Category Archives: Movies

CIFF 2011: Tyrannosaur

SPOILER ALERT

So some of you came out of the woodwork and yelled at me for spoiling The Ides of March in my review. My attitude toward spoilers is this: 1) no, I don’t care about them, 2) most of my reviews post after the movie comes out—you have 72 hours to see a movie unspoiled and then come Monday, we’re talking about it, and 3) my goal with these reviews is to help you decide how to spend your money at the movies. Entertainment is expensive—it costs a lot to go to movies, to maintain premium cable packages, VOD and streaming/rental services. I’m trying to provide enough information to help you spend your money wisely. Of course I’m going to tell you if a movie is good or bad, but mainly I want to write reviews and previews that help you not waste your money. If I get a little spoilery, it’s in the interest of letting you know what to expect when you go to the movies. Also, I read a couple advanced reviews of Ides that referenced the suicide so I didn’t realize it was going to be a big deal.Continue reading “CIFF 2011: Tyrannosaur”

CIFF 2011: Like Crazy

October 6-20 marks the 47th Annual Chicago International Film Festival. I’ve never done this festival before and decided to give it a whirl this year. Film festivals always sound better in my head than they actually are. I was reminded of this as I stood in line for Like Crazy, surrounded by college-aged hipster douchebag film students. Over the next couple weeks I’ll be posting reviews from the films I’m seeing. Unless I’m in jail for stabbing a college-aged hipster douchebag film student to death with my pencil.

Like Crazy was a big hit at Sundance and I can see why. It’s a charming, small film that’s a bit cute and quirky without descending into twee-ness (despite the rather poor trailer’s tendency toward the twee). The natural comparison here is (500) Days of Summer, but I found Like Crazy to be a lot less hipstery. Like Crazy is the story of Jacob and Anna, a couple of selfish assholes who ruin the lives of everyone around them. It’s a bittersweet love story.Continue reading “CIFF 2011: Like Crazy”

The Ides of March is a pointed look at zzzzzzzz

Okay, here’s the thing. I liked The Ides of March. I liked Good Night and Good Luck, too, so George Clooney’s methodical directorial style doesn’t irk me. It’s just that it’s hard to have a lot of enthusiasm for his efforts after the fact. Like, I saw Ides and I liked Ides but I don’t care if I never see it again. I don’t care if you ever see it. It’s not mandatory viewing. It’s just…there.

Clooney makes procedurals. Procedurals are, at their heart, boring. This is why so many cop dramas feature a loose cannon and/or self-destructive detective. You need a wild and crazy guy to enliven the proceedings. Clooney, as a director, has a very clean and controlled style. He doesn’t get bogged down in emotions or overly-elaborate ruses to make the audience care about his characters. In fact, he directs as if he really doesn’t give a shit if you like anyone in the movie or not. He also doesn’t indulge in the stock loose cannon character. The closest we get in Ides is when Stephen (Ryan Gosling) loses his job and you’re not sure who he’s going to screw over first. But that’s just it—we all know Stephen is going to seek revenge and we know what the instrument of that revenge will be.Continue reading “The Ides of March is a pointed look at zzzzzzzz”

Moneyball hits a triple but doesn’t score the run

Okay. Let’s get this right at the beginning. I liked Moneyball. I really liked it. I thought it was a really good movie. I enjoyed watching it. This is not a negative review of Moneyball. If I had to give this movie a grade, it would be an A-. That said, I know what I am about to say is not the popular opinion. I know you will disagree with me and I know why you will disagree with me. But hear me out.

Moneyball could have been great. Could have been, and wasn’t. And I resent that a little.Continue reading “Moneyball hits a triple but doesn’t score the run”

Drive is not what I expected

You watch the trailers, you read the reviews and you think you know what you’re getting when you walk in the theater. Not so with Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive. Case in point, when I went to see it over the weekend, there was a group of rowdy teenagers in the back, probably 15-17 years old. I thought for sure we were going to have problems with them, that I might have to see Drive again because a bunch of kids ruined it (I’m still mad at Sasha The Crying Baby for wrecking Iron Man). Not so with Drive. The opening scene is so tight and tense that those kids shut the hell up and remained quiet throughout the rest of the movie. Whatever they though they’d be seeing when they bought tickets, Drive turned out to be something different. I know it wasn’t what I was expecting. At all.Continue reading “Drive is not what I expected”

50/50 is a rare treat

Lainey coined a term, “Hollywood Sliding Doors”, to describe the what-ifs of casting. Like that Gwyneth Paltrow movie Sliding Doors, in which dual realities play out—in one plot Gwyneth got on the Tube in time to get home and catch her boyfriend cheating. In the other plot, she just misses the train and continues on with her worthless partner (it’s a good movie from Gwyneth’s glory days). Hollywood Sliding Doors is about imagining what a movie would be like if the casting played out differently. The truth is most projects pass through several hands before getting made. You hear stories of actors sticking with something for years—current example is Brad Pitt and Moneyball—but usually casting is an ongoing process until production begins. Actors outgrow roles, they get pregnant or have to go to rehab, they commit to multiple projects and end up having to choose between them—the reasons for Hollywood Sliding Doors are myriad.Continue reading “50/50 is a rare treat”

Contagion, or How Gwyneth Paltrow’s Cheating Ass Kills Us All

I took in Steven Soderbergh’s Outbreak remake, Contagion, over the weekend. Actually, I need to stop calling it a remake of Outbreak. Contagion has more in common with Soderbergh’s Oscar-winning Traffic than it does the Dustin Hoffman/Rene Russo Ebola soap Outbreak. Overall I enjoyed Contagion. It’s a tight thriller that achieves moments of suspense and real-life “this could totally happen” feelings. You all know my obsession with preparing for the zombie apocalypse—the events of Contagion are actually way more likely to happen and now I’m afraid of touching my face, doorknobs, and other people.Continue reading “Contagion, or How Gwyneth Paltrow’s Cheating Ass Kills Us All”