“Source Code” (2011): Only 8 Minutes to Save the World (Review)

If you told me that I would ever watch a feature film that is only eight minutes long, I would tell you to shut up.  And if you told me that after the eight minutes, I would like it, I would tell you to shut up and then punch you.  And if you also told … Continue reading →

The Spectacular Now: Less Spectacular Than It Could Have Been (Review)

At this year’s Ebertfest, the one film I was looking forward to more than any was The Spectacular Now, written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (500 Days of Summer) and directed by James Ponsoldt (Smashed). It has been praised as the most realistic, teen/high school relationship movie you could ever expect to find, … Continue reading →

Into Darkness Isn’t the Worst Star Trek Film, but Has the Worst Title (Review)

While I’m not going to spoil this film, I am going to talk openly about the Abrams’ reboot. The first thing you should know about me is that while I am a nerd, I am not a Trekkie. I’ve seen all the films, except for Insurrection – which I’d swallow glass before seeing given the critical panning … Continue reading →

Some Like It Hot: Nobody’s Perfect (Review)

As a rule, I don’t like comedies.  Inevitably, it seems, comedy turns into a bully.  It laughs at the stooge and when it laughs loud enough and long enough, everyone else will join in.  A dream fails, smothered beneath a rude trombone note.  A character, offering her whole heart for justice, any bit justice, and … Continue reading →

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: Or, The Twenty-Something Tango (Review)

What is it with girls and tea? I’ve wondered this for a long time. I never actually asked it out loud – it’s not really the kind of question you can pose without sounding a little strange. Not every girl loves tea, of course, and not every girl has a cabinet full of different teas … Continue reading →

The Searchers: What it Means to Never Quit (Review)

Written by Frank S. Nugent from a novel by Alan LeMay and directed by John Ford, the finest there ever was when it came to the Western, The Searchers is considered by most critics to be the greatest Western ever put on film. “As a Civil War veteran spends years searching for a young niece … Continue reading →

Sightseers – Holidays are Stressful (Review)

Directed by: Ben Wheatley Starring: Steve Oram, Alice Lowe Chris wants to show girlfriend Tina his world, but events soon conspire against the couple and their dream caravan holiday takes a very wrong turn. A case of ‘What Wheatley did next’. After the success of his first two independent projects, ‘Down Terrace’ and the critically … Continue reading →

Quick Hitter Review: Side Effects

Cast: Rooney Mara, Jude Law, ,Channing Tatumn Writer: Scott Z. Burns Director: Steven Soderbergh Emily Taylor(Rooney Mara) has been suffering from depression ever since her husband Martin(Channing Tatum) was put in prison for insider trading. Upon him being released from prison, Emily becomes even more depressed; so much, to the point that she slams her car into a brick wall. … Continue reading →

Samsara: A Meditation on Balance

  ~ Samsara opens with a dance. The dance is gaudy, glinting, traditional, uncomfortable, and yet somehow welcoming. What follows after is a brief introduction to the of idea of impermanence – molten bits of lava freckle the night sky while an infant lies unmoving under a pale white light. We realize only later, after … Continue reading →

Spring Breakers: Dorothy, We’re Not on Disney Anymore (Review)

Four girls want to go celebrate spring break, but are short on cash. Instead of getting jobs or asking any of their other friends for help, they decide to steal the money by robbing a small restaurant at gunpoint. With cash in hand, the young ladies make it to their destination. However, the good times … Continue reading →