Christopher Nolan blows our minds and gives us the best film of the year so far.
Ryan Ebling
Jul 182010
Jun 212010
Winter’s Bone
Directed by Debra Granik
Starring Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes
Rated R for some drug content, language and violent content
Late in Winter’s Bone a boy is briefly shown rolling on a skateboard on a piece of plywood. He scoots forwards and backwards as far as the limited area of the plywood will allow, content to experience a skateboard on a 4 foot by 8 foot rectangle. In the same way, the characters in wander through their Missouri farming community, not quite aware of the limitations their environment has placed on them. Meth addiction has become as familiar and integral to coping with the hardships of farming life as folk music was one hundred years ago. …Continue reading this entry
Jun 212010
Toy Story 3
Directed by Lee Unkrich
Starring the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen
Rated G
The third installment of the Toy Story series is noticeably different from the first two outings. As much as every subsequent Pixar film was clearly a descendant of the sensibilities, characterizations and form of 1995’s Toy Story, this film is undeniably influenced by its own offspring. From the get-go, it’s apparent that Pixar’s penchant for exploring serious themes will not be absent. As Andy prepares to head off to college, the toys are left to collect dust in a toy box in 17-year-old Andy’s room. When they are donated to a day-care center, the toys discover that it isn’t the promised land of playtime they were led to believe it would be. Instead, they end up in the toddler room, a hellish nightmare of drool, crayons, glue, glitter and destruction. Their attempts to be moved are squelched by the established hierarchy of veteran toys, headed by a cruel toy who is still aching from the sting of abandonment by his owner. Realizing that life would be better in the attic, the toys make a run for it. …Continue reading this entry
May 102010
Robert Downey Jr. and Don Cheadle, not yet getting too old for this shit.
Iron Man 2
Directed by Jon Favreau
Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle
Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, and some language
Typically, in a superhero’s second movie, he is given multiple villains to combat, generally amping up whatever worked in the first one. Writer Justin Theroux and director Jon Favreau favor a slightly more subtle approach to their villain-piling. The multiple opposing forces come in many forms. Ivan Vanko’s Whiplash (Mickey Rourke) and his revenge-minded scheme to copy Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr.) Iron Man technology for his own super exoskeleton serve as the traditional comic book villain, but the U.S. …Continue reading this entry
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