I was really looking forward to The 5 Year Engagement. I was convinced it would be the movie that would finally make me love Emily Blunt (I’ve never warmed to her, but remain convinced that John Krasinski would never marry a cold fish). And she fares pretty well. She’s just goofy enough to shed that […]
The Lorax is one of my favorite Dr. Seuss stories. It’s a morality tale, a sort of new-age parable about appreciating what you have and taking care of what you’ve got. It is not as anti-industry as it is pro-practicality. It’s modern economical ethics for kids with rhymes. The 2012 film adaptation takes this core […]
Wanderlust, the new David Wain (Stella, Wet Hot American Summer) comedy starring Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston, is a deeply funny movie, with laughs that run the gamut from the shocked “Oh Shit!” style laughter to the character-based chuckle. Unfortunately, despite its producer pedigree in the form of one Mr. Judd Apatow, it’s also a […]
I was extremely excited when I got a special sneak preview of Act Of Valor, the highly promoted film starring actual Navy SEALS and based on “real life” scenarios they may face in the field. I have a number of friends who served in the armed forces and a few who, while in active […]
There are many, many things that do not work about This Means War; check out Rotten Tomatoes, where the film is currently getting a 26% fresh rating. The movie is home to enough clichés to power about fourteen thousand post-modern comedies (like Friends with Benefits) about how clichéd romantic comedies are. The ending you can […]
The Vow is exactly what you expect from watching the trailer. This is a good thing, generally, because it means that you can watch those three minutes and know, absolutely, if this movie is going to be worth your time. But let me help you even further. The trailer makes the movie look cheesy. It […]
I am the first one to admit that I flipflop on this issue. I am a massive Rom-Com fan. It’s probably my favourite genre. When I was little and we went to Men in Black for my brother’s birthday and I got really scared by that opening scene where they blow up the alien, my […]
This was a tricky movie to make, no one’s going to argue that. There’s never been more sensitive ground for modern American filmmakers to tread than the memory of 9/11. But Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close should have moved me. It made me cry, I’ll admit to that, but it didn’t move me- and yes, […]