Though I no longer consider myself a Twilight fan, I was anticipating this final chapter in the “saga” (at least enough to make an iTunes rental of it). I was not crazy about Part 1 mostly because of how unpleasant it was to watch Kristen Stewart waste away as Bella, the human girl who fell…
Category: (4 out of 5)
Oscar Schmoscar 2013
Each year I write this post for two reasons: 1) to show how much I don’t really care about the nominees (not really true) and 2) do quickie reviews of the nominated movies that I haven’t already reviewed separately. Back when there were fewer Best Picture noms, I tried to watch all of them by…
The Life of Pi – Movie Review
The Life of Pi has often been considered an “unfilmable” book, and I’m not sure if that’s because the bulk of the story is given by the protagonist’s monologue and has almost no interaction with other human characters, or because it’s an ocean-bound tale with animals playing major roles. In either case, director Ang Lee…
Rise of the Guardians – Movie Review
Just when you think that animated holiday films had run out of ideas, turning childhood imaginary icons like Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman, and Jack Frost into magical super-heroes is kind of a surprisingly imaginative twist. That’s not to say that Rise of the Guardians doesn’t have its share of…
Movie #49: Contagion
Contagion was not an easy movie to watch (and probably the scariest of my summer 50). Director Steven Soderbergh once again uses the technique he mastered in Traffic, the sober series of interconnected stories featuring a huge ensemble cast, to tell the larger tale of a global viral outbreak. While it’s a bit of a…
Movie #42: We Bought A Zoo
I figured that this movie would be sweet and sentimental, but I did not expect how adorable it would be. Based on a true story, We Bought A Zoo is about a journalist-adventurer named Benjamin Mee (played by Matt Damon) who wants to make a fresh start with his two kids, after the death of…
Movie #41: The Debt
I set myself up for a Helen Mirren double-bill by watching this movie and The Tempest back to back. I had heard good things about The Debt but was hesitant to watch it in the theatres because it seemed to have that retro Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy vibe (and I hated that movie). Who knew…
Movie #40: The Tempest
I’ve been fascinated by William Shakespeare’s The Tempest ever since I first learned that this “olde tyme” playwright (that our teacher was making us read) had written a tale featuring spirits, spells and sorcery rather than his usual cast of English kings and queens. When director Julie Taymor’s version came to the screen featuring actress…
Movie #36: Burlesque
I was a fan of Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge, so I was excited that maybe this was another movie like that. Moulin Rouge fans might appreciate the musical numbers, but Burlesque is not nearly as imaginative or interesting as the Nicole Kidman classic. This is largely a vanity project for Christina Aguilera (with a little…
Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture 