Archive | October 2012
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The Cronenberg Chronicle-Phase Seven: Crash (1996)
Still audacious after all these years. And I would term it unfilmable under modern standards of acceptance(in other words, the almost complete disregard for the NC-17 film rating—which was supposed to usher in a new wave of serious, adult-minded films), but then we got the similarly daring “Cosmopolis” from Cronenberg just this past year. With the […]
Goodbye First Love
I think Mia Hansen-Love gets the tone just right in her third feature, “Goodbye First Love”. That’s especially important because it is a mood piece, after all, and there’s not anything particularly dense as far as narrative goes. Also, being that Ms. Hansen-Love was just 30 years old at the time of this film’s release […]
Argo
How much fabrication of a “true story” is forgivable? That’s the question I was asking myself during the pulse-pounding last half hour of the latest film from director Ben Affleck. Don’t worry, I’ll deftly avoid any spoilers. In fact, I’ll even cut short of telling you what I read subsequently about audience reaction to the […]
“Carrie” cast album…reviewed!
It’s been a long time coming “Carrie” fans. And I’m thoroughly pleased to report that it has been more than worth the wait. That hold-up was rapidly approaching a quarter of a century, my friends. But the official “Carrie” the musical premiere cast recording has arrived. It was delivered to my mailbox roughly a fortnight […]
Frankenweenie
Like a nostalgia trip with old friends. If not a complete return to form for Burton, he’s(at least)almost there. This lovingly rendered update(of his 1984 short)gets so many things right that it seems to be quibbling to harp on some minor missteps. Most of the elements from the 1984 live-action mini-film are in place(although I […]
Chico & Rita(2011) & A Cat in Paris(2012)
Having seen 4 out of the 5 Best Animated Feature nominees from this past Academy Awards ceremony, I can now harp on the American bias with no reservations. Look, I really enjoyed “Rango” when I first watched it last year, but I now know that it can’t hold a candle to the two foreign language […]
Margaret
In the first year of the new millennium, playwright Kenneth Lonergan made his debut as a film director with the universally praised, “You Can Count on Me”. It may indeed have been my favorite of 2000(it was officially #2 in my annual Top Ten, but, as Walter Chaw likes to say about certain past films, […]
The Devil Inside
This was a mercy watch in honor of the rapidly approaching All Hallows’ Eve. My figuring was I would do it, so you wouldn’t have to(that’s just the kind of guy I am). Besides, I found myself alone at home on a Saturday, with one son with his Mom at a birthday party, and the […]
Reviewed by Mark Leonard 