Est. 1998
There tends to be too much hyperbole in film criticism in general and in online criticism in particular, but here’s a case where it’s fully justified. Some of my favorite movies are personal picks and their genius is not necessarily widely appreciated. But “Apocalypse Now” is everything anyone could ever hope for in a motion picture, whether you’re into the surreal madness of international maverick…
George Lucas and Steven Spielberg‘s classic movie did not invent adventure, as it was largely inspired by old serials, pulp magazines and B-movies, but it certainly revamped our conception of big screen adventure. Even “Star Wars” from a few years before wasn’t as relentlessly exciting, and one could argue that very few movies have been since either. Not that they haven’t tried to crack the…
(1 Nov) Strangers on a train (1951, Alfred Hitchcock) 91 [ “Wanna hear one of my ideas for a perfect murder?” Naughty boy Bruno wants to get rid of his father, tennis player Guy needs his wife out of the picture but she won’t give him a divorce. Killing them would help, but they’d be caught right away – they have the motive. But what…
Movie Infos Title: Rushmore Rating: Year: 1998 Director: Wes Anderson Writer: Owen Wilson, Wes Anderson Starring: Jason Schwartzman Bill Murray Olivia Williams Brian Cox Mason Gamble … Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman)’s life is centered around Rushmore, one of the best private schools in the country. Not that he’s any good in class; he’s one of the worst students. Or not that he’s any popular; he’s…
OPENING FILM: Reste avec moi (Robert Ménard)17 [ More likely to win him yet another Aurore than a Jutra, Robert Ménard’s latest is a shamelessly, nah, obscenely melodramatic, manipulative, hammy, preachy, unsubtle, cloying and contrived ensemble film that’s badly directed alright, but suffers from even worse writing. The cast features some good actors (Gérard Poirier, Danielle Proulx, Vincent Bilodeau, Louis Morissette, Maxim Roy, Julie…
I don’t think I’ve ever identified this much with a high school movie. Which is not to say that this is the best I’ve ever seen. To name only one title, “Say Anything” is probably the crowning achievement in the genre but, as much as I’d like to think I was like Lloyd Dobbler when I was 17, um, no. I was way more like…
Ah Tony Scott… king of schlock filmmaking. Yet this ain’t a film from the 80s Tony Scott from the “Top Gun” days, but the slightly edgier, more stylish 90s Tony Scott, post-“True Romance” (his collaboration with Tarantino). Of course, this is still a Jerry Bruckheimer production, so the film is lightning fast and action packed, but it has an intriguing plot and it’s even rather…
Lauren Ambrose – Claire Fisher Michael C. Hall – David Fisher Peter Krause – Nate Fisher Frances Conroy – Ruth Fisher Six Feet Under – “Pilot” (2001, Alan Ball)92 “How’s it going?” “Great, great. My father’s dead, my mom’s a whore, my brother wants to kill me and my sister’s on crack.” I waited a long time to jump on the “Six Feet Under”…
How do you turn what begins as a romantic comedy about a middle-aged widower who decides to hold auditions to find himself a new wife into a gory mindfuck that would shock even David Lynch? Ask Takashi Miike, whose viscerally intense “Audition” did just that, dealing with “issues of trust and betrayal between a man and a woman” and all kinds of messed up insanity…
Before their release, certain movies seem to have it all: the best actors, the most exciting premise, and an awesome preview. Once those movies open in theaters though, most of them turn out to be disappointing flops; movies that could but didn’t. Vantage Point, with its cast and premise, sets the bar high for itself. After all, William Hurt, Forest Whitaker, Sigourney Weaver…