“Leap Year” (2010)
“The plot is predictably predictable.”
Leap Year, the latest from luminary screenwriting duo Kaplan and Elfont (Made of Honor) fits the rom-com mold as snugly as a claddagh ring fits the finger of an Irish lad’s true love.
Apartment stager Anna (Amy Adams) is days away from having her lifelong dreams come true. She [...]
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” (2009)
“It’s a murky moral tale of misdirection with storylines that frequently lose meaning or abruptly dead-end. ”
Terry Gilliam’s surreal parable, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, hedges on the oldest breed of bet in the books — wagers between the devil and men.
As ancient and peculiar as the galleon-like caravan [...]
“Daybreakers” (2010) -
“Delivers again and again on the scares, thrills, and chills.”
Get ready for a killer January. In what has historically been reserved and used as a cinematic dump month for pre-packaged failures needing an excuse to bomb (you know, other than the fact that they’re terrible) comes a series of delightful treats. Studios, [...]
‘Sherlock Holmes’ (2009)
“A vibrant and rollicking good time at the theater.”
It was McManus from The Usual Suspects who said, “There is nothing that can’t be done,” and thus there’s no reason stodgy old Sherlock Holmes can’t come off as a vibrant and rollicking good time at the theater. Which it does. It reminds me [...]
Emily Blunt – “Young Victoria” (2009)
“Blunt is always compelling as the feisty, good-hearted Victoria.”
The Young Victoria is a noteworthy title because the British queen it refers to lived to be 81 and reigned for 63 years. She was young once, of course, like everyone (except Larry King), but she’s more famous for being old. [...]
And here I was thinking 2009 to be a down year for film. The truth is, when I sat down to make my top 10 of 2009 list I realized there were, in fact, a whole slew of really good movies released this year. The trouble is — and I believe this is the reason [...]
Mel Gibson – “The Edge of Darkness”
(2010) – Warner Bros.
Edge of Darkness comes out on Friday. Will it bank theatrically? Do audiences miss Mel Gibson yet? It’s an interesting question, without an easy answer.
There’s no doubt that what Mel Gibson has done to himself is kind of a shame. For the most part, [...]
Penelope Cruz – “Broken Embraces” AKA “Los Abrazos Rotos” (2009) – Sony Pictures Classics
“Broken Embraces simmers and boils with emotion.”
Spanish director Pedro Almodovar’s Broken Embraces (Los Abrazos Rotos) is a film to fall in love, or at the very least lust, with. Bold, vibrant, voluptuous, coquettish, simultaneously sincere and slick — it’s [...]
“Nine” (2009) – The Weinstein Co.
“A film about a man who is spinning his wheels runs the risk of spinning its wheels, and that’s exactly what happens here.”
Federico Fellini’s 1963 film 8 1/2 won the foreign language film Oscar, revealed Fellini’s newfound fascination with the subconscious, and inspired countless cineastes to look more [...]
“It’s Complicated” (2009)
“A pleasant, though meaningless, time at the movies.”
No matter what the title indicates, it isn’t all that complicated. Take three likable stars (Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, and Steve Martin), insert them into some shenanigans, throw out a trailer or two, and then, like 50 Cent says, you “Can watch the money [...]
