Archive | July 2012
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The Last New York Session for “Freud”
You had two full years…so if you missed it, it was your own fault. The wonderful off-Broadway production of “Freud’s Last Session” has officially closed as of July 22, 2012…the exact 2 year anniversary of its opening at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater on the Upper West Side. It completed its run at Midtown’s […]
Flashback: on 1996’s Bottle Rocket
It’s been a superb summer of 2012 for director Wes Anderson. His “Moonrise Kingdom”(reviewed on this blog in June)has been the runaway art house hit of the season. Hey, with “The Avengers”, “The Amazing Spider-Man”, “Brave”, “Madagascar 3” and “The Dark Knight Rises” burning up the box office for multiple weeks, discerning adults would like […]
The Cronenberg Chronicle-Phase Four: Spider (2002)
It opens with an extraordinary scene of people disembarking a train at a station. The camera glides in through all the hustle and bustle as we watch each car empty out its occupants. The crowd thins out to almost nothing until we meet the slow-moving “Spider”, purposefully climbing from the car onto the platform—as if […]
The Dark Knight Rises, Part Two…Zeitgeist
It’s poised to do it again, of course. Occupy Wall Street, 9/11, and the horrific events in Aurora, Colorado have seemingly confirmed this. I applied the word “Zeitgeist” to 2008’s “The Dark Knight” in my previous post, and its theme of terrorism, false heroes, and the tragedy of Heath Ledger’s death provoked me to apply […]
The Dark Knight Rises
It’s thorny without the spectre of the events in Colorado hanging over it, and it’s certainly even thornier now. I considered ignoring the elephant in the room when considering how to focus on Christopher Nolan’s latest, and then realized that it was almost impossible. But, if you will indulge me for the time being, I […]
Ice Age: Continental Drift
Occasionally, my four-year-old gets to go to the movies with daddy too. After cinema bonding with my oldest this year at fare such as “The Phantom Menace”, “The Avengers” and “The Amazing Spider-Man”(all in 3D, btw), it was time for my little guy to head to the multiplex with his old man for some old-fashioned […]
2 Days in New York
Like its predecessor(2007’s “2 Days in Paris”), which was also written and directed by star Julie Delpy, it’s just entertaining enough to make it worth a look. It’s mostly light-hearted fare, but there’s also a sardonic edge, and Chris Rock comfortably fills the shoes of Adam Goldberg, who played Marion’s(Ms. Delpy’s)love interest in the first […]
Shame
It’s brave as all get-out, so I respect it for that alone. It’s also a highly successful mood piece…with a pair of courageous and exacting performances from the ubiquitous Michael Fassbender(presenting a serious challenge to Jessica Chastain’s film tally of the last couple of years)and the difficult-to-categorize Carey Mulligan. More than once I’ve read about […]
The Amazing Spider-Man 3D
Yeah, the reboot was a bad plan. How about “Spider-Man 4” with a new cast, no origin story and a 120-minute running time…credits and all. That’s my advice, and I’m sticking to it. Still, I couldn’t help but think about how “The Amazing Spider-Man” played to those who haven’t seen the original trilogy. But who […]
Reviewed by Mark Leonard 