film criticism by maryann johanson | celebrating 25 years: 1997–2022
Battle: Los Angeles may be about invasion, but it’s not about aliens: it’s about us. This isn’t science fiction: It’s a bleak fantasy about karma being a bitch. It’s about collective cultural guilt. Looked at from that angle, it’s fascinating.
How did anyone dare to do this? How did anyone think they would get away with it? Most audacious of all, perhaps: Did anyone have any notion that such a recklessly bold premise for a film would possibly succeed this well?
I’m not sure if I’ve seen a more sublimely funny moment on screen this year than the one in which George Clooney, in all deep serious earnestness, tries to convince Ewan McGregor that he — McGregor, that is — is a Jedi warrior.
Take a break from work: watch a trailer… I’m real excited about this one, for a couple of reasons. First: Kathryn Bigelow has demonstrated more than once that a chick can make a kickass action movie (Blue Steel, Strange Days, Near Dark) that is also smart and complicated and provocative and offers a new perspective … more…
Take a break from work: watch a movie trailer… Oh man, I’m getting a lump in my throat and tears welling in my eyes just from this trailer. No pictures of coffins coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan. That’s what the men who sent our soldiers into harm’s way decreed. They thought they could make … more…
