Drive
Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn
Starring Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston
It is difficult to describe what it feels like to see Drive. Billed pretty much as an action movie, it’s jarring how dreamily it’s paced, yet once you’ve settled into the grove set by the music and long, slow scenes, the movie blows your head off. …Continue reading this entry
Hanna
Directed by Joe Wright
Starring Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett, Eric Bana
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some sexual material and language
At first glance, Hanna is one long chase scene, in the vein of the Bourne series or any of the currently popular, vaguely sci-fi action movies with pseudo-superhero, government-agency-coveted bare-handed human death machine protagonists (look for that to be one of Netflix’s overly specific genres). However, with director Joe Wright making the heretofore unimaginable leap from the high-minded period drama of Pride and Prejudice and Atonement, this genuinely exciting action film gets a surprisingly welcome shot of elegance and depth that elevates it to a much higher level than I expected. …Continue reading this entry
Fox Searchlight has released some interesting featurettes about the VFX and the sound that were done for Black Swan, which came in second on our best of the year list, though some of us thought that perhaps it should have been number one. . .
Thanks to my wife for bringing these to my attention. …Continue reading this entry
Black Swan
Directed by Darren Aronofsky
Starring Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassell
Rated R for strong sexual content, disturbing violent images, language and some drug use
There has never been a predictable Darren Aronofsky film. Who would have guessed that the director of 1998’s tiny, cheap math thriller Pi would follow with a devastating portrait of addiction in 2000’s Requiem for a Dream, follow that with 2006’s The Fountain, a beautiful, time-traveling sci-fi film about love, follow that with The Wrestler a small and gritty film about a washed-up professional wrestler, only to follow with this year’s Black Swan, a tense and terrifying film about ballet? …Continue reading this entry
Without warning, Girl Talk posted his latest mash-up project for free download here (http://illegal-art.net/allday/) yesterday. It’s about time, too, with 2008′s Feed the Animals having felt pretty stale for a while. Get ready for more genre/decade-spanning party music that makes even the nerdiest among us feel like they could successfully get they’s freak on. The website’s been pretty clogged, but keep at it. …Continue reading this entry
The Social Network
Directed by David Fincher
Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Rooney Mara, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake
Rate PG-13 for sexual content, drug and alcohol use and language
When it was first announced, everyone scoffed at the idea of “a Facebook movie,” including me. As details came out, David Fincher directing, Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake starring, Aaron Sorkin writing, the project became more intriguing, but still sounded absolutely unnecessary. Then came that haunting emotional rollercoaster trailer with the a cappella girls chorus singing Radiohead’s Creep. It was clear that no one really knew what this movie was going to be. Who knew the founding of Facebook was fraught with so much intrigue and back-stabbing? …Continue reading this entry
Inside Job
Directed by Charles Ferguson
Documentary narrated by Matt Damon
Rated PG-13 for some drug and sex-related material
In his follow up to his Oscar-nominated No End in Sight, director Charles Ferguson examines some of the causes of the global financial crisis of 2008. The far-reaching story spans decades and continents, highlighting the deregulation and unchecked growth of the financial market beginning in the 1980s, the housing and lending scams, and even exploring gross excesses of greed, drugs and prostitutes that even Gordon Gekko would have balked at. …Continue reading this entry
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Directed by Edgar Wright
Starring Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jason Schwartzman
Rated PG-13 for stylized violence, sexual content, language and drug references
It seems as though Hollywood has been especially pandering and safe the last few years, cranking out sequels and remakes with disappointing and insulting results more often than not. So it’s refreshing to see director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) creating original work within that framework, breathing life into his adaptation of the Scott Pilgrim comic series. Michael Cera plays the eponymous Scott Pilgrim, a 22-year-old bass player who learns he must defeat the seven evil exes in order to win the heart of his new girlfriend. …Continue reading this entry
The Expendables
Directed by Sylvester Stallone
Starring Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Anyone who’s ever lifted a weight to get an acting job
Rated R for strong action and bloody violence throughout, and for some language
Boasting a cast that should cause sobs of joy in action fans everywhere, The Expendables is just as full of explodin’ and knuckle bumpin’ as one would expect. What was surprising is the amount of time spent talking in the first half of the movie. …Continue reading this entry
The Kids Are All Right
Directed by Lisa Cholodenko
Starring Annette Benning, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo
Rated R for strong sexual content, nudity, language and some teen drug and alcohol abuse
In The Kids Are All Right, Annette Benning and Julianne Moore play Nic and Jules, a married lesbian couple with two teenage kids, obtained through artificial insemination. When the older of the two kids turns 18, her 15-year-old brother urges her to contact the donor, Paul (Mark Ruffalo). Although the meeting goes fairly well, the mothers are incensed when they find out. In order to avoid a rift with their kids, they invite Paul to dinner against their better judgment. Paul’s presence interrupts their marital and familial bliss, exposing weaknesses in their relationships. Paul, however, is temporarily driven to find some stability in his freewheeling lifestyle and wants to stay in the picture. …Continue reading this entry
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