Archive | September 2014
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Anderson’s “Inherent Vice” to premiere at NYFF!
Paul Thomas Anderson has never made a bad film, so I expect “Inherent Vice” to continue that nearly two decade streak. It premieres at the New York Film Festival, this coming Saturday, October 4th. Since 1997, I have seen every single Anderson feature, in the theater…and all ended up making my annual Top Ten list […]
The Lynch Ledger-Entry Seven: Lost Highway (1997)
It should come as no surprise, to any of my regular readers, that I am a fervent fan and follower, of the work of David Lynch. That being said, I was somewhat unprepared by just how knocked out I was by this latest viewing of 1997’s “Lost Highway”. Every time I see it, the puzzle […]
“Five Easy Pieces”…defining me.
“Why Jack?”, I’ve sometimes been asked. “Five Easy Pieces? I’ve never heard of it!”, is one I’ll get occasionally. Those folks usually have only seen Nicholson as Jack Torrance in “The Shining” and/or The Joker in 1989’s “Batman”. “What’s the chicken salad sandwich scene?” That one drives me right up a wall! Honestly, if you […]
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2
It’s something that I desperately wanted to love–if only because I had such fond memories of taking my then 4-year-old to his first 3D movie, upon the release of the original in 2009. Can’t say that “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2” is worth it though, with its over-reliance on being big, bIG, BIG, […]
Burton’s “Big Eyes”!
Tim Burton is BACK come Christmas time, and that’s a reason to get very enthusiastic! A longtime fan, I originally didn’t expect Mr. Burton’s latest project to arrive until 2015(that’s what I was hearing, anyway). But lo and behold, the official trailer has arrived(see above), and “Big Eyes” will indeed land at the multiplexes by […]
The Monuments Men
What the hell happened to George Clooney, the director? To state it plainly—he stinks. He’s directed 5 films total(one released every three years since 2002), and his start was so strong, that you really thought he could reach Robert Redford’s onetime lofty levels. In other words, the impossibly handsome actor, turned award-winning director. I guess we should […]
Exciting “reviewedbymarkleonard” announcement!
If you follow me on twitter, or were a recipient of my recent e-mail blast, you may have already heard the news. Starting this coming Sunday, September 21st, reviewedbymarkleonard will become a regular feature on national radio stations! Although I’m a 20+ year broadcast professional, some of my blog followers in the United States and […]
Worst of the Franchise: 1997’s “Batman & Robin”
Franchises. They’ve become an increasingly unavoidable reality for movie-goers. How many sequels this year alone, are just another cog in a seemingly endless machine? Spider-Man, The Hunger Games, X-Men, Transformers, Captain America…how can anyone possibly keep up? More importantly, should you be attending all of the films released in a particular series? Many of these continuing sagas are […]
I want my “Maps to the Stars”!!!
There’s all kinds of teasing going on, but it looks like seeing David Cronenberg’s 19th feature “Maps to the Stars”, stateside, won’t become a reality until early 2015. And as a devoted Cronenberg fanatic, I’ve gotta be juvenilely expressive in proclaiming…that just sucks! I mean, what’s the damn holdup? By late 2013, Cronenberg’s first U.S. […]
Night Moves
Kelly Reichardt is an exceptional filmmaker, who chooses to eschew traditional methods of pacing and denouement. I dig that…but mainstream audiences usually don’t. Movies with finales that simply “stop on a dime”? It’s a very European cinematic conceit, and it takes some getting used to…for the uninitiated. That being said, “Night Moves”(not to be confused […]
Reviewed by Mark Leonard 