The Two Faces of January movie review: without a Hitch
There’s delicious movie-movie elegance in the exotic locales and the period dress, but not much tension to be found in the murderous misadventures on offer.
Viggo Mortensen
On the Road (review)
If you didn’t know that Jack Kerouac’s novel was a seminal influence on postwar America, you would never, ever guess it from this lifeless, soulless, pointless adaptation.
A Dangerous Method (trailer)
Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender talking about anal fixation and penis envy?
cinematic roots of: ‘The Town’
In The Town, bank robber (Ben Affleck) falls in love with a witness (Rebecca Hall) to his latest heist while dodging the investigation of an FBI agent (Jon Hamm) into his crimes. This flick sprang from (among other films)…
February 12: DVD alternatives to this weekend’s multiplex offerings
We know how it is: You’d like to go to the movies this weekend, but they never let you bring champagne, truffles, and candlelight into the theater with you. But you can have a multiplex-like experience at home with a collection of the right DVDs. And when someone asks you on Monday, “Hey, did you … more…
top 10 movies of 2009: the whys and wherefores
If you regularly check my on-the-fly ranking of new theatrical releases as I see them, then my top 10 movies of 2009 are no surprise: I shuffled a few titles around a bit last month, but the films ranked in the top 10 for 2009 haven’t changed much in months. (The 2009 ranking is here; … more…
my week at the movies: ‘The Book of Eli,’ ‘Fish Tank’
Slow week while everyone except me jets off to Sundance. Warner Bros. is holding The Book of Eli (opens in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. on January 15) till Wednesday night, which doesn’t inspire great hope, but at least it is screening. It’s all about how Our Hero Denzel is carrying Viggo Mortensen’s flame … more…
November 25: DVD alternatives to this weekend’s multiplex offerings
We know how it is: You’d like to go to the movies this long holiday weekend, but you won’t be able to move off the sofa after all that turkey, plus: football! But you can have a multiplex-like experience at home with a collection of the right DVDs. And when someone asks you on Monday, … more…
question of the day: What will it take for a science fiction movie to win an Oscar for Best Picture?
Fred Topel yesterday at Sci Fi Wire pondered the Oscar chances of The Road, which could be a serious contender this year. In its favor: its grim subject matter, its awards-season debut, the powerful performances by Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee, and its home at The Weinstein Company — where the folks are known for … more…
The Road (review)
This is a really great film — truly great in the classical sense of the world, as grand as our most terrible fears and as wild as our most outlandish hopes and as intimate as being alive can be.
