Screen
Arrested development
It´s not easy being mean, as Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody’s latest project, Young Adult — directed by her Juno collaborator, Jason Reitman — goes about illustrating with an intriguing, unsettled blend of pity and pitilessness...
The Rhythm Section
As the Confucian proverb
goes: “Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.”
Unfortunately for Stephanie Patrick (Blake Lively), she’s going to need...
Well-seasoned action flick
After her uninspired acting in the tedious Wanted, I was leery about seeing Angelina Jolie in another action film, though I loved her as Lara Croft in Tomb Raider. She’s back in fine form in Salt, however, as tough CIA field agent Evelyn Salt, forced to clear her ...
Dull expectations
When an idiosyncratic talent seeks a wider audience for her work, there’s a danger in trading the offbeat for something more on-the-nose. This is what has happened in Friends With Kids, a smooth but frustrating third feature with an extremely good ensemble cast. In ...
Les swing and les miss
Two minutes in: You can do this, Ryan. Sure, a three-hour film version of a Broadway musical is a dry way to waterboard you, but people say Les Misérables is the best adaptation yet. Maybe this is the one that finally changes your mind...
Reel to reel | Week of June 21, 2012
17 GIRLS Based on a 2008 headline-grabbing news story about an alleged pregnancy pact among 17 high school girls in the fishing town of Gloucester, Mass. — an act at once unexpected and incomprehensible to adults and boys in their world. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax...
Pew! Pew! Pew! ’Merica!
GI Joe: Retaliation’s script is so horrible, it should be in MoMA. Just like some people can’t stop staring at the world’s ugliest dog, this screenplay is fascinatingly hideous blather. It’s entirely possible the whole script was verbs: “shoot, explode, stab, scream...
A woman’s work and a son’s obsession
There’s a bit of fairy
tale when it comes to Benedetta Barzini. As the story goes, it was 1963 when
Barzini was discovered on the streets...
Salute your shorts
It’s Oscar season at the movies and that means celebrating the cinematic high-water marks that 2016 brought. And with 62 nominated films to choose...
Kung Ow Kickin’
Sometimes, life is simple. If you don’t like beef, don’t order a rib-eye. If you don’t like stale, recycled jokes, don’t watch CBS sitcoms. If you don’t like action movies, avoid The Raid: Redemption like a television-phobic vegan would avoid the stuff mentioned ...
We found love in a hopeless place
Hollywood must have a rooting interest in marriage. Why else would so many rom-coms revolve around weddings and meeting that perfect match? They must...
