Category Archives: General Reviews

Film reviews on things I have been watching (old and new)

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

Posted on December 17, 2015 by

This is spoiler free but there are some very general things mentioned so if you want a completely empty slate then go see it first. At some point in the process of taking on the enormous expectations of the movie-going … Continue reading →

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Miller’s Masterpiece / Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Posted on May 15, 2015 by

I think the thing that most amazed me while watching Fury Road last night was how much it restored my faith in movies in general and specifically of this type. As much as I enjoy the Marvel movies, to give … Continue reading →

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Birdman (2014)

Posted on October 31, 2014 by

First things first: It is great to see Michael Keaton in a major role in a major film. I was looking over his filmography the other day and was surprised at how few films he has been in since the late … Continue reading →

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Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

Posted on July 11, 2014 by

Following a quick recap of where the last film left off,  Dawn of the Planet of the Apes opens with the camera locked on simian-leader Caesar’s (Andy Serkis) intense eyes as he leads a hunt in a rain-soaked forest. This … Continue reading →

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Finally Done Right: Godzilla (2014)

Posted on May 15, 2014 by

Serious-minded, restrained and often breathtaking, director Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla is deliberately and firmly planted in the less-is-more camp and I relished not only this approach but the film as well. In an era of movies that race to the finish … Continue reading →

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Too Much and Not Enough: The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Posted on May 2, 2014 by

Marc Webb’s frenetic The Amazing Spider-Man 2 opens with a forced hysteria; following a short prologue involving Peter Parker’s father, Spider-man (Andrew Garfield looking more and more like 60’s era Anthony Perkins) chases down a truck full of plutonium through … Continue reading →

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12 Years a Slave (2013)

Posted on January 20, 2014 by

Any time a film tackles history, especially history’s darkest corners, there is a temptation to paint in big strokes, to overstate and to preach. The most miraculous thing about “12 Years a Slave” is that it derives most of it’s … Continue reading →

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Her (2013)

Posted on January 19, 2014 by

When Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) tells his coworker that he is dating his operating system, no look of shock or judgement is given. Theodore doesn’t really seem all that embarrassed in his proclamation either. Similarly, Theodore tells one of his … Continue reading →

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American Hustle (2013)

Posted on December 21, 2013 by

There is a scene in David O. Russell’s “American Hustle” where Jennifer Lawrence’s character is making small talk with her husband’s friends about her top coat nail polish. She explains her obsession; it is both super-sweet smelling but that just … Continue reading →

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Pure Cinema Above the Earth: Gravity (2013)

Posted on October 6, 2013 by

Somewhere around the 10 minute mark of Alfonso Cuarón’s “Gravity” that incredibly rare feeling came over me; that the film I was watching would be unlike anything else I have seen before. It has been rightly said in the last … Continue reading →

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