
Gold movie review: dust in the wind
In a dry, dusty, desperate landscape, Zac Efron goes full grunge, effectively underplaying physical and psychological implosion. But there’s nothing unexpected in this brutal open-air chamber piece.
film criticism by maryann johanson | handcrafted since 1997
In a dry, dusty, desperate landscape, Zac Efron goes full grunge, effectively underplaying physical and psychological implosion. But there’s nothing unexpected in this brutal open-air chamber piece.
What’s charming and fun here gets a little overwhelmed by too much grossout stuff.
I blame the High School Musical movies for this. Damn you, Zac Efron, and your electric adorableness. Damn you.
Poor Zac Efron: he’s at that awkward Movie Star stage. He’s got It: that indefinable onscreen charisma. But Hollywood doesn’t have a lot of options for him while he’s stuck in the postadolescent, not-quite-grownup phase.
Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire, and Kirsten Dunst will not be returning for the next Spider-Man movie, and Columbia Pictures will be rebooting the franchise, starting all over and sending Peter Parker back to high school, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Or perhaps because someone thinks Spidey Goes to High School Musical is a good idea. … more…
Take a break from work: watch a trailer… I can’t help it: the title Me and Orson Welles makes me think of that scene in Ed Wood when Johnny Depp’s Wood corners Vincent D’Onofrio’s Welles and they talk about movies. Wow: Richard Linklater made a movie with Zac Efron. I would have thought that if … more…
In the Year of the Gloved One 50, which was also called in the old calendar 2009, the people of the town of London came unto Michael with much wailing and despair. “Michael!” they beseeched Him. “Bestow upon us Your awesomeness. Bestow upon us the wisdom of Your spirit, and telleth us once again how Billie Jean is not Your lover and the kid is not Your son, for we long to be reassured. Giveth unto us 50 shows, one for each year of Your beneficence.”
Take a break from work: watch a trailer… I’m not sure Fame was demanding a remake — the original 1980 film is still perfectly relevant, isn’t it? — but nobody asks me about these things. I blame High School Musical. Which is, of course, probably the fault of the first Fame. But hey, it’s the … more…
Oh my, that’s a nasty poster, ain’t it? Inglourious Basterds (opens in the U.K. on August 19, and in the U.S. on August 21) is gonna be even more brutal than the trailer makes it look, I think. The question is whether Quentin Tarantino gets the balance of gore and humor right… I’m gonna attend … more…
So, this Ashley Tisdale person is famous for something, is she?