January 2012
2 posts
3 tags
The Artist
Removing the voice
Adds to the performances
It’s remarkable.
3 tags
Contagion
Germaphobes’ nightmare
More realistic Outbreak
And yet, weirdly cold.
December 2011
2 posts
3 tags
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Like Swedish version
Fincher dives deep into dark
With great opening.
3 tags
Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol
Ethan Hunt’s big plan
Involves iPhones and iPads
MacBook Air saves us.
November 2011
5 posts
3 tags
The Descendants
Emotions collide
Even when in paradise
Even with Clooney.
3 tags
Captain America
Most actors avoid
Superheroes, typecasting
But not Chris Evans.
3 tags
Margin Call
Market on the brink
Power brokers’ final play
Always be closing.
3 tags
Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Maybe I’m crazy
I found this a bit stupid
I didn’t love it.
3 tags
Melancholia
Is Kirsten crazy?
Or does she just know the tale
Of when worlds collide.
October 2011
2 posts
3 tags
The Ides Of March
Hold a man up high
He just has farther to fall
All power corrupts.
3 tags
Green Lantern
Remember Top Gun?
Add mood rings, suits, aliens
Take away good parts.
September 2011
3 posts
3 tags
Moneyball
All about the stats
Humans running the numbers
And numbers don’t lie.
3 tags
Drive
Whole lot of brooding
Killer 80s-esque soundtrack
Visual joyride.
3 tags
Fast Five
Yes, Fast Four was bad
Now it’s Ocean’s Eleven
With a funny Rock.
August 2011
4 posts
3 tags
Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes
Damn dirty humans
Messing around with science
Sets up old classic.
3 tags
Ondine
Lady of the sea
But who exactly is she?
Mermaid or drug mule?
3 tags
Another Year
People, seasons change
But the real moral here is
Do not buy a car.
3 tags
Hot Tub Time Machine
A rub-a-dub-dub
Raunchy 80s comedy
Four dudes in a tub.
July 2011
6 posts
3 tags
The Lincoln Lawyer
With some time to kill
McConaughey back in court
Cooler if wasn’t.
3 tags
Sucker Punch
Some stylized fighting
Young girls gyrating. Dirty
Old man’s action film.
3 tags
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2
One final showdown
As Harry hunts horcruxes
Best is saved for last.
3 tags
Unknown
An easy combo
Taken/Bourne Identity
Not as good as those.
3 tags
Transformers: Dark Of The Moon
Saw this film three times
Oh, wait. This is the third film?
They’re all the damn same.
3 tags
Midnight In Paris
Woody hits Paris
Owen Wilson hits his stride
Hemingway hits booze.
June 2011
3 posts
3 tags
The Tree of Life
In dealing with death
Look at the bigger picture
All time is fleeting.
3 tags
X-Men: First Class
Awful makeup jobs
But campy good mutant fun
A great Magneto.
3 tags
Super 8
E.T., War of Worlds
Jurassic Park, Jaws, Goonies
And J.J.’s lens flares.
May 2011
5 posts
3 tags
The Special Relationship
Third Sheen-as-Blair film
While not as good as first two
Is still pretty good.
3 tags
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Why make a fourth film?
The first three minted money
Stay close to what “works”.
3 tags
The Mechanic
It’s The Transporter
But instead of hot woman
We get Ben Foster.
3 tags
Everything Must Go
Will Ferrell can act
Depressing when serious
Better when funny.
3 tags
Thor
Fun, comic action
Driven by the pace and new
Hammer named Hemsworth.
April 2011
8 posts
3 tags
The Next Three Days
A man in a jam
Can Russell Crowe pull it off?
Sort of. Kind of. Meh.
3 tags
Source Code
You take Groundhog Day
Set it on explosive train
And try to explain.
3 tags
Barney's Version
Barney’s one version?
This is at least four movies
None fully make sense.
3 tags
Cedar Rapids
Guy from Hangover
In Iowa’s Hangover
Hint of The Office.
3 tags
The Tourist
Outsmarting bad guys
And outsmarting outsmarting
In outsmarting all.
2 tags
Somewhere
Somewhere there’s a plot
Not in this visual poem
Lost in transition.
2 tags
Morning Glory
McAdams, bubbling
Ford, toiling, troubling
But is he acting?
2 tags
Superman
Effects now cheesy
But the fun nature comes through
Reeve is Superman.
March 2011
5 posts
2 tags
Certified Copy
Story of Elle, James
Perception, reality
Poignant, slow — too slow.
2 tags
Hereafter
In dealing with death
Eastwood, Damon raise questions
That don’t get answered.
2 tags
The Adjustment Bureau
Life is a fixed race
And fate is a book you read
The Matrix with hats.
2 tags
Moon
Space, a lonely place
You’re alone, you go insane
But are you alone?
2 tags
The Kids Are Alright
The kids are alright
Because the kids seem mature
Unlike the parents.
February 2011
2 posts
2 tags
Never Let Me Go
The kids are alright
The world around them is off
And removes their souls.
3 tags
Biutiful
Is life beautiful?
No, but Bardem’s acting is
Alas, both must end.
January 2011
12 posts
2 tags
Salt
Is she who she says?
Or is she the way she acts?
Or neither? Or both?
2 tags
Solitary Man
A worse Wall Street 2
That’s really saying something
As Wall Street 2 sucked.
2 tags
Blue Valentine
Contrast of love/spite
Disturbing reality
In the subtle shift.