This isn’t even an actual binary: but let’s say you wanted to figure out whether somebody was ultimately a fan of Batman, or ultimately a fan of Tim Burton. They way you do this is by asking their opinion of Batman Returns, which is, honestly, kind of a lousy Batman film, and also kind of […]
I would like to begin, if I could, by restoring to Tim Burton’s 1989 adaptation of Batman some of its dignity. Nearly a quarter of a century after it was released to an amount of hype that had not at that point in history been matched by any film without the words “Star Wars” in […]
The last time Woody Allen made more than one genuinely great movies right in a row was in 1994 (if we want to press a point and allow the intermittently brilliant, sometimes strident Deconstructing Harry as great, it jumps to 1997), and thus it must follow, as night the day, that his next project after […]
Every Sunday this summer, we’ll be taking an historical tour of the Hollywood blockbuster by examining an older film that is in some way a spiritual precursor to one of the weekend’s wide releases. This week: Ice Age: Continental Drift is the fourth entry in the inexplicably durable franchise that teaches our children a fantastically […]
A guide to this blog’s James Bond marathon can be found right here. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVERDirected by Guy HamiltonWritten by Richard Maibaum and Tom MankiewiczPremiered 14 December, 1971 PRE-TITLE SEQUENCEIn Japan, some poor SPECTRE functionary is thrown right the hell through a paper door, as a pointedly unseen but audibly familiar Cmdr. James Bond, Agent […]
I know this is the most obvious possible way to start off, but: Ice Age: Continental Drift is no less than the third sequel to 2002’s blandly pleasant Ice Age, and I cannot figure out why. Okay, so why is thunderingly obvious: because the movies are ridiculously profitable (the third entry in the franchise, Dawn […]
It’s been so long waiting for Oliver Stone to return that it’s hard to recall what he’s supposed to be returning to, or where he’s returning from. On the evidence of Savages, it’s probably about time to stop caring. Because, at least formally, Savages kind of is that return: the first Oliver Stone narrative feature […]
Let us now consider the vexing issue of Madea’s Witness Protection, the twelfth feature film written and directed by Tyler Perry, and the seventh in which he plays the lamentably iconic fat, sassy Atlanta grandma Mabel “Madea” Simmons. I do not quite know what to make of this movie – and is that not the […]
Every Sunday this summer, we’ll be taking an historical tour of the Hollywood blockbuster by examining an older film that is in some way a spiritual precursor to one of the weekend’s wide releases. This week: Oliver Stone’s Savages finds a filmmaker who was once a great stylist hunting for meaning in his career by […]
A guide to this blog’s James Bond marathon can be found right here. ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICEDirected by Peter HuntWritten by Richard MaibaumPremiered 18 December, 1969 This happens to be the only James Bond film that’s actually susceptible to being spoiled, and it’s partially because of its shock ending that it’s also one of […]
I would like to think that I’m pretty close to the exact polar opposite of the ideal viewer of Ted: writer-director Seth MacFarlane’s trademark non-sequitur humor is like nails on a chalkboard to me (unlike many people, I don’t even like the allegedly good early seasons of Family Guy); I find that the current trend […]
There is, to my knowledge, only one film specifically and pointedly themed to U.S. Independence Day, and I have already reviewed it. That leaves us with the many, many creature films that take place over the holiday, and I have chosen today’s subject both because it is among the earliest, and because it also has […]
