Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is at both times exactly what you would expect and surprising (you will groan even louder at that comment once you’ve seen the movie). It’s a movie that has all the trappings of your typical melodramatic, gunning for an Oscar, overly inspirational movie. The actors’ names are all right (a […]
Few filmmakers can satirize modern crises as well as Alexander Payne. The Descendants juggles death, betrayal, and greed in such a laid-back surfer-dude attitude that you can’t help laughing with it. The story follows Matt King (George Clooney) a distant father, an absent husband, and lawyer whose family are direct descendants of royalty that own 25,000 acres […]
I would like to pick the brains of Martin Scorsese and the other filmmakers of Hugo and ask them how much 3D technology encouraged and/or inhibited their creativity during production. Although I think Hugo makes the best use of 3D to date, I believe 3D contributed to the film’s glaring artistic errors, mainly pacing and […]
War Horse is a mess. By the time the movie ends, after it’s lengthy 2 1/2 hour runtime, you aren’t sure what you’ve just seen and worse you won’t care as much as the movie wants. Whether it’s the mediocre acting, the ridiculous plot, or the fact that the main character is a horse (and […]
Terrence Malick’s career-long existential examination of Man v. Nature continues with this year’s Best Picture nominee Tree of Life. If you are familiar with his previous work (The Thin Red Line, Days of Heaven, The New World) you know what to expect: lush visuals, contemplative voice-over, and a steady pace. These defining qualities of Malick’s […]
Just in case anyone is wondering why Safe House is being reviewed perhaps you should check out the Decade of Denzel piece that was posted last week. Needless to say, I made sure to do my part and help Denzel’s opening box office gross by going to see the movie this past Sunday. Much to […]
When I screened “The Artist,” I was reminded of my Honors Project at the University of Iowa. For that assignment, I remade the final five minute scene from an episode of the 50’s series “Alfred Hitchcock Presents.” My purpose was to see if I could recreate the essence of that series and its era with […]