Archive | August 2012
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The Theatre Dilemna…and how to solve it
There was a time before children and endless responsibilities when I would attend between 9 and 13 stage performances a year(13 being the high mark since 1986, accomplished in 1995 when I would reach the tender age of thirty). Now, although I consider being a Dad the greatest job in the world(one which I hope […]
The Cronenberg Chronicle-Phase Five: eXistenZ (1999)
“Only on the most pathetic level of reality”. So says Gas, the character played by Willem Dafoe in Cronenberg’s final film of the 1990’s(and his body-horror swan song?), “eXistenZ”. Consumed with the theme for three decades, David would almost completely abandon it from his “bag of tricks” in all of his new millenium work, so […]
The Hunger Games
Ho-hum. Extremely safe, neutered and ultimately boring…if they didn’t have a few characters sporting powdered wigs, make-up and frilly clothing it would be a drab sleep-aid. All these books I keep seeing on the beach…is this really what adults are reading now? I eventually got suckered into reading the Stieg Larsson “The Girl with the […]
Billion-Dollar Batman
Almost there. As prophesied here when it was at 300 million or so, after just 5 days of release, “The Dark Knight Rises” is poised to cross the one billion dollar mark worldwide. Just like “The Dark Knight” before it. And at 941 million so far, along with “The Avengers” raking in about 1.5 billion […]
Intruders
I’m officially sold on Spanish director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, now that he has sandwiched two solid thrillers around one horror masterpiece. The middle entry was a sequel that outdid its predecessor by being smarter and taking more risks. That marvelous work was 2007’s “28 Weeks Later”, the follow-up to Danny Boyle’s fine “28 Days Later” […]
The Three Stooges
Did we really need a new 3 Stooges movie? Wasn’t this kind of thing attempted with a derided Laurel & Hardy incarnation a decade or so ago? Can Abbott and Costello be far behind? In fairness, the Stooges probably lend themselves to imitation much more comfortably than the aforementioned duos. Is there any 40ish male […]
The Deep Blue Sea
Sumptuous, suffocating and sentimental in equal parts, it all adds up to a gorgeous whole in Terence Davies’ version of Terence Rattigan’s 1952 play(filmed once before in 1955 starring Vivien Leigh and Kenneth More). It’s an intensely affecting period piece sporting a trio of perfect performances, with Rachel Weisz turning in an outstanding portrayal(one of […]
Something to Chaw on: Walter’s contemplation of “Miracle Mile”
More often than not, when speaking to a friend or family member about how I feel about a particular film, I let them know what Walter said. They all know who Walter is, even if they don’t take the time to read his razor-sharp reviews. Sometimes they beat me to the punch and ask the […]
Hemingway & Gellhorn on HBO
There was a 15-year period from the mid 1970’s to around 1990 when Philip Kaufman was one of the most respected and consistent writer/directors going. I mean his resume was stellar. After a not-too-shabby start directing 4 diverse films from 1964 through 1974(and writing 3 of them), he began his remarkable streak of critical(and often […]
In Darkness
A couple of decades ago, I saw back-to-back pretty terrific films from Polish director Agnieszka Holland. The first was called ‘Europa Europa” here in the states, and the next release went by the title of “Olivier, Olivier”. She received a lot of praise for the first film(including a Best Screenplay Oscar nomination after winning the […]
Reviewed by Mark Leonard 