Big Eyes Review
Surprisingly the most emotionally and thematically rich film of the holiday season, Big Eyes is Tim Burton's best work since Ed Wood.
Amy Adams
Dork Shelf’s Picks for the 2014 Oscars
Our Film and Performing Arts Editor gives his picks for what he thinks will win big at tomorrow night's Oscar ceremony. Please note: he is still not an expert.
American Hustle Review
A solid, throwback long con period piece with an all star A-list cast, David O. Russell’s American Hustle assuredly isn’t one of the best films of the year like many year end critical organizations and best-of lists are positioning it to be, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad movie. It’s easy to recommend, well acted, and fun to watch, and I really don’t have many problems with it outside of maybe not fully being able to understand or buy into the hype surrounding it.
Her Review
Her is nothing short of astonishing: a brainy science fiction yarn set in a not too distant future that also functions as an off kilter, but never ironic, creepy, or off putting modern romance. It’s a reflection of narcissism, consumerism, and most importantly alienation in our modern digital world. It's also the best movie of the year.
Man of Steel Review
Although it might be still somewhat of an unsubtle disappointment, Man of Steel offers enough action and promise for the future, particularly from Henry Cavill in the lead and even from Zack Snyder in the director's seat. Still, someone needs to tell Christopher Nolan (and by extension actual hired writer David S. Goyer) to stop putting his very specific and far too serious spin on DC titles.
Man of Steel at the CN Tower
Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman ...’s costumes at the top of the CN Tower!
This Week in DVD: 3/12/13
This week brings out some heavy hitters at the video store including Life of Pi, The Master, Hitchcock, Smashed, Playing for Keeps, This Must be the Place, and A Late Quartet.
The Trouble With the Curve Review
The Trouble With the Curve isn't the worst movie ever made, nor is it even close to the weakest movie of Clint Eastwood’s career. It might be dull and old fashioned, but I suppose it's perfectly watchable for passive viewers who like baseball or the aging movie star. It's just instantly forgettable and brings nothing new to the baseball movie genre that’s already overstuffed with these cliched entries.
TIFF 2012 Reviews: Part 6
As TIFF 2012 finishes up its first weekend, our ongoing coverage looks at The Master, To the Wonder, High Park on Hudson, End of Watch, Aftershock, Sightseers, The Crimes of Mike Recket, No One Lives, and Midnight's Children.
The Muppets Review
While it’s as funny as one would hope a Muppet film would be, the rebooting of this finely-felted gang of friends does have a few fairly big problems. Structurally the film is a bit wonky and the script feels like the result of many different people having a lot of different feelings about the tone of the film. To call a film like The Muppets out on such seemingly trivial issues might sound like the groaning of Statler and Waldorf, but despite any such complaints The Muppets are undoubtedly back at the top of their game comedically.
First Man of Steel Image
It’s a spider-man! It’s an iron man! No, it’s a super man! Earlier today Warner Bros. released the first image of Superman from Zack Snyder’s upcoming Man of Steel slated for a 2013 release. The image shows Henry Cavill as the titular 'Man of Steel' showing off the squareness of his jaw in a suit that replaces the vintage spandex look with the recycled basketball one people seem to really like these days.
The Muppets Trailer
Although Disney seems to have a financial lock on the characters and their escapades, the fact that original muppeteers such as Frank Oz, and Jim Henson's son Brian, are still at the helm means that the new film should be keeping in the original spirit of the brilliant series and early films. The script is written by Jason Segel, a solid actor and singer despite some questionable film choices, and also stars Amy Adams, who I maintain is an amazing talent.
The Fighter Review
The trailer for this movie is too simple. It makes the film look like every other sports movie: a guy can’t make a living at this sport; his family life is troubled; in the end he wins the big match. However, the movie doesn’t succeed on its plot but on its characters. The Fighter is like Rocky meets The Trailer Park Boys; this family is all kinds of messed up.
