The Book Thief review: don’t mention the war…
Thoughtful tweens and teens interested in adventurous stories of kids their own age should love this, but adults may find the light tone off-putting.
drama
The Wind Rises review: Jiro dreams of flying
Visually ravishing, as you’d expect from Hayao Miyazaki, but there is, disappointingly, no drama and no conflict here.
Stranger by the Lake review: a cautionary tale about bad boys
As an exercise in style, this minimalist noir erotic thriller is pretty cool. But it loses its way somewhere around the midpoint and never quite finds it again.
Stalingrad review: life among the ruins
Russia’s first 3D IMAX spectacle is visually intense, but I never warmed to a story meant to be about human resilience.
A New York Winter’s Tale (aka Winter’s Tale) review: cold in the city
A leaden, charmless movie that is unable to commit to its own fantasy. So implausible that even Colin Farrell’s own Irish accent sounds fake.
The Returned review: zombies in remission
Cuttingly sharp and incisive SF horror; a chillingly polite film about the fascism that rises quickly up in a moment of fearful crisis.
Easy Money and Easy Money: Hard to Kill review: easy money… isn’t
Easy Money is a smart, affecting, slow burn of a movie, a spectacular example of Nordic noir. The sequel suffers by comparison, though.
Endless Love review: no more Daddy’s little girl
Shockingly not terrible, and says some things that need to be said more often, like how dads do not own their teenaged daughters…
After the Dark review: most illogical
A thrilling combination of drama, near-science-fiction, suspense, coming-of-age agita, and intellectual exploration of ideas. Pity it derails itself.
The Patrol review: hurry up and wait
Bracingly free of the usual macho posturing that characterizes movies about the military, and a compassionate and humane portrait of modern soldiering.
