WILL BE POSTED JULY 14, 2012
Read More »Netflix and Beyond
MINI REVIEWS: THAT IS ALL THEY DESERVE: TAKE THIS WALTZ, A BURNING HOT SUMMER
“Take This Waltz” (previously reviewed 5/27/12), did not improve with a second viewing. Michelle Williams and Seth Rogen star as a couple (“Margot”, “Lou”) so devoted to each other that their endearments are flavored with untoward, torturous sentiments. She is aimless, rootless, devoid of ambition; he cooks and writes about chicken for a living. Enter Luke Kirby (“Daniel”) as the …
Read More »THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
If you are a Marvel comic book fan or simply enamored with the “Spider-Man” mystique you will be satisfied with the newest rendition of, to say the least, “The Amazing Spider-Man”! Andrew Garfield, replacing Toby Maguire, is excellent as the sensitive, seventeen-year-old “Peter Parker/Spider-Man”. With misty-eyed sincerity he imbues the duality with likeability, believability; and is galvanizing in his transformation …
Read More »TED (TASTELESS. ENERVATING. DISGRACEFUL.)
Abominable. Detestable. Dismal. Deleterious. Humorless. Salacious. Scatological. Revolting. Ridiculous. Vile. Wretched. Only partially describes this disgusting movie, starring Mark Wahlberg and his foul-mouthed, bibulous , drug -addicted, good-for –nothing, copulating Teddy Bear. Teddy Bears of the universe unite, join in a class action suit; sue for defamation of character. No matter the monetary reward it will take generations to erase …
Read More »SAVAGES
Oliver Stone’s latest flick can be summed up in a brief sentence. Good drug dealers versus bad drug dealers. It is engrossing, more than minimally entertaining; not as bludgeoning with the message as the usual Stone scenario; still in a month’s time will be a vague, shadowy memory of a mindless two hours spent in a refrigerated cocoon; a blessed …
Read More »BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD
Achingly poignant, mythically powerful film, told from the perspective of six-year-old “Hushpuppy” (Quvenzhanem Wallis, a forceful sprite with a gift from the gods); living in the disastrously destitute Louisiana bayou; alone, she resides in a shack, next door to her abusive, alcoholic, terminally ill father, “Wink” (brilliant portrayal by Dwight Henry) in an island of muck, detritus, prehistoric, called “The …
Read More »MAGIC MIKE
Steven Soderbergh’s intimate portrayal of the lives and performances of “male strippers’ was an enlightening, enticing slice of reality for this neophyte; knew they existed, gave them no thought; realized for a certain segment of the female population they were a titillating source of entertainment. I was totally bamboozled, mesmerized and shamefully, overwhelmingly, enthralled with the scenario. Matthew McConaughey is …
Read More »TO ROME WITH LOVE
Is an abomination, travesty, an insult to the craft of filmmaking and a humiliating example of a auteur (Woody Allen) gone amuck. Out of respect for my, if at times limited, but still viable insights; I am composing this review in 15 minutes (which is approximately 14 more than it deserves.) 1) All the men in the film are clones …
Read More »YOUR SISTER’S SISTER
A supercilious, insignificant, “like-infested” film about 30 -something’s with too much time on their hands; not enough intellectual substance, just aimless individuals who have reached a hiatus, a cavernous lacuna that overwhelms them, stymieing their decision -making process or powers. Loss, love, grief are experienced by all; how you deal with the vicissitudes in life make you the person you …
Read More »THE COLOR WHEEL
The 2011 film “Like Crazy” starring Felicity Jones and Anton Yelchin was a delightful slice of fluff that I saw with trepidation; because of the word “like”; robbed of its legitimacy by contemporary vernacular; bastardized, used as a verbal pause, conversations lengthened 50% by its ubiquitous repetition; car alarms, nails on a blackboard, sleeplessness are preferable to its resounding, droning, …
Read More »