Total Recall Review
Pointless.
Ruby Sparks Review
Though it might start out as a standard quirky rom-com, Ruby Sparks is actually a charming, nuanced, funny, bittersweet, and wholly satisfying enterprise designed to take the manic pixie dream girl cliche down from the inside.
360 Review
Unremittingly bleak and down tempo, Fernando Meirelles 360 is the highbrow depressive equivalent of a modern day Garry Marshall film.
Celeste and Jesse Forever Review
While it sticks to more rom-com cliches than it would care to admit, the indie comedy Celeste and Jesse Forever succeeds largely thanks to great performances from Andy Samberg and the film's writer, Rashida Jones
This Week in DVD: 7/31/12
Not much new to report on the home video front this week aside from a pair of teen movies: the extremely successful and entertaining Detention and the only kind of okay LOL.
Orcs Must Die! 2 Review
Part of what makes me so inclined to try games out is the potential for reward. Nothing warms my nerd heart more than seeing my plans for a game play out with stunning efficiency, and that's something Robot Entertainment has done with their Orcs Must Die! series.
The Watch Review
Featuring a lineup of comedic heavyweights in-front of and behind the camera, the very hard R sci-fi buddy comedy The Watch works thanks largely thanks to the individual strengths of the cast and crew.
Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance Review
Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance is one of those boilerplate hero worship documentaries that lionizes a subject through interviews with adoring friends, fans and colleagues. It does show why Joffrey was important to the craft, and even the fleeting glimpses of archival footage of his company in action are enough to gain an appreciation for the tremendous influence he had on the art form, but it’s a little ironic and very unfortunate that the doc is so pedestrian in terms of filmmaking craft when compared to the style of dance the movie’s subject shunned throughout his career.
Step Up Revolution Review
Somehow the dance franchise Step Up has made it to four movies. Don’t ask how, it’s not worth the inevitable brain strain that would go along with trying to answer such a question. Dance movies have somehow become a viable genre once again and we get a few per year. Step Up Revolution is just as ludicrously plotted and boasts the same brand of ridiculous dialogue that we’ve come to expect from the series, and yet it’s also easily one of the most watchable titles in the whole cycle.
This Week in DVD: 7/25/12
It might be a day late, but check out our rundown of some of this week's biggest DVD and Blu-ray releases as looks at Keyhole, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, and Extraterrestrial, while Phil Brown looks at a holdover from last week with Casa de mi Padre.
The Dark Knight Rises Review
An appropriate end to the Christopher Nolan cycle of serious Batman films, The Dark Knight Rises manages to up the stakes in terms of action, suspense, and even in terms of wit. On the other hand, it’s not hard to say that this third instalment with Christian Bale behind the cowl is the least of the franchise, but most of the problems this time our are fairly nitpicky in nature and come mostly when Nolan seemingly needs to force himself to get serious again when even the director seems like he just wants to have some actual fun for a change.
The Redemption of General Butt Naked Review
The story of Joshua Milton Blahyi is a difficult one to peg down, but in Daniele Anastasion and Eric Strauss’ documentary The Redemption of General Butt Naked , the filmmakers examine a man who has found God but who might have been so notorious that no amount of divine salvation could ever help in this life or the next.
Trishna Review
A loose re-imagining of Thomas Hardy’s Tess Of The D’Urbervilles shoved into modern day India, highly prolific director Michael Winterbottom's Trishna has individual moments and images that showcase the filmmaker at his best, but overall it has the rushed and half baked qualities of his most tossed off efforts.
Moving Day Review
Trailer Park Boys creator Mike Clattenburg returns to the big screen with Moving Day, a slight, but affable working class comedy that showcases the creator's adeptness at comedy and his awkwardness around sentimental material.
Dyad Review
There are complicated concepts and there are basic concepts in video games, and the arm space for enjoyment isn’t limited to the numbers of words required to describe how to play them. Shawn McGrath has been working on the new PSN game, Dyad, for several years now. In terms of complexity, Dyad is neither here nor there, but it sure is a trip to somewhere else.
