Movie Reviews
Akahige
Between 1948 and 1965 Toshirô Mifune made 16 films with Akira Kurosawa. They were the Japanese equivalent of John Wayne and John Ford, though the Japanese pair had more range than the two Johns. ... Read more »
Airplane!
This may be the only movie I’ve ever seen that should have been preceded by a warning: THE PHRASE “DIE LAUGHING” MAY BE TAKEN LITERALLY HERE. WATCH AT YOUR OWN RISK. The first time I saw it I really felt I was in danger of death from laughter. It’s not so much that any particular joke was lethal, it was the combination, the sheer balls-out willingness to do anything, ... Read more »
Aimée & Jaguar
In 1943 in Berlin, there was apparently an underground resistance of Jewish lesbians … I know it sounds unlikely, but this story was based on an autobiographical book that was a major bestseller in Germany. This is the third German film about the war we’ve seen recently, after the rather odd Rosenstrasse and the ... Read more »
Aguirre, the Wrath of God
So far, November 2006 has been the month of big let-downs for me, movie-wise. First there was Rebel Without a Cause, which even most critics would agree that, though iconic, was not a very good movie. Then there was L’Avventura, which all the discerning people love, and I ... Read more »
The Agronomist
Haiti is a little country shaped like a crab claw on the western side of Hispaniola. In 1804 Toussaint L’Ouverture led a slave rebellion, the only successful one I know of. From there on, everything was pretty much downhill. (The Haitians had to pay the former slave owners, ... Read more »
Against the Ropes
Meg Ryan hasn’t made a very good film for some time now. She seems to be trying to stretch herself, as in In the Cut, which turned out to be simply dumb, in spite of being directed by the acclaimed Jane ... Read more »
After the Sunset
Lee asked me several times what the second feature was going to be as we planned a night at the drive-in to see Ocean’s Twelve. I could never quite remember. Was it Before Sunrise? Just After Dark? Dusky Twilight? I could never remember, just something to do with the time of day, and if you ask me a month from now ... Read more »
Aeon Flux
Very pretty to look at, but rather dumb. Charlize Theron is the main reason I wanted to see this, as she’s very pretty to look at just sitting there, unless she goes to extreme measures as in Monster. And she doesn’t disappoint here. She gets to wear a lot of really sexy clothes, and makes them all look better. She moves like a big cat and jumps and spins like an ... Read more »
Adventureland
Sometimes it just doesn’t work. For me, I mean. This film was well-reviewed (75% at Metacritic), and I read some of the best ones, and kept nodding. Yes, they’re all pretty much right. The writing was good, the acting was good, this was not your run-of-the-mill coming-of-age film … and yet it never engaged me. ... Read more »