Screen
Carano lacks punch
In terms of its title, Haywire doesn’t quite go there; it’s more “Haywire-ish.” But it’s eccentric, and the on-screen violence is sharp and exciting — brutal without being either subhumanly sadistic or superhumanly ridiculous...
Hardly dying
John McClane (Bruce Willis), the hyper-violent man perpetually wrong in place and time, has always been Rambo by way of “grumpy cat.” The only thing that makes Die Hard actually Die Hard is the surly sense of humor McClane spouts while committing copious homicides. ...
reel to reel | Week of August 11, 2011
30 Minutes Or Less Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer returns with this comedy about a pizza-delivery guy (Jesse Eisenberg) who is kidnapped by dimwitted criminals (Danny McBride and Aziz Ansari) and forced to help them rob a bank. Rated R. At Flatiron, Century, ...
reel to reel | Week of Nov. 24, 2011
3 Hanna and Simon, a couple in their early 40s, live together in Berlin. With their 20th anniversary looming, they both become restless. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society Arthur Christmas Arthur Christmas is not a perfect gift, but it does ...
So choose one, Seth
It would be easier to shrug off writer/director/actor/egomaniac Seth McFarlane’s blatant racism and misogyny if he was funny or had a point. Alas, he isn’t and he doesn’t. A Million Ways to Die in the West is McFarlane’s laborious love letter from himself to his own ...
Gospel slop
Assembled from spare parts of Footloose and Sister Act, the serviceable gospel contraption Joyful Noise takes place in an economically hard-hit Georgia town, where the multiracial members of the Divinity Church Choir raise voices and spirits under the direction of ...
Breathe in the Smaug
Things you should know by now: (1) All Peter Jackson-directed fantasy films near or top three hours in length; (2) there are deviations from the books because these are movies and not books — I’m told if you would like to read The Hobbit, you can still read The ...
