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Theatrical Movie Reviews
Categories in section: Theatrical Movie Reviews
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Editor's rating:
3.0
Monday, 16 May 2011
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Written by
Daniel Hirshleifer
Jack Sparrow--sorry, Captain Jack Sparrow--is undeniably one of the best action characters to come out of the movies since Indiana Jones traded an idol for a whip. World renowned actor Johnny Depp plays Sparrow as a man out of his own head, and yet always in command of a situation, even when it feels like he isn't. Over the course of three movies, Depp has made Sparrow into one of the most recognizable figures in modern film. And yet, despite international fame and record box office numbers, critics and even fans were turned off by the last Pirates sequel (if not both of them). Too long, too complex, too many supporting characters. The criticisms are varied and often valid. To bring Sparrow back to the screen for a fourth time, Disney ditched previous director Gore Verbinski in favor of Rob Marshall (Chicago). But can ...
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Editor's rating:
0.5
Friday, 25 March 2011
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Written by
Daniel Hirshleifer
In Batman and Robin, the disastrous film that almost killed Batman, a lot of people criticized director Joel Schumacher's fetishization of the bat icons over basic storytelling elements such as character or dialogue. In particular, people pointed to the "bat nipples" on the costume as representative of everything that was wrong with Schumacher's vision. Sucker Punch, the latest film from Watchmen and 300 director Zack Snyder, is all bat nipples.Institutionalized by her abusive stepfather, Baby Doll (Emily Browning, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events) discovers the only way she can fight back against the evil orderlies is to escape into a fantasy world inside her mind. She's joined in this endeavor by Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish, Limitless), her sister Rocket (Jena Malone, Donnie Darko), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens, High School Musical), and Amber (Jamie Chung, Sorority Row). They're guided in their fantasies by The Wise Man (Scott Glenn, The Silence of the Lambs) , ...
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Editor's rating:
2.0
Friday, 11 March 2011
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Written by
Daniel Hirshleifer
Over the course of my day job, I've seen the trailer for Mars Needs Moms more than I can count. It has generated a loathing within me that I cannot adequately describe. The general rule of thumb is that the trailer for a comedy will include all the funniest moments. It seems that with Mars Needs Moms, the decision was made to include only the most annoying parts in the trailer, because every line felt like it was piercing directly to the anger centers of my brain. Imagine my surprise when I saw the movie and found that it wasn't quite as unbearable as I had first assumed. However, "not always annoying" isn't the same as "good," and while Mars Needs Moms can sometimes rise to the level of the former, it never gets within shouting distance of the latter.Milo (Seth Green) is your typical ...
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Editor's rating:
4.0
Wednesday, 22 December 2010
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Written by
Daniel Hirshleifer
There's something uniquely American about the Coen brothers. Whether they're examining a man's personal breakdown in the midwest with A Serious Man, a kidnapping mystery in Fargo, a mob land war in Miller's Crossing, or two bowlers who just want their rug back, the Coens manage to put a spin on the story that makes it feel like a true American folk tale. Even their adaptation of The Odyssey is filtered through an old-time American lens in O Brother, Where Art Thou? And while they made something of a modern revisionist western with their Academy Award-winning No Country For Old Men, the duo have seen fit to return to the genre, this time with all the proper trappings, with a remake of the 1969 John Wayne film True Grit.The film opens as Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld in a brilliant performance) recounts the death of her father at the hands ...
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Editor's rating:
3.0
Sunday, 19 December 2010
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Written by
Daniel Hirshleifer
Disney has sure made some bizarro live action picture over the years. The 70's in particular was a great era for Disney's live action department, bringing us such semi-forgotten classics as The Black Hole, The Watcher In The Woods, and two entries in the Witch Mountain series. But it wasn't until the early 80's that Disney released perhaps its most famous live action picture, a little oddity known simply as Tron. Starring a young Jeff Bridges as a man who finds himself sucked into a computer system and forced to play dangerous games (which to humans simply seem like the video games they play at arcades), Tron was absolutely groundbreaking. Using all kinds of never before seen visual effects, including very early CGI, Tron has grown from an odd slice of Disney arcana to a full fledged cult classic. Much like another sci-fi film released in 1982, Blade Runner, the ...
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