handcrafted film criticism by maryann johanson | since 1997
We know how it is: You’d like to go to the movies this weekend, except your kid is sick and the doctors don’t know what you do about it, so you’re gonna be busy revolutionizing medical science in your garage. But you can have a multiplex-like experience at home with a collection of the right … more…
Forget all that nonsense about fending off evil spirits with Bibles and holy water and garlic or whatever. Automatic weapons is what you need.
Two movies opening on the same day (in North America, at least), and both feature fantastical winged creatures. Coincidence… or magical intervention? In these desperate times, when change we can believe in seems far away and hope is waning, can we at least count on our flying imaginary friends for comfort? Shall we embrace the … more…
Take a break from work: watch a trailer… Romance! Intrigue! Royalty! Politics! Assassination! Ruffles! Sideburns! What’s not to love? Don’t tell anybody — shhh! — but all of a sudden, between this film and Creation (both of which I’ve now seen), I suddenly have a little bit of a crush on Paul Bettany. It’s probably … more…
Take a break from work: watch a trailer… I’m so looking forward to seeing this movie, and it looks like I’ll get my chance: the film has finally been picked up for U.S. distribution by Newmarket Films, after a period during which no one would touch it. As the Telegraph explained back on September 11: … more…
Take a break from work: watch a trailer… Oooo, sexy: flirting over a chessboard. Looks like a pretty luscious love story. No wonder Victoria put the whole country into mourning for half a century when Albert died… Interesting choice, Emily Blunt for the lead. She’s so funny and so spritely — that’s not exactly what … more…
I receive more DVDs in the mail than I can possibly ever review, and here I run them down once a week. This are all Region 1, though I’ll note if they’re available in Region 2, too. (And as an aside to all those British DVD publicists out there, I’m totally open to checking out … more…
The secret life of bees? More like the secret life of women. The bee thing, it’s a metaphor, see, for how half the human race lives shrouded in mystery and darkness and, I guess, sweetness and honey.
It’s ‘Comparative Mythology for Dummies’ done up Hollywood style, except there’s no smooching.
BEST ACTOR Don Cheadle, Hotel Rwanda It’s a role that, in the hands of even another very competent actor, could have descended into pathos and sentimentality, but Cheadle’s performance goes way beyond mere competence: As an Oskar Schindler-type figure in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, he approaches incomprehensible horrors in a way that makes us intimate partners … more…
