Movie Reviews
Unleashed
Luc Besson, who wrote this, is a highly-overrated Frenchman who made one film I liked (The Professional), and lot of crap (The Messenger, The Fifth Element, La Femme Nikita, The Big Blue). Oh, yeah, all those films were interesting to look at, but they had one failing I just can’t abide: They were dumb. Really dumb. Besson’s reputation has kept me away from two ... Read more »
Unknown Pleasures
The director is a cinematographer, and this film looks great. But it’s about disaffected Chinese youth wasting their lives, and a little of that goes a long way with me.
Unknown
Here’s an adequate thriller. The story is puzzling and hangs together reasonably well, Liam Neeson is always fun to watch, and it doesn’t strain the bounds of credibility … too much. For a while I’ve meant to make a list of Things You Have to Accept If You Want to Enjoy a Modern Action Movie. It would save me a lot of time, I could ... Read more »
The United States of Leland
A 16-year-old psychopath ups and stabs an autistic boy to death one day. He offers no explanation, and we see him in juvie hall, and the people whose lives he affected by the murder. He was ignored by his father, played by Kevin Spacey in a real snooze of a performance. Nothing much happens, and I wonder why I was supposed to care about any of these people, particularly Leland. Screw this ... Read more »
The Brave One
I don’t understand the title. I guess it’s brave to come out of your apartment after a brutal mugging that leaves you near death and your fiancée dead, when you’re having panic attacks the moment you reach for the doorknob … but having a gun helps a lot. There’s really nothing brave about putting a gun in the face of a worthless piece of shit and pulling the trigger. Satisfying, sure, but ... Read more »
The Bucket List
Starts off better than I’d expected. You know from the previews that these guys are dying, and out to have some fun before that happens, and I expected it to be a lark from the beginning. Not so. It’s pretty grim. But then after the list of things to do was made it began to lose its way. I thought it was overboard to have Jack Nicholson be so damn bloody rich ... Read more »
Body of Lies
About halfway through this movie I realized that I’d read this story. But for the life of me I couldn’t remember who wrote it. I read a lot, and don’t retain plots very well. I sometimes get to Chapter 3 or 4 before realizing I’ve been here before. So when I got home I looked back at my list of BOOKS READ, and sure enough, there it was, some years ago. It’s by David Ignatius, who is not on ... Read more »
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
Bow wow! Bow wow wow wow! Bad dog! Bow wow wow wow wow wow! You cut that out right now, if you know what’s good for you! I’ll beat the crap out of you with this rolled-up newspaper, you mutt!
This movie puked on our shoes, humped our legs, pissed on the seats, and left the inside of the car hopping with ...
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Bolt
Disney’s newest all-talking, all-CGI, all celebrity voices (John Travolta as the super-dog, Bolt, with Miley Cyrus as the little girl) entry in the big-ticket animation sweepstakes. We’re getting at least half a dozen of them per year now. Some are actually good. Some are masterpieces, like WALL*E. This isn’t a masterpiece, but it’s a creditable piece of work. (I ... Read more »
Because of Winn-Dixie
What a crock! It’s the damn neo-cons again, out to get us! You think you’re going to see a movie about a dog. Maybe Benji, or Lassie. But no, this is another thinly-disguised metaphor, this time in favor of the Bush administration’s “faith-based” bullshit. There’s this preacher and his little daughter. The mother has run away (worthless welfare cheat, probably), so God sends a scruffy ... Read more »