Tag Archives: movies

Genocide Without Reflection: The Noah Movie Is Horrible

I saw the Noah movie. It’s bad. Really, really bad. It’s such a comedown from director Darren Aronovsky’s previous film, The Black Swan, which was really, really good. Where to start with Noah? How about with the gender stereotyping and racism? The … Continue reading

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The Best Moment at the Academy Awards Last Night

At The Los Angeles Times, Kenneth Turan describes it: The poised but emotional Lupita Nyong’o [of Twelve Years a Slave], the supporting actress winner with her first major role, was clearly transported by her victory but not so much that she didn’t … Continue reading

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Sandra Bullock As Odysseus: The Film “Gravity” Is Insanely Good

I saw Gravity, and plan to see it again before it leaves theatres. But it’s not a perfect movie. With its inane exchange of banter between the ground crew and astronauts at the beginning of the film, it gets off … Continue reading

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A 21st Century Carrie

The new Carrie remake looks worth seeing: _________ And below is the original 1976 trailer for Carrie. Carrie the book was Stephen King’s first novel and Carrie the movie gave John Travolta his first screen role. The film’s power lies … Continue reading

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Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine” with Cate Blanchett in a Blanche DuBois Echoing Role

Woody Allen continues his staggering productivity as a writer and director. His latest film, Blue Jasmine, is getting rave reviews, such as this from David Denby at The New Yorker: Woody Allen, in his startling new movie, “Blue Jasmine,” has adopted … Continue reading

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A Film That Appears To Be Worth Seeing

This looks good and has gotten a lot of recent attention and critical acclaim. It has also generated controversy. It opens in New York and Los Angeles May 24, 2013. Directed by Rasha Burshtein, an Orthodox Jewish woman who lives … Continue reading

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Vicarious Voyeurism is “In the House”

Recommended to me by a colleague, the new French film, In the House, sounds interesting. A high school teacher encourages one of his students to write ever more dramatic scenes for him to read, knowing full well that by doing … Continue reading

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This Looks Worth Seeing

The Tree of Life director has a new film. Here’s the trailer.

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Amour is “a Masterpiece”

The hard-to-please movie reviewer at The New Republic, David Thomson, calls Amour the best movie of the year. Here’s Thomson: Readers may say, “Well, you don’t like many films,” and they’d be right. I thought Prometheus was a catastrophe, Argo overrated, Anna Karenina risible, The Deep Blue Sea regrettable. … Continue reading

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Probably Worth Seeing

A documentary just released on DVD: __________ It puts one in mind of this:

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This Looks (Almost) Worth Seeing

The trailer has me on the fence, but intrigued.

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Cloud Atlas: a Paradox, a Deepity, or an Oxymoron?

The buzz around Cloud Atlas is pretty intense (it received a ten minute standing ovation at a recent film festival screening), and here are the film’s three directors–three!–doing a promo: __________ I’m certainly curious to see the film, but I … Continue reading

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Will the Non-Verbal Samsara Film Be Baraka II?

The creators of the 1992 film, Baraka, have produced a sequel. It’s due to hit select theatres August 24th. The trailer seems to “quote” Baraka way too much, though. I hope it’s sufficiently different from Baraka to make it worth … Continue reading

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“The Master” Looks Really Promising

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Note to Self: Don’t Text at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

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A 3-D Film to See Before You Die: Werner Herzog’s “Cave of Forgotten Dreams”

It appears that Werner Herzog has produced a once-in-a-lifetime/not-to-be-missed film that, to be fully appreciated, must be experienced in a large movie house. It’s a 3-D documentary titled Cave of Forgotten Dreams. Its subject is Chauvet Cave in France, which Andrew O’Hehir … Continue reading

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The New Left Behind Series: Atlas Shrugged the Movie, Part 1

Living within an hour’s driving distance of Hollywood, Ca., it wasn’t difficult locating a nearby theatre to have a looksie at Atlas Shrugged the movie, Part 1. I did that this weekend. I’d love to say, like Sam in Sam … Continue reading

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Five Recent Films I Like

Here’s the list: The Social Network. The story of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s extraordinary career rise. It will probably win the Academy Award for Best Picture—and it probably should. True Grit. My personal favorite in this list. Perhaps because I … Continue reading

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Jerry Coyne: an atheist evolutionary biologist recommends a movie

Jerry Coyne of the University of Chicago calls An Education  a “don’t-miss film”: [T]his gets my vote for the best movie of 2009 and one of the best of the last few years: An Education. Based on a true story, … Continue reading

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Quentin Tarantino’s List of the 20 Best Movies Made Since 1992

Battle Royale leads his list, and Woody Allen’s Anything Else is on the list too: Since Tarantino doesn’t include any of his own films on his “best” list, I’d suggest, if you haven’t already seen them, the following: Death Proof Jackie Brown

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