Posts Tagged ‘Articles’
 

 

LIMITED RELEASE: “Beginners”

> Worth a Ticket:  A funny, moving story about navigating the twists of life.   Mike Mills’ BEGINNERS is about the fumble for love, the wrong turns and mistakes that can delay–although luckily not always p...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

LIMITED RELEASE: “Beautiful Boy”

> Watch It At Home:  Much sadness, little insight. BEAUTIFUL BOY is less interesting than you’d think it would be.  The premise is certainly arresting:  Shawn Ku’s first film (written with Michael Arm...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

“THE TREE OF LIFE” – God, Man & Terrence Malick

> Worth A Ticket; An often stupendous achievement that courts ridicule–and sometimes earns it. Terrence Malick’s THE TREE OF LIFE is at once the filmmaker’s most emotionally grounded and dizzyingly ambitious f...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

“KUNG FU PANDA 2” – Black Belt

> Worth A Ticket; This franchise has been working out. Over the past few years, DreamWorks Animation has been emerging a bit from its place as the jokey, insubstantial sidekick to Pixar’s superhero studio.  How To Tr...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

“THE HANGOVER PART II” – Hair Of the Dog

> Worth a Ticket; It Wasn’t Broke, They Didn’t Fix It In Hollywood, the word “sequel” is often code for “remake.”  This isn’t news:  the James Bond series has been going on fo...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

“MIDNIGHT IN PARIS” : Ah, Paree!

> Worth A Ticket; A tasty croissant from Woody Allen. Woody Allen interrupts the opening credits of his new comedy MIDNIGHT IN PARIS to insert a montage of lovely Paris locations.  I mention this because after more than 40...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES” – Take the Train

> Watch It At Home; Dreary Franchise Moviemaking. In the 137 minutes of Pirates of the Caribbean:  On Stranger Tides, the 4th installment in Disney’s hugely successful franchise (and yes, you have to sit through all ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

PRIEST: Pray For Us

> Not Even For Free; The 3D Must Stand For “Dull Deadly Dud” If you squint at the post-apocalyptic desert wasteland settings of PRIEST, I swear you can see the camera crews from The Book of Eli, Jonah Hex, Resident ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

BRIDESMAIDS: Bachelorette Party

> Watch It At Home: As Long and Uneven As a Real-Life Wedding. Few recent movies have arrived bearing such a bouquet of goodwill as the new comedy BRIDESMAIDS.  It marks the movie starring and screenwriting (with Annie Mum...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THOR: Hammered

> Watch It At Home:  The God of Thunder Musters a Tinny Roar. Put it this way:  the new superhero epic THOR cost something like $150M to produce, required the diligent services of hundreds of professionals over a peri...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

SOMETHING BORROWED: The Weekend’s Not-Thor

> Watch it At Home;  Something Acceptable. As romantic comedies with Kate Hudson go, SOMETHING BORROWED isn’t so bad.  After her spectacular debut in Almost Famous, Hudson’s become something of a brand nam...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE BEAVER: Chew On This

> Watch It At Home:  Gibson Delivers, The Movie Wobbles As you may have heard, the new comedy-drama THE BEAVER stars a guy named Mel Gibson, who used to be a big-time movie star.  (It’s actually a surprise to re...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

PROM: Bland-Land

> Not Even For Free; No Pig’s Blood At This Shindig. The relationships we have with the stars we watch are no less real for being imaginary, and that’s particularly true for television stars, whom we often watch inh...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

LIMITED RELEASE: “The Double Hour,” “Incendies” & “Cave of Forgotten Dreams”

> Plot spoilers are even more problematic when it comes to limited releases, because by definition they’re only being seen by a few people in certain selected locations, and–if they’re good–will ideally ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

FAST FIVE: Boxoffice Express

> Worth a Ticket:  Diesel and The Rock keep their pedals to the metal. If you want to feel truly American, try reflecting on the new FAST FIVE while wall-to-wall coverage of the British royal wedding is airing on the telev...
by Mitch Salem