film criticism by maryann johanson | celebrating 25 years: 1997–2022
I sincerely cannot help but worry, with no snarkiness intended whatsoever, whether Clint Eastwood has gone senile. He is 80, after all. I hope this not the case, of course, and I certainly don’t wish it on the guy, but I can’t imagine what else explains this utterly baffling film.
Have you read any of Stephen King’s series The Dark Tower? No? Imagine if Clint Eastwood and James Joyce collaborated on a trippy fantasy about the mystical quest of a gunslinger. It’s weird and fascinating and has inspired a cultish following (and I really need to read more of the series [Amazon U.S.] [Amazon Canada] … more…
Lots of famous people suddenly appear on DVD this week: Richard Nixon, Doctor Who, Keanu Reeve, Notorious B.I.G. Lucky us. Out April 20 in Region 2: green light (definitely check it out): • The Tale of Despereaux: read my review/buy at Amazon U.K./already available in Region 1 at Amazon U.S. • Doctor Who: Image of … more…
Take a break from work: watch a trailer… I don’t know much about football — the sport the rest of the world calls football, I mean, not what we Americans call football — and what I do know thrills me not one teeny bit. But I do know that Michael Sheen is a riveting screen … 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!’
Just a quick look at last weekend’s number as we head into the long holiday stretch, which will, in effect, be one long “weekend” starting tomorrow, Christmas Day, and running through Sunday, January 4: 1. Yes Man: $18.2 million (NEW) 2. Seven Pounds: $14.9 million (NEW) 3. The Tale of Despereaux: $10 million (NEW) 4. … more…
It looks kinda like a big number for the Keanu Reeves sci-fi flick, but it kinda ain’t: 1. The Day the Earth Stood Still: $30.4 million (NEW) 2. Four Christmases: $13 million (3rd week; drops 22%) 3. Twilight: $7.9 million (4th week; drops 39%) 4. Bolt: $7.5 million (4th week; drop 24%) 5. Australia: $4.2 … more…
It’s another holiday tradition: the weekend after Thanksgiving is typically one the movies take a breather over, and that tradition held true. Neither of the new wide releases made much of a showing, and in fact, except for Australia and Quantum of Solace swapping spots, the lineup looks the same as last weekend: 1. Four … more…
The holiday weekend started early this year. These are the kinds of numbers we usually see over a long weekend, when kids are off from school and adults are off from work and everyone’s in a mood to see a movie, not a regular ol’ weekend, and particularly one over which, you might think, people … more…
