Movies “based on a true story” are all the rage this season, and some of them, like Captain Phillips and this one, are very good indeed. Truth is often stranger than fiction, and fictionalized truth — in the form of movies […]
Continue reading »Category: Recent Releases
Homefront (2013) ☆ ☆
I wasn’t expecting much from this Southern style revenge action flick, so I was pleasantly surprised by certain elements of it. The story has a former DEA agent (Jason Statham) and his young daughter trying to build a new life […]
Continue reading »The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) ☆ ☆ ☆ 1/2
I have had strong reservations regarding this series; without reading any of Suzanne Collins’ source novels I had (and continue to have) an averse reaction to its basic premise of kids being forced to kill other kids. There’s enough violence […]
Continue reading »All is Lost (2013) ☆ ☆ 1/2
One person shows are difficult to pull off in cinema. On stage, at least the person is usually telling stories directly to an audience and a connection is made. On film, the audience is invisible and the person is on […]
Continue reading »Last Vegas (2013) ☆ ☆ 1/2
The key to enjoying the new comedy Last Vegas is to enjoy watching its acclaimed and talented cast cut loose. Four older men (Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Robert De Niro and Kevin Kline) head to Las Vegas to celebrate perpetual bachelor […]
Continue reading »Ender’s Game (2013) ☆ ☆
I was unaware of how popular this series of Orson Scott Card books has been over the years — enough to spawn a total of thirteen titles — but the premise seems like a natural for the movies. At least […]
Continue reading »Gravity (2013) ☆ ☆ ☆ 1/2
I’ve been mourning the dearth of quality science-fiction for a long time. Somewhere along the line fantasy became more popular than science, special effects began to overwhelm narrative and personal melodrama became standard storytelling currency. I yearn for the days […]
Continue reading »Don Jon (2013) ☆ ☆ ☆
I have to admit that I was surprised by the content of this new movie written and directed by lead actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Ostensibly it is a romantic comedy with strong sexual content; in reality (in my opinion, of course) […]
Continue reading »Captain Phillips (2013) ☆ ☆ ☆ 1/2
Director Paul Greengrass specializes in suspense with real-world ramifications and meaning. Sometimes his subjects are more action-oriented and symbolic in nature (the Jason Bourne films or Green Zone) while others are more historical and fact-based (Bloody Sunday, United 93 and this […]
Continue reading »Prisoners (2013) ☆ ☆ 1/2
I didn’t write a single review in October, and that was due to Prisoners, a movie which I am still internally debating. On the one hand, it is a suspenseful thriller, dealing with the mysterious disappearances of two children, and […]
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