Ernest & Celestine review: bear and mouse are friends
Might be the most ridiculously cute movie I’ve ever seen, in a way that transforms adorableness into something honest and wise and deeply satisfying.
reviews by genre
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.
Dirty Wars review: the self-perpetuating “War on Terror”
An infuriating and depressing look at how American foreign policy and warfare have been transformed in highly undemocratic ways, and a reminder of what real journalism looks like.
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.
The Monuments Men review: saving private collections (and public art)
As jaunty as Jean Dujardin’s beret, but in a sincere, old-fashioned kind of way. It could almost have been rediscovered from the 1940s…
