film criticism by maryann johanson | handcrafted since 1997
I was flipping around the TV last night and came across a rerun of Bones, which is a show that I usually never watch, but I left this episode on because Loren Dean was in it. (He has an infrequently recurring role as Bones’ brother.) It seemed like, in the late 1990s, that he was … more…
Take a break from work: watch a trailer… Remember how when the space shuttle lost all its air and no one knew if the Hubble repair astronauts would be able to slingshot around the Moon and get home again, but after three days of nailbiting suspense, they did? That was cool. Seriously, though: The Hubble … more…
Newsweek has a piece up today offering “Seven Ways to Be Cool at Comic Con” — and its definition of cool is definitely… bizarre. This is what Newsweek thinks you’ll be competing with: Today, the cheerleading squad has gatecrashed the cafeteria’s geek corner: Gwyneth Paltrow goes to Comic Con, for Spock’s sake. And Jessica Alba, … more…
This was the sort of hopeless dread the news that Ron Howard was directing this left me with. I felt like Robert Stack in *Airplane!*: ‘It’s a goddamn waste of time — there’s no way he can land this plane!’
Despite the fact that we all know how the story ends, director Ron Howard manages to make Apollo 13 not only riveting but suspenseful as well. Howard’s attention to detail goes above and beyond the call of duty.
I’ve raved over Bill Paxton before, and I’m gonna do it again now. Paxton is one of American film’s finest and most underappreciated actors — a fact obscured by his own supremely subtle talent. A Simple Plan, an outstanding film and an instant classic, should finally bring him the recognition he deserves.
