cinemas, ending up with a few Osca...
“End of Watch” touches absolute brilliance with alarming inconsistency. It’s a procedural drama with a film school twist, using video cameras to dig deeper into the hardened cinematic routine of the L.A.P.D. Instead of “Cops,” where a cameraman is largely responsible for capturing criminal activity, “End of Watch” puts the video equipment into the ...
Last year, writer/director/actor Josh Radnor made a small but impressive debut with “happythankyoumoreplease,” a precious title for sure, but a workably anxious creation dedicated to the collisions of life. Squeezing out a second picture between seasons at his day job, acting on the sitcom “How I Met Your Mother,” Radnor returns with “Liberal Arts,...
It’s rare to see an actor act their age these days, yet Clint Eastwood always seems determined to play above his years, recently drawn to cranky, senile characters, last seen on screen in 2008’s ode to senior might and lawn protection, “Gran Torino.” “Trouble with the Curve” introduces an even creakier side to Eastwood, playing an aging man facing ...
I must admit, I’m a sucker for the high school reunion subgenre. It inflames that primal itch to see close friends, enemies, and lovers reunited after a long absence, coming together to assess childhood hopes and adulthood realities, while surveying radical changes in body type and maturity levels. It also provides a solid foundation for ensemble w...
If “About Cherry” actually contained a story concerning the leading lady known as Cherry, it would be a far more enlightening picture. Instead, the movie is a drippy, incomplete effort from first-time director Stephen Elliot, who has a functional idea to drill inside the scattered mind of an aspiring adult film actress, yet he lacks the concentrati...
I’m happy that the actors could secure themselves a lovely Hawaiian vacation with “You May Not Kiss the Bride,” but I only wish they contributed to a more substantial film. Surprisingly violent for a romantic comedy, the feature offers a broad display of slapstick and shootouts, positioning itself as a tropical adventure with a sense of humor. With...
Despite its eventual failure, “Bait” deserves some credit for trying to pull off an insane scenario capable of reigniting the killer shark subgenre. There are moments here, albeit few and far between, where director Kimble Rendall seems like he’s found a way to make this low-budget shocker work on a limited scale, playing with claustrophobia and od...
There’s hope in the opening ten minutes of “Resident Evil: Retribution” that writer/director Paul W.S. Anderson might to able to turn this tattered franchise around, taking a few moments to reconnect to the previous sequels through an introductory recap from our monotone heroine, Alice. For a brand name that’s prided itself on nonsensical scripting...
Unlike many other adult dramas, “Arbitrage” doesn’t feature a single sympathetic character. It’s a slightly incomplete story of privileged people using their influence to further fraud and dodge manslaughter, manipulating those beneath them. It’s a compelling tale of reptilian behavior and escalating legal woes, best appreciated for a few fine perf...
Mike Birbiglia’s “Sleepwalk with Me” began life as a stand-up comedy piece before it was quickly transformed into a National Public Radio story, a comedy album, a Broadway show, and a book. And now it’s a movie. Not bad for a charming, mildly horrifying tale of sleep disorder and a life devoted to comedy tested by the pitchfork poke of domestic rou...
There’s a revolution going on in Hollywood today, and I doubt few outside the industry are paying any attention to it. Enter Keanu Reeves, who’s determined to explore the changing landscape of moviemaking as it switches from a photochemical film process to a digital one, taking viewers through a history of production advancements and discoveries, i...
While 3D rereleases (this year alone has returned “Beauty and the Beast,” “Titanic,” and “The Phantom Menace” to screens) are motivated entirely by monetary needs, I must admit it’s been enlightening to revisit titles from the recent past, providing an opportunity to reevaluate movies that didn’t exactly penetrate the first time around. Back in 200...
I believe the only viewers able to extract something of substance out of “Solomon Kane” will be those already tuned into the Robert E. Howard creation, which debuted in print in 1928. While it’s not a difficult film to dissect, the grit and groans seem programmed to satisfy longtime fans, not newcomers to the wrath of a God-fearing mercenary. Unfoc...
“Branded” is a head-scratcher of a film that could only be decoded after a long sit-down with its creators, writer/directors Jamie Bradshaw and Alexander Dulerayn. It’s up to these two to fully flesh out their intentions to the general public, because the movie they’ve made is borderline incomprehensible, and not in an intriguing manner that immedi...
“The Words” is riveting, illuminating, and communicative…for about 45 minutes. It’s enough time to convince an initially hesitant ticket buyer that something interesting is afoot, with writer/directors Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal gracefully exploring the mechanics of a literary career (or lack thereof), while building toward a crucial act of pl...
If there’s anything positive to glean from “The Cold Light of Day,” it would have to be its use as an educational tool, teaching young film students how not to make a mid-budget action movie. Perversely amateurish and astonishingly tedious considering its mouthbreathing screen elements, the feature stumbles from scene to scene, using violence and d...
“For a Good Time, Call…” is the rare movie about the phone sex trade that doesn’t treat the experience as flypaper for dysfunction, instead generating a flighty, colorful atmosphere of salacious activity to backdrop a thin but merry story of friendship. It’s rarely funny, yet it sustains a jovial mood of naughty business, supported by two vivacious...
Fans of the 1992 picture “Baraka” have been waiting two decades for some type of glorious follow-up to attack screens. “Samsara” is that long-awaited continuation, once again plunging viewers into the alien landscape that is our Earth, pulling at the threads of life to acquire a sharper sense of humanity in motion as it moves toward times of destru...
To its credit, “V/H/S” attempts to attack the found footage genre from a slightly different angle, taking the herky jerky antics to the realm of the anthology movie, allowing six directors to have their way with all manner of POV horror. Unfortunately, with this aesthetic comes expected elements of blurred cinematography and amateur acting, and whi...
Landing in America a full year after its UK release, “The Inbetweeners Movie” is intended to conclude the popular Brit series that ran from 2008-10, while also drumming up a little publicity for the U.S. remake of the show, currently airing on MTV. Unfortunately, I’ve never been exposed to the original work prior to the feature, leaving me at a sli...
