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The Unexpected Films Of Alfonso Cuarón
Some directors never make the same film twice. They move around between genres, challenging audiences to try to figure out the connections between their very different movies. A great example of this is Alfonso Cuarón, who's made children's movies (A Little Princess), sexy coming-of-age tales (Y Tu ...
Off-Putting Men, Fast Cars: <em>Rush</em>, Reviewed.
Rush succeeds not just because of what it is but because of what it isn't. A sports drama based on a true story, the film mostly stays away from the clichés that make fact-based sports movies so familiar. No rooting interests, no inspirational speeches, no feel-good message about the triumph of the ...
<em>Enough Said</em>: James Gandolfini Says Goodbye
Enough Said was always meant to be a bittersweet comedy-drama, but the film became additionally poignant after the unexpected death of one of its stars, James Gandolfini, this summer. One of his last movies, Enough Said isn't the definitive showcase for what the 51-year-old actor could do. (That's a...
An Averagely Average Comedy: <em>We're The Millers</em>, Reviewed.
Jason Sudeikis is a perfect fit for We're the Millers, which is a shame, since the movie isn't quite as funny as he is. During his time on Saturday Night Live, Sudeikis often played the handsome, average guy who, the longer you hung out with him, seemed stranger and stranger. He could be the straigh...
Declawed. <em>The Wolverine</em>, Reviewed.
The Wolverine feels less like a blockbuster than a well-turned piece of brand management. Everything in the film has been made with care, a certain amount of taste and intelligence, and such bland competence that what's most striking about it is how safe it is. The filmmakers have taken one of the m...
Lying and Charm: Woody Allen's <em>Blue Jasmine</em>, Reviewed.
Write and direct about 45 movies in the span of five decades, and there's a pretty good chance that certain themes will keep repeating themselves. Woody Allen's huge body of work is impressive both because of the number of gems he's produced—by dint of his work ethic, he has more great films to his ...
The Grierson & Leitch Top 12 Movies Of The First Half Of 2013
Shockingly, we are more than halfway through 2013. As always, the best, most "prestigious" movies won't be released until November or December, because the people who vote on the Oscars are senile and cannot remember anything they saw more than 20 minutes ago. But there have been plenty of outstandi...
You Should Absolutely Not See <em>The Lone Ranger</em>
I just moved halfway across the country and didn't get a chance to see The Lone Ranger. I figured it was probably terrible and figured I'd ask Grierson to make sure. Thus, a conversation between someone who hasn't seen The Lone Ranger but suspects it's lousy and someone who has seen it and therefor...
Been There, Bombed That. <em>White House Down</em>, Reviewed.
Die Hard was a brilliant concept for an action movie that's been much duplicated since: Die Hard on a bus (Speed); Die Hard in a hockey rink (Sudden Death); Die Hard on a battleship (Under Siege). But what a lot of the copycats forget is that it's not the claustrophobic location that made the origi...
Pixar Inches Back On Track: <em>Monsters University</em>, Reviewed.
Monsters University isn't amazing. Yet it is bright, shiny, amusing, and charming, and after the disappointing Cars 2 and Brave, it's a relief to leave a Pixar movie feeling properly entertained. It wasn't always that way; the animation studio once delivered gems on a consistent basis. But Pixar spo...
Rogen's Heroes: <em>This Is the End</em>, Reviewed.
When they're not performing, actors are basically worthless human beings. Or so goes the central joke in This Is the End, and it turns out that you can make a really funny movie based almost entirely on that joke. Written and directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and based on their short Jay and...
The Little Superhero Movie That Couldn't: Defending <i>Superman Returns</i>
Next Friday, Man of Steel opens. It's the second stab by Warner Bros. to reboot the Superman franchise since its Christopher Reeve movies of the late 1970s and '80s. (And that's not even including all the failed attempts to get a new Superman movie off the ground, including a Batman Vs. Superman pro...
Google Dearth: <i>The Internship</i>, Reviewed
Most movies sell some sort of fantasy: True love is real; good always triumphs over evil; all dogs go to heaven. But few peddle so many as The Internship, which reunites Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson for the first time since their 2005 hit Wedding Crashers. Like Larry Crowne, The Internship is a com...
Does Jaden Smith, <i>After Earth's</i> Uncompelling Star, Really Want This?
When film critics talk about a star's performance, they usually resort to clichés. The actor always "lights up the screen" or "disappears into a role," and watch out, because "you can't take your eyes off him." The reason why writers (and audiences) recycle those old saws is because they're standar...
No Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Greta Gerwig's Breakout Role In <em>Frances Ha</em>
Greta Gerwig is not Zooey Deschanel, and we should be thankful for that. In mumblecore movies like Hannah Takes the Stairs and Baghead, and in mainstream comedies such as No Strings Attached and Arthur, Gerwig plays quirky and adorable, awkward and charming. But those traits haven't solidified into ...
The 10 Films I'm Most Excited To See At The Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Film Festival, which kicks off on Wednesday, is the year's premier film festival, the launching pad in recent years for celebrated movies like The Tree of Life, No Country for Old Men, The Artist, Amour, Holy Motors and Inglourious Basterds. It's funny that Cannes takes place just as summ...
How The Terrific Documentary <em>Stories We Tell</em> Avoids The Cutesy
Near the beginning of Stories We Tell, director Sarah Polley's documentary about her family, her sister Joanna is asked how she feels about being part of the movie. Perfectly candid, she responds, "I guess I have this sorta instinctive reaction of, like, 'Who fucking cares about our family?'"...
If Only History Went Down This Smoothly. <i>42</i>, Reviewed.
People go to inspirational sports movies not in spite of their predictability but because of it. Other than romantic comedies, there's no other genre so dependent on the fact that you know exactly how they're going to play out. It doesn't help that they're usually based on true stories. These movies...
You'll Remember This Psychopath: Brady Corbet's Star-Making Turn In <em>Simon Killer </em>
When we first meet Simon, he's not unlike a lot of twentysomething guys you knew after college. Recently graduated, cash-strapped, withdrawn and sorta lost, the lead of Simon Killer finds himself crashing in Paris at a family friend's place, wanting to escape New York and the girlfriend, Michelle, w...
Danny Boyle Mesmerizes Himself. <em>Trance</em>, Reviewed.
For director Danny Boyle, anything worth doing is worth overdoing. With each genre of movie he makes, you get the sense that he wants to be sure it's the most demonstrative of its kind ever. Trainspotting was the druggiest movie ever. 28 Days Later was the zombie-iest movie ever. Slumdog Millionaire...