Rachel Weisz is quickly becoming one of those actresses who compels me to see whatever she does. She’s proven consistently that she can carry a film, but even better, she seems to have good taste, and a knack for landing strong roles. The Whistleblower (2010) is a bleak, powerful piece of of work, often hard [...]
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Black Book (2006) is one of the first films I saw in the theater after moving to Los Angeles, and I remember quite enjoying it, but the intervening years have taken some of the shine off the apple. It’s still a beautifully produced film, and Carice van Houten is still superb in it, but perhaps [...]
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While I enjoyed the run-up of Marvel solo movies, for me the characters involved — especially Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor — were Avengers first and individual heroes second. Finally, The Avengers (2012) brings them all together, and better, they’re brought together by Joss Whedon, who handles superhero group dynamics as well, if not [...]
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For all the iffy, “talking-point” entries on the Spy 100 list, there are at least as many obscure, unjustly overlooked gems like 5 Fingers (1952). A classy, twisty tale of historical intrigue — evidently based on a true story — this one is clever, smart, and thoroughly satisfying. Set in neutral Turkey during World War [...]
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An interesting little indie drama from Norway, Hawaii, Oslo (2004) is perhaps over-serious, but carries off its premise and style confidently. During a rare Scandinavian heatwave, the troubled lives of various people intersect and interconnect, revolving around a curious man named Vidar (Trond Espen Seim). A worker at a psychiatric hospital, Vidar is cursed with [...]
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I’m woefully underfamiliar with the work of Hayao Miyazaki – I did see a few of his films many, many years ago, but I don’t think I was in the right place to appreciate them then. Now that I’ve seen My Neighbor Totoro (1988), I have a feeling I’m going to see more. This is [...]
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I’ve long ago dispensed with the notion that the Spy 100 list constitutes the genre’s best films; like most lists, clearly it’s more about generating discussion than gauging absolute quality. Our Man Flint (1966) provides more evidence to back this idea. A colorful Bond spoof, this one is noteworthy – perhaps – as an early [...]
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After the trauma of Antichrist, I went into my next Lars von Trier experience with reluctance, but Melancholia (2011) definitely rewarded my “bravery.” Like most von Trier films, it’s moody, atmospheric, and decidedly bleak, but it’s also a meticulous, beautifully composed film, and a rather astonishing science fictional metaphor for coping with depression. It’s a [...]
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Don’t read this review. Seriously. Don’t. Well, maybe you can read this paragraph, and maybe the next one. But then stop. If you even remotely think you’re the type of person who will enjoy The Cabin in the Woods (2012), an inventive horror-comedy from Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon, then go see it. Don’t research, [...]
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The latest collaboration between director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody, Young Adult (2011) is a sure-handed dark comedy, anchored by a hilariously unsympathetic lead performance from Charlize Theron. She plays Mavis Gary, a highly successful young adult writer who’s stirred from her hollow, upscale urban existence in Minneapolis by an email from an old [...]
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