Sometime in the first third of 27 Dresses, the lead character Jane, played by Katherine Heigl, is flipping out over her cute but oblivious boss (as she does fairly constantly for 97 of the film’s 102 minutes, less credits), when the sassy friend character, played by Judy Greer, slaps her hard on the face. “I […]
After playing two punishingly thankless roles – the less interesting wife in Brokeback Mountain and the foil for Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci in The Devil Wears Prada – I imagine that Becoming Jane was meant to be a sort of coming-out party for Anne Hathaway, and insofar as she gets a major […]
If I were to ask of you: “Jane Fonda, Lindsay Lohan and Felicity Huffman are starring in a film together, whom do you think gave the most memorable performance,” you would not likely answer, “Obviously, Lindsay Lohan, that high-talent little spitfire,” and that is where you would be wrong. For it is indeed Ms. Lohan […]
Martin Scorsese. Does any name from the 1970s’ cinema conjure up such a complete and fully-formed picture of his preoccupations as a filmmaker? Urban blight mixed with destructive men who pursue individuality to the point of psychosis, with ephemeral women placed beyond the human as beacons of pure goodness. Add a rock soundtrack and lots […]
Some films are just really annoying to write about, because there’s nothing to them but a script. And it seems like all anybody’s concerned about is staying out of the way. So there’s no interesting camerawork, or editing, or anything that’s not completely, unexceptionably servicable. It’s entirely professional and homogenized. The Devil Wears Prada was […]
“I kind of liked The Break-Up, but it’s because I’m a chick,” a female friend recently informed me. I don’t see how that could possibly help. A film whose plot is right there in the title, The Break-Up is one of the most pointless films I’ve seen in a long time. Gary (Vince Vaughn) and […]
On one level, I hate to ask, “did we really need another Pride and Prejudice?” Need or no, we have another one, so that’s a fairly futile question. But what’s scary is that the answer is a qualified “yes.” The plot, quickly, for those who have somehow managed to avoid reading it: Elizabeth Bennett is […]
