MOVIE REVIEW
Nebraska (2013)
Paramount Pictures
Despite the monochromatic cinematography and the absence of Jim Taylor, “Nebraska” is recognizably an Alexander Payne picture. Aside from the obvious — the titular state where Mr. Payne hailed from and also where “Citizen Ruth,” “Election” and “About Schmidt” were set — the new film is a road movie like “About Schmidt” and “Sideways.” Supposing this being nothing new to be a valid criticism, it’s still the only criticism one can conceivably lodge against this masterpiece without seeming nitpicky.
Continue reading “My Father’s House” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Her (2013)
Warner Brothers Pictures
These days, neither Spike Jonze nor Charlie Kaufman seems to have much fun working apart from the other. At first glance, the premise of Mr. Jonze’s “Her” suggests a return to zany form following “Where the Wild Things Are”: The new film concerns Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix), a BeautifulHandwrittenLetters.com writer who is in the midst of a divorce and developing romantic feelings toward Siri version 20.0, here known as Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson). While parts of it are hilarious just as one would expect, the rest of the film takes on a surprisingly somber tone.
Continue reading “Your Wish Is Its Command” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Stray Dogs (2013)
William Laxton/
Homegreen Films and Jba Production
After following the lead of his contemporaries and working abroad, director Tsai Ming-liang (no relation) returns to a Taiwan as damp and dilapidated as ever with his latest, “Stray Dogs.” Although the film does feature stray dogs of both literal and figurative varieties, its English title doesn’t even begin to cover this story about a father with two children in tow. In fact, the original Mandarin title, “Jiao you” — which means “field trip” in English — is a much more apt description of the overall experience.
Continue reading “A Hole Is Not a Home” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
Alison Rosa/Studiocanal
Revisiting the struggling-artist archetype 22 years after “Barton Fink,” Joel and Ethan Coen this time place him squarely in the 1960s East Village folk scene instead of 1940s Hollywood. For all but two scenes (in fact, it’s an early scene that recurs toward the end), “Inside Llewyn Davis” has this time eschewed the noir for which the writing-directing brothers are best known and assumes the “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”-type odyssey.
Continue reading “Burn After Listening” »
MOVIE REVIEW
The Wind Rises (2013)
© 2013 二馬力・GNDHDDTK
Hayao Miyazaki’s final film before retirement (heard that one before with “Ponyo” — glad it wasn’t true then, hope it isn’t true now), “The Wind Rises” is perhaps the legendary animator’s most adult film ever. Since maturity and wisdom are a given in his anime even when aimed for children, we say adult because the new film is based on history and biographies for a change. “The Wind Rises” is a fictionalized account of the life of Jiro Horikoshi, the engineer who designed many of Japan’s World War II fighters. The result is part Studio Ghibli fantasy and part Yasujiro Ozu melodrama about life in Imperial Japan leading up to the Second World War.
Continue reading “Final Flight of Fancy” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Le Week-end (2013)
Nicola Dove/Music Box Films
Director Roger Michell and writer Hanif Kureishi’s fourth collaboration, “Le Week-end” continues their exploration of the desires of the olds following “The Mother” and “Venus.” Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan star respectively as Nick and Meg Burrows, who are visiting Paris for the first time since their honeymoon three decades earlier. They exude a certain upper-middle-class façade of intellect and affluence that is instantly recognizable: You’ve seen these archetypes out and about on the Upper West Side, strutting from cabs outside the Lincoln Center on their way to attend important cultural events. The film’s American premiere at the New York Film Festival comes as a shocker to no one.
Continue reading “Midlife in Paris” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Captain Phillips (2013)
Hopper Stone/Columbia Pictures
Critics are probably giddy at the prospect of making seasickness the gag line of their “Captain Phillips” reviews, given that handheld camerawork is the stock in trade of director Paul Greengrass. All joking aside, consider it fair warning, as one could conceivably get queasy before Tom Hanks’s eponymous captain even sets sail. Once at sea, the photography actually seems placid, perhaps because you’ve grown accustomed to the shakiness or it simply pales in comparison to the relentlessly turbulent unfolding of this fact-based drama about the 2009 Somali pirates’ hijacking of the container ship Maersk Alabama.
Continue reading “On Stranger Tides” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Red 2 (2013)
Jan Thijs/Summit Entertainment
In “Red 2,” Bruce Willis’s retired C.I.A. operative Frank Moses and his former unwitting hostage/ward, Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker), very briefly enjoy their domestic bliss shopping at Costco before Marvin (John Malkovich) suddenly emerges from the next aisle urging them to join him. A Cold War-era document concerning a missing nuclear weapon has surfaced online (opportunity to name-drop WikiLeaks/Reddit/2chan missed), implicating Frank and Marvin by name. Just about every major power’s intelligence agency, infiltrated by its own bloodthirsty warmonger, wants to capture the two in order to secure the weapon of mass destruction and serve its particular agenda. And Frank’s friend (Helen Mirren), foe (Lee Byung-hun) and old flame (Catherine Zeta-Jones) have each enlisted to be hot on his trail.
Continue reading “Stop Worrying and Love the Gun” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Last Vegas (2013)
Chuck Zlotnick/CBS Films
With Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline as best pals gathering in Sin City for a bachelor party, “Last Vegas” has been dubbed “The Hangover” for the sexagenarian set. But anyone actually expecting amnesiac high jinks and excessive debauchery will be in for a big disappointment. The film is about as exciting and hilarious as watching a busload of seniors from the home take a field trip to church, then stop by Olive Garden to take advantage of its unlimited soup, salad and bread sticks before an afternoon at the bingo parlor. But unexpectedly, “Last Vegas” turns out to be a pretty moving drama about the price one pays for lifelong friendships.
Continue reading “Off Their Rockers, but Not Hung Over” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Monsters University (2013)
Disney/Pixar
Caveat: This review of “Monsters University” will spare no spoilers. These are ultimately immaterial to your enjoyment, but by all means read no further if you do not wish to be spoiled. Alonso Duralde over at The Wrap very aptly compares the film with “The Internship,” and that comparison is not as far-fetched as one might think. The two aren’t almost identical, say, the way that “Olympus Has Fallen” and “White House Down” are: “Monsters University” is naturally far superior just as one would expect from anything by Pixar. If nothing else, it’s actually hilarious whereas “The Internship” was not. Nevertheless, both films involve a lovable odd couple rallying a squad of misfits through a series of obstacles in hopes of attaining the holy grail — in the case of “Monsters University,” seats in the prestigious scare class as opposed to lucrative full-time gigs at Google.
Continue reading “Internship for Credit” »