I cannot think of a more disappointing film than Spike Jonze’s adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are. I hadn’t been expecting anything at all, really, since first seeing the trailer. But even those expectations were lowered. The beloved children’s book by Maurice Sendak is about 13 sentences, 330 words. How long is the film? [...]
Sister, Sister: Review for “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?”
Have you ever been manipulated by a completely crazy person? Are they related to you? Thought so. But was it so bad that they crippled you with their car? Thought that would get you. In the classic thriller What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Starring Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, Davis shows us child stars [...]
My Compliments to the Chef!: Review of “Julie & Julia”
Julia Child is a giant and how they could get a 5’6” actress to play a 6’2” icon doesn’t really surprise me. Not, at least, when it’s Meryl Streep in the role as the warbley chef. Julie & Julia is based on Julia Child’s autobiography published in 2005, My Life in Paris, and Julie Powell’s [...]
Gangster Paradise: Review for “Public Enemies”
John Dillinger had a very obvious suaveness to him. He liked cars, movies, and could woo a girl in no time. He is one of the most famous bank robbers. And his career, if untimely short, has been put on the screen. The director is a very able one at that. Michael Mann knows how [...]
Long Time
It has been extremely hectic lately and I am so sorry, Faithful Readers, that I have not posted in a long time. So, I will just write what I have seen and provide a capsule review of each.
Doubt
The John Patrick Shanley translates to the screen well mostly because of its stellar cast. Meryl Streep as [...]
Nightmares and Dreamscapes: Review for “Coraline”
The team who brought you the stop-motion animation masterpiece The Nightmare Before Christmas is back delivering a terrifying but fantastic film yet again. Neil Gaiman’s wonderfully eerie children’s book hits the screen in a big way, and works great as a SMA movie. I imagine that a live action version would not be as convincingly [...]
A Touch of “Frost”: Review for “Frost/Nixon”
Can you think of am exciting storyline? Does it involve two men? Two men talking to each other? Well, if that’s not your idea of a great film, you may want to think again. Frost/Nixon is based on a Tony award winning play from 2007 that tells the somewhat true story of a humble British [...]
Shoot ‘Em Up: Review for “Wanted”
Guns are everywhere. It’s another sad truth. We have six year olds playing Grand Theft Auto, hijacking cars, and shooting cops every weekend for fun. We have news stories about people taking their AK-47 to their school rooftop and, in a vulgar sense, going postal. But in a society where violence is omnipresent, you have [...]
Phantom of the “Opera”: Review for “Repo! The Genetic Opera”
It is deathly depressing, but we live in a world where there are hundreds of people who go to see the newest horror movie simply to see someone get chopped up right one right after the other. There are crowds of perfectly sane human beings going to see torture porn films and treat them like [...]
Killer Appeal: Review for “Dexter”
While some may see it horrifying to identify with and empathize with a serial killer, think about this: we have no trouble empathizing with any other vigilante like Batman or Spider-Man. So why is it so hard to do it with a killer? Is it merely the idea that he is a killer? That is [...]
