griersonandleitch Page 12 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
An Epic That Stumbles. <em>The Place Beyond The Pines</em>, Reviewed.
Director Derek Cianfrance's last film, Blue Valentine, was a crushing study of a couple (played by Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams) falling apart. It was beautifully made and well acted—I loved it—but the rawness of the emotions and the ambition of the structure (cycling between the present and t...
<em>Room 237</em> Will Make You Love <em>The Shining</em> All Over Again
One of the saddest things about the death of a favorite filmmaker is realizing that you'll probably never see any new movie from him ever again. When popular musicians die, they always leave material lying around that their estates can spruce up and put out for the fans. (Jimi Hendrix died in 1970, ...
Dour <em>Die Hard</em>: <em>Olympus Has Fallen</em>, Reviewed.
If you're going to make a movie where the White House is destroyed and the fate of the American government hangs in the balance, it at least ought to be fun to watch. That may sound sacrilegious—I'm pretty sure even the Tea Party doesn't want Washington overrun by Korean terrorists—but after sitting...
A Big-Hearted Mess. <em>Admission</em>, Reviewed.
Admission is such a mess, its good ideas knotted up with its unfocused and bad ones, that even if you end up liking the damn thing, you may find yourself apologizing for its faults. Tina Fey's first movie to be released since 30 Rock ended reminds us that she can do more than Liz Lemon, and it's gre...
Steve Carell Needs A New Trick: <i>The Incredible Burt Wonderstone</i>, Reviewed.
1. Steve Carell, leading man, is a lot funnier when he's not trying to be funny. He tends to work better in supporting straight comedy roles (most famously Anchorman, but also Bruce Almighty and even Bewitched) than as the lead (Dinner For Schmucks, Get Smart). His sweet spot as a leading man is ba...
James Bond, The Dark Knight. <em>Skyfall</em>, Reviewed.
When Casino Royale came out in 2006, it was rightly praised for lots of reasons: Daniel Craig's franchise-rehabilitating turn as James Bond; the excellent action sequences; the fact that it was smart and compelling, unlike a lot of recent Bond movies that had gotten progressively sillier, almost sel...
Washington's Height. <em>Flight</em> Reviewed.
1. Until the last 10 minutes, Flight in large part resembles one of those tough, dark character studies they used to make in the '70s, like The Gambler or The Verdict, in which we watch a man who has lost control of his life face external circumstances that give him one last chance to save himself. ...
The Man With The Ham Fists: RZA's Kung Fu Movie Just Doesn't Work
In 1995, Quentin Tarantino, skinny, wired, at the absolute peak of his power and influence, showed up at the MTV Movie Awards to give a lifetime achievement award to Jackie Chan. This is just how huge Tarantino was at the time: MTV allowed him to take 10 minutes of its airtime to give a career-cappi...