Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival
MOVIE REVIEW
Beyond the Edge (2014)
In a world full of C.G.I. helicarriers, men walking away from explosions without batting an eyelash and women fighting crime with only their leather trousers holding their dignity together, an old-fashioned story of incredible human achievement is a radical invention. Since the tragic avalanche on Mount Everest a few months ago that took the lives of 12 Sherpas, “Beyond the Edge” is even more so its own kind of superhero movie.
Continue reading “A Mountain to Climb” »
Staragara
MOVIE REVIEW
Silent Sonata (2014)
This is a movie of such strangeness that it is surprising it was able to secure financing and, subsequently, distribution. It is a testament to the backers of the Slovenian-Irish-Swedish-Finnish co-production that financiers were willing to risk backing such an unusual and demanding project. It is a pity that the movie itself does not quite stand up to its concept.
Continue reading “Cirque désolé” »
Jamie Kingham
MOVIE REVIEW
The Motel Life (2013)
This is a movie about people who’ve slipped between the cracks. They have no settled life of any kind — no steady jobs, supportive families or stability. Some of this is their own fault, since they drink too much and make bad decisions. Some of it is pure bad luck. You can’t pick your parents. But what you can do is figure out how you’re going to deal with it, and “The Motel Life” is about three people who cope in different ways.
Continue reading “Halfway Housekeeping” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Stalingrad (2014)
Columbia Pictures
The use of Imax 3-D is still something of a gimmick to get us into the cinema instead of watching movies on ever smaller personal screens. It is best used to immerse us into the world of the story with sensory overload. A great deal depends on the choice of the world. The one in "Stalingrad" is one of the more unusual ones — at least to non-Russian audiences — in recent memory.
Continue reading “Destiny at the Gates” »
MOVIE REVIEW
The Selfish Giant (2013)
Agatha A. Nitecka/57th BFI London Film Festival
"The Selfish Giant" claims to be inspired by an Oscar Wilde short story, but only the title appears to be. Arbor (Conner Chapman) is 12 and almost out of control. He lives with his overwhelmed mother (Rebecca Manley) and a drug-dealing older brother (Elliott Tittensor) who cannot be stopped from selling his A.D.H.D. medication. They sleep on the living room sofas, but their house is much nicer than that of Arbor’s best friend Swifty (Shaun Thomas), whose parents are settled Travelers (i.e. Gypsies) with no money and far too many children. Swifty is good with horses, which brings the boys to the attention of Kitten (Sean Gilder, well known from the British version of "Shameless"), a scrap dealer who also organizes illegal horse-and-trap races and the significant bets which are placed on them. Both Arbor’s and Swifty’s mothers are desperate for money, and both boys feel that they are useless in school. One thing pretty much leads to another.
Continue reading “Coming of Age on the Scrap Heap” »
MOVIE REVIEW
The Counselor (2013)
Kerry Brown/20th Century Fox
Some movies are made to stir the intellect and demonstrate what humans are truly capable of. Some movies are made to arouse the senses and explore every nuance of physical and emotional sensation. Some movies are made to astonish with colossal danger and showmanship, whether through real stunts or incredible virtual effects. And some movies are made to be watched by horny virgins who are stoned out of their gourds. “The Counselor” is most definitely the latter.
Not since “Blue Velvet” has Hollywood gone so high- and low-brow in a single movie. “The Counselor” looks great, has outstanding costume design and a real feel for the interior design tastes of midlevel drug dealers in Texas and Mexico. It has Cameron Diaz — with a perfect manicure and covered in cheetah tattoos — doing unspeakable things to her boyfriend’s Ferrari (more on which later). It also has Rosie Perez offering to give Michael Fassbender a blow job. THIS MOVIE HAS ROSIE PEREZ IN IT. And it is so bad it will undoubtedly become a classic like “Showgirls.”
Continue reading “White Powder on the Scales of Justice” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Homefront (2013)
Justin Lubin/Open Road Films
In many ways a movie is all about timing. What seems like a good hook when a script begins doing the rounds can lose its freshness by the time it makes the screen. And of course the trouble is television has gotten so good lately, it can be almost impossible for movies to keep completely separate identities. But “Homefront” is particularly unlucky, since it comes across as a mash-up of the two most distinctive settings of recent long-form television: “Breaking Bad” set in the world of “True Blood.”
Continue reading “Braking Bad” »
MOVIE REVIEW
The Hangover Part III (2013)
Melinda Sue Gordon/Warner Brothers Pictures
According to the tagline, there’s no wedding and no bachelor party — which means there is no point.
O.K., there is a point; but it’s not to make a riotous comedy. Instead, "The Hangover Part III" is a heist movie, where Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms) and Alan (Zach Galifianakis) must join forces with Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong) to steal $21 million worth of gold bars from a big fancy house in the hills above Tijuana. If they don’t, an angry drug kingpin (John Goodman) will shoot Doug (Justin Bartha). They have three days!
Continue reading “Another Hair of the Dog” »
Zade Rosenthal
/Paramount Pictures
“Star Trek Into Darkness” does a good job of building things up before descending irredeemably into a place where no one can hear you scream. At first glance, it has everything necessary to get our backsides onto the seats. It’s the latest in the long line of the “Star Trek” movies, and the second since director J. J. Abrams rebooted with some success back in 2009. But once you leave the theater, you realize how dark it truly was. The setup: While observing life on a planet leftover from “House of Flying Daggers,” Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) and Dr. McCoy (Karl Urban, whose brilliance in this part is underappreciated) set in motion a chain of events which require Lieutenant Uhura’s (Zoe Saldana) boyfriend Officer Spock (Zachary Quinto) to be lowered into an active volcano. To save him, a whole bunch of rules are broken, which bring Captain Kirk back to Starfleet headquarters to be yelled at by Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood) and Admiral Marcus (Buckaroo Banzai himself, Peter Weller). The yelling is cut short when a villain named John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch, who clearly studied at the feet of Alan Rickman’s performance in “Die Hard”) shoots them up. This sends our heroes on a secret mission to either kill Harrison, or maybe actually — since the only non-American lead character (a very uncomfortable Simon Pegg) reminds Kirk that they aren’t soldiers — instead bring him to trial. Oh, and there’s a blonde named Carol (Alice Eve) who at one point changes her clothes.
Continue reading “To Seek Out New Civilizations for New Life” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Life of Pi (2012)
20th Century Fox
Hello! My name is Richard Parker, and I am a Bengal tiger. You may have heard of me, as I am the star of a new 3-D movie called “Life of Pi,” in cinemas now. The director, Ang Lee, has chosen not to feature my name on the advertising posters, although my face features prominently. It is time for me to speak up and tell you my side of the story.
Continue reading “Through the Eye of the Tiger” »