If you’ve seen the promotional campaign for the big-screen reboot of 21 Jump Street, then you probably think it looks pretty bad.
That’s what I thought, too.
But then I saw the movie and was pleasantly surprised. It’s actually pretty good.
(Yes, I know that’s damning with faint praise.)
This flick had a lot of factors going against it, so I figured I would share the five things that are working for it, and that make 21 Jump Street worth seeing. Continue reading
Here’s a truth that people with children don’t like to admit: Things are different once the kids arrive.
Oh, sure. You say things won’t change, and you’ll do everything exactly the same as before … but you just can’t.
And all of a sudden, whether they want to or not, your single or childless friends have to work around that, your relationship with them changed forever.
The first 15 minutes of Friends with Kids, Jennifer Westfeldt’s smart, sophisticated, funny new film, dramatize this in cringe-worthy fashion. Continue reading
It was the best of movies, it was the worst of movies.
Alright, so that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but go with me here for a little while, okay?
Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston are both back in movie theaters now with new movies, and while they’re of different quality, they made me think about how differently these two actress’ careers have evolved.
Both at one time was America’s Sweetheart, a beloved figure on the small and/or large screen, and yet, where one has gone right(er), the other seems to be totally off track. Continue reading
Whether you liked her or didn’t like her, Margaret Thatcher was an important political figure. So she rightly deserves any recognition she gets, and merits a bio-pic.
That said, watching The Iron Lady, you get the feeling that this is a film more about Meryl Streep playing Thatcher, than it is about Thatcher herself.
Would the movie have been made without Streep? Who knows. But you know somewhere, a few years ago, some film producers were sitting around and came up with this brilliant high-concept idea.
Thankfully, Streep delivers. Continue reading
In recent years, the proudly, blatantly self-important projects that Steven Spielberg has worked on (often with Tom Hanks) — ones like the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers and The Pacific — have been such a turnoff.
They may be good, but who wants to sit through something out of a feeling close to obligation?
So I’ll admit, I was resistant to seeing War Horse, uncle Steve’s latest prestige project, and pre-disposed to not liking it.
This film, an adaptation of the Tony Award–winning play and children’s novel, tells the story of boy gets horse, boy loses horse to World War I, boy enlists in army to find horse, boy and horse are reunited, and all is well. It’s about as audience-friendly as can be, and with gorgeous photography, a predictably majestic score by John Williams, and decent performances, the film is a rousing one that will make you stand up and cheer. Continue reading
If you haven’t noticed, I see a lot of movies.
As I sit down to write this blog post, this year alone, of the ones that are considered 2011 releases, I’ve seen 50. Last year I saw 60, so I’m a little off my game, I guess.
But there are still a few movies that have yet to open in Boston that I’m sure I’ll see, and that’ll push the number higher.
And yes, I know it’s now a couple days into 2012. That’s alright. Again, we’re talking 2011 releases, the ones that are eligible for Oscars and all the other awards, no matter when they’re in my local theaters.
Okay, enough excuse-making.
2011 was a pretty good year for the movies. Looking back on all the ones I’ve seen, there were a good number of them that I gave high marks to (i.e., a B+ or better).
So what follows are my 10 favorite movies of the year. Continue reading
The Cold War–era spy thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy tells the story of a British intelligence officer who is pulled out of (forced) retirement when it’s thought that a Russian mole is embedded within the Secret Service.
Who is the mole? It’s one of four gentlemen who are given the code names of the film’s title.
That’s about all I’ve got.
Despite an excellent performance by Gary Oldman (and his oversized glasses), I just wasn’t invested in this one.
It’s stuffy, all-too-serious, and not exactly exciting to watch. No wonder my mind wandered throughout, and I couldn’t wait for the film to end.
Is it fair, then, for me to give the movie any review? I don’t care; I’m doing it anyway. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy gets a B– from me.
The next time someone says to you, “They sure don’t make movies like they used to,” you can direct that person to my review of J.J. Abrams’ Steven Spielberg homage, Super 8.
Or, you can tell that person to see The Artist, an affectionately made tribute to the early days of filmmaking, when the addition of sound changed the industry forever, that’s made in the same style as one of those silent films from the 1920s.
(Yes, 2011 is apparently the year of the throwback.)
If you’re thinking Super 8 + Hugo = The Artist, I guess you’re not too far off. Just throw in a splash of Singin’ in the Rain, too. Continue reading
In just about two minutes, David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo announces its arrival with an opening credits sequence that’s reminiscent of Fincher’s Fight Club, except much, much darker (and a bit kinkier too).
As the sounds of Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Karen O’s take on Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” play, it’s clear you’re in for a distinctly ominous movie.
And sure enough, with its story of murder, rape, violence against women, graphic scenes of torture, a plot involving Nazis, and a lead heroine who is so anti-social and prone to revenge that she’s a ward of the state, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is no one’s idea of a feel-good movie.
And yet, it’s a pretty damned good one. Continue reading
Generally, when it comes to movies, I’m not a fan of the bait and switch.
How frustrating it is to go to a movie expecting to see one thing, and having the film be something else entirely.
But in the case of Hugo, I found the bait and switch a pleasant, and exciting, surprise.
Yes, that’s right: Hugo is not the children’s movie it’s being marketed to be. Rather, it’s a film that celebrates filmmaking and makes a strong case for preserving the films of our past, the ones that laid the foundation for the movies of today.
The filmmaker behind this cinematic call to arms is none other than Martin Scorsese, who has made one of the most beautiful films of his career, and surely one of the best of this year. Continue reading
Martin's Musings 