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| EFC STATS |
| Movies Listed: |
23383 |
| Total Ratings: |
242481 |
| Total Reviews: |
25233 |
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| MEN IN BLACK 3 |
"The Pursuit Of Crappiness"
Peter Sobczynski says... "Released in the summer of 1997, where it went from being one of the season's biggest question marks against the eagerly awaited likes of "The Lost World," "Batman & Robin" and "Speed 2: Cruise Control" (and yes, it was a hell of a time) to becoming the year's second-biggest film (behind the behemoth that was "Titanic"), the original "Men in Black" proved to be not only a favorite with critics and audiences alike but also turned out to be a real rarity on a couple of fronts. Since few viewers were presumably aware of the out-of-print comic book that it was loosely based upon, they were able to go into it relatively fresh and without having all of its surprises blown for them ahead of time. More importantly, it was of the few films to ever successfully bring together two of the most traditionally incompatible ingredients of blockbuster filmmaking--comedy and elaborate special effects--into a cohesive whole. Like "Ghostbusters," perhaps the closest thing that it could be compared to, it was a showcase for a lot of elaborate visual pyrotechnics that clearly required tons of advance planning but it also contained enough quirky wit and amusing byplay between its stars to almost convince that the filmmakers were making things up as they went along, in the best possible sense. Thanks to the combination of the jokes, special effects and the unexpectedly inspired byplay between co-stars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, the film man not have been an all-time classic but it was far more fun than it had any right to be." (more)
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| MEN IN BLACK 3 |
"A surprisingly decent sequel that few people seemed to ask for."
Brett Gallman says... "I’ll give “Men in Black III” this much: it’s yet another outing where Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones have to save the world from an alien invasion, but it at least throws in a time-travel wrinkle that allows it to become a movie about Will Smith and Josh Brolin saving the world, and the concept puts the slightest spring back into the franchise's step." (more)
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| 2 DAYS IN NEW YORK |
"Not Paris, but good for a quick visit."
Jay Seaver says... "Sequels to independent films that didn't really break out are kind of odd things; the audience is as much those who heard the first movie was pretty good as the people who loved it, so even more than with studio productions, they've got to be accessible and familiar, though without actually repeating anything. "2 Days in New York" manages this pretty well; it amuses whether you've taken the previous trip to Paris or not." (more)
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| SOUND OF MY VOICE |
"No cult for this one."
Jay Seaver says... "There were two films at Sundance last year that featured Brit Marling as both an actress and co-writer, and despite being quite different, both fit the pattern of using a fantastical premise to get noticed but ultimately focusing on more blandly conventional things. "Another Earth" was stronger throughout, but "Sound of My Voice" has better moments, even if both add up to less than their potential." (more)
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| DICTATOR, THE |
"Sacha Baron Conventional"
Martin Schoo says... "Much has been made of Sacha Baron Cohen’s last effort, Bruno, and its failure to emulate the provocative success that was Borat. Despite some arguably genius publicity stunts, Bruno’s limp-wristed wave hello was met with relative silence, many complaining Cohen’s schtick had become too predictable. Perhaps embracing convention was the only way to counter this criticism." (more)
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| WARRIORS OF THE RAINBOW: SEEDIQ BALE |
"Bloody battle in a doomed cause."
Jay Seaver says... "SINGLE-FEATURE VERSION SCREENED: No matter the cultures involved, movies like "Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale" follow a certain tragic pattern: Conquest, valiant rebellion, inevitable clampdown. Here, the invaders are the Japanese, the natives are Taiwan's Seediq people, and the way they fight back involves a lot of decapitations. The mayhem is well-done, but at a certain point the bloodiness of the battle overshadows the rightness of the cause and the complexity of the situation." (more)
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| DICTATOR, THE |
"One ruler, one joke."
Rob Gonsalves says... "Most movie stars would die without a script; Sacha Baron Cohen may be the rare actor who works best without one." (more)
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| BATTLESHIP |
"It sinks."
Brett Gallman says... "“Battleship” begins exactly where you’d expect a movie based on a naval board game to begin: in outer space, where the planet Earth has discovered the existence of a new planet that may sustain life. One scientist (Hamish Linklater) has reservations about attempting to communicate with the planet, predicting it’ll be a repeat of Columbus and the Native Americans, only we’ll be the Native Americans. Thanks to “Battleship,” I don’t think we’ll need to ever worry about that because we can just beam up a copy of Peter Berg’s film to keep any unwanted visitors at bay." (more)
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DVD REVIEWS FOR 5/21: "NOBODY'S LOOKING FOR A PUPPETEER IN TODAY'S WINTRY ECONOMIC CLIMATE."
by Peter Sobczynski |
| "If you are a reader who is sensitive towards movies featuring anything remotely resembling violence towards animals, you should probably give this column a pass. If, on the other hand, you are one who yearns to see the pre-doughy versions of Gerard Depardieu and Robert DeNiro in all their full-frontal glory, you should definitely dive right in. Of course, if you fall into both categories, I guess it may be time for a little bit of soul-searching on your part." (more) |
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FILMS I NEGLECTED TO REVIEW: EIGHT ARMS TO HOLD YOU (AMONG OTHER THINGS)
by Peter Sobczynski |
| "Please enjoy short reviews of the Chloe Grace Moretz vehicle "Hick," the Morgan Spulock documentary "Mansome," the restored version of the 1981 cult classic "Possession" and the estrogen-heavy "What to Expect When You're Expecting." Granted, you may not enjoy the movies that much but I hope you at least enjoy the reviews." (more) |
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CRITICWATCH - THE DARK SHADOWS OF FILM CRITICISM
by Erik Childress |
| "One of the seemingly lost attributes of film criticism these days is perspective. I was tempted to call it an "art" signifying it as some rare gift possessed by only the most elite of snob-tastic film scholars, but why add to the War On Intelligence that is occurring in this country. Truth is, perspective is not a hard art to grasp. It should actually be a rather common trait in your average film critic, lest they be too quick on the draw to declare something fresh in their mind as an equal to something that has taken up over a decade of space in the comparative gland of their cranium. More and more though, whether it be someone on the festival circuit or another just trying to draw hits to their website the need to hyperbolize the latest and presumed greatest, this practice has bled into the mainstream. By even critics who normally do not even earn the title of quote whore here at Criticwatch. And they can do with a little bit of perspective as well, looking no further than the latest film by a once-revered director that, sadly, also lacks its own perspective." (more) |
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'KARLOFF? SIDEKICK? FUCK YOU! KARLOFF DOES NOT DESERVE TO SMELL MY SHIT!'
- Bela Lugosi, Ed Wood
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