
Django Unchained (review)
Quentin Tarantino spins a dark fantasia of the pre-Civil War South that is hilarious, ferocious, shocking, and wise, sometimes all at once.
film criticism by maryann johanson | handcrafted since 1997
Quentin Tarantino spins a dark fantasia of the pre-Civil War South that is hilarious, ferocious, shocking, and wise, sometimes all at once.
A mealy, wan attempt at a black comedy.
I’m gonna hope that perhaps the fantastic cast here will make yet one more tale of a man fucking up endurable.
Indie filmmaker Tyler Perry has spun an unlikely career out of catering to underserved black audiences by giving them excruciatingly unwatchable minstrel-show movies. Now, finally, Perry has made a film that doesn’t pander, that has something meaningful to say — something actually worth hearing…
Rodrigo Garcia’s latest film, Mother and Child, opening tomorrow in the U.S. and Canada, is that rarest of rarities these days: a serious film about motherhood that does not resort to clichés and stereotypes but explores what is for many women the central experience of their lives without either denigrating it or dismissing it. The … more…
Micmacs (now playing in the U.K. and available to preorder on Region 2 DVD; opens in the U.S. and Canada on May 28), in which French comedian Dany Boon is a guy with a bullet in his head on a quest to destroy the weapons manufacturer who made the bullet. It’s from Jean-Pierre Jeunet — … more…
It’s still Thursday for a little while, and that means it’s time to remake an 80s classic TV show or movie with an all-new cast. This week: 21 Jump Street, the 1987-91 Fox drama about young-looking cops who go undercover in high schools. Now that I look back at it, it was like Law & … more…
Yesterday I posted a piece on Samuel L. Jackson discussing Lakeview Terrace, which opened in the U.K. yesterday, and arrives on DVD in the U.S. on January 27, 2009. (My review is here.) It’s the story of a black cop, played by Samuel L. Jackson, who menaces and harrasses his new neighbors, a mixed-race couple … more…
Oh, to live to see such a rarity: a horror movie for grownups!
All this week! 5 movies I’m psyched for in September, and 5 reasons why. No. 3: Lakeview Terrace [opens wide September 19]. 1. The story: An interracial couple — he’s white, she’s black — get harrassed by their neighbor, a cop who happens to be black, disapproves of their relationship, and — oh, yeah — … more…