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| EFC STATS |
| Movies Listed: |
32462 |
| Total Ratings: |
249377 |
| Total Reviews: |
28426 |
![[187032127 Hits]](/cgi-bin/gd.cgi?187032127)
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| GENTLEMEN, THE |
"Laddie Come Home."
Peter Sobczynski says... "Although it is almost embarrassing to admit today, there was once a time when I might have referred to Guy Ritchie as an exciting filmmaker whose works I looked forward to with some degree of genuine anticipation. His 1998 debut “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” was a cheeky and audacious take on the modern British crime film that was clearly indebted to Tarantino, as was virtually every crime film from a new filmmaker at that time, but stood apart from most of those thanks to its cheeky humor of his screenplay, his undeniably striking visual style and, although perhaps not given its due at the time, the work of charismatic newcomer Jason Statham. His follow-up film, “Snatch” (2000), was basically a rehash of his previous worker, albeit on a scale large enough to bring in Brad Pitt for a supporting turn, but it was still entertaining enough to make you wonder what he might have to offer when he decided to spread his artistic wings and try something different. That, alas, was a misbegotten 2002 remake of “Swept Away” that saw him and then-wife Madonna making absolute hash of the Lina Wertmuller’s admittedly dubious take on what used to be called the battle of the sexes. As bad as that was on every conceivable level, it almost seemed plausible when compared to his next two films, “Revolver” (2005) and “Rocknrolla” (2008), increasingly convoluted attempts to return to his crime film glories (with the former throwing in bits of Kabbalah mysticism for good measure) that pleased absolutely no one. For the next decade or so, Ritchie elected to switch gears and become the guy behind a series of increasingly anonymous blockbusters that had little on their mind other than making tons of money while essentially narcotizing viewers in the process, eventually culminating in a live-action remake of “Aladdin” that made a ton of money (and, truth be told, was perhaps the least bad of the recent Disney remakes of their animated classics) but which is so far removed from having anything resembling a personal touch, even a cloddish one, that it might as well have been made by a computer." (more)
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| WEATHERING WITH YOU |
"Animation's best keeps it going after a surprise blockbuster."
Jay Seaver says... ""Weathering with You" was quite possibly the most anticipated film to come out of Japan in 2019, director Makoto Shinkai's first film after "Your Name" was a somewhat unexpected (and deserved) smash. It's tricky to talk about what comes next after such a result, especially if the effusive praise you've given to Shinkai's previous films is a click away and your verdict is that "Weathering with You" is "only" almost as good as what it follows. Even if he can't quite surprise audiences with greatness any more, he's still made a heck of a fine movie." (more)
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| LIGHTHOUSE, THE |
"Trippy, man."
Rob Gonsalves says... "Among about 51 other things, 'The Lighthouse' may be Robert Eggers’ idea of a stoner comedy." (more)
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| BAD BOYS FOR LIFE |
"Lots Of Bloody Fools, None Of Them Cool"
Peter Sobczynski says... "Originally conceived as a vehicle for, of all people, Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey, the 1995 buddy comedy/action thriller hybrid “Bad Boys” was a big hit at the box office and helped to establish both Will Smith and Martin Lawrence as movie stars. That said, other than the fact that Tea Leoni turned up in the cast as well, I must confess that I don’t really recall much about it other than the fact that it was big and loud and made a lot of money. I do have stronger memories of 2003’s “Bad Boys II” but they are all of the kind that one spends years in therapy trying to come to terms with—to this day, that lazy, stupid, super-violent, racist, xenophobic and wildly misogynistic piece of shit remains the second-worst film that I have seen in all my years of moviegoing. Put it this way—if I had to choose between seeing it or a sing-a-long screening of “Cats,” I would go with “Cats” in a heartbeat, if only because its crimes against cinema did not involve leering over naked corpses or third-act invasions of Cuba. Now, for reasons that probably must have seemed like a good idea over at Sony before the dismal returns of their recent attempts to revive the “Men in Black” and “Charlie’s Angels” franchises, “Bad Boys for Life” is upon us and to give it some vague degree of credit, it is at least a little better than its predecessor—admittedly not the most astonishing of accomplishments—and even contains a potentially interesting concept early on in the proceedings. Don’t worry, that idea is quickly abandoned and the film quickly devolves into another smugly self-satisfied mess distinguished by lazy writing, indifferent direction and an orgy of brutality that seems slightly questionable for a film opening on the weekend devoted to celebrating the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr, whose non-violent approach actually turns up in one of the many lame punchlines on display here." (more)
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| CUNNINGHAM |
"Modern Dance 101 in 3D."
Jay Seaver says... "I wonder what sort of a minority I am in coming to see "Cunningham" for the 3D photography as much as the dance, and how many people who came for the dance were hoping for something a little more in-depth. It's the sort of documentary about an artist and his career that relies heavily on demonstration, and as such seems like a good introduction with an intriguing hook, albeit one whose gimmick will only be briefly available." (more)
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| UNDERWATER |
"The Soggy Bottom Boys, Girls And Things"
Peter Sobczynski says... "“Underwater” is a film that was produced about three years ago, has been on and off the release schedule for a while and is now being dumped into theaters in the dead of January in the hopes of making a few quick bucks while most observers are focused on the unfolding award season. As a result, one might naturally expect the film to be a disaster along the lines of most things that come out around this time. As it turns out, “Underwater” is not nearly as bad as one might expect but it is certainly nothing special either—it is just another knockoff of “Alien” (with a huge helping of “The Abyss” added to the mix) that has been made with just enough flair to keep it from being complete trash but not enough to allow it to work on its own." (more)
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| HONEYLAND |
"Half for the bees, half for us."
Jay Seaver says... ""Honeyland" is a terrific little documentary that works as both great fly-on-the-wall filmmaking and an easily digested parable about sustainable farming. It almost makes one marvel at the filmmakers' good fortune, because it seems like they started with an idea for a good short and had an even better feature appear, and they shaped it to near-perfection." (more)
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| GRUDGE, THE (2020) |
"A canny match between a rising filmmaker and a moribund franchise."
Jay Seaver says... "As exciting as "Ju-On: The Grudge" was when it first appeared alongside "Ringu" and introduced a particular strand of Japanese horror to the wider world, it is now long past the time when one can reasonably expect anything new from this franchise - heck, creator Takashi Shimizu was getting self-referential with the second Japanese feature back in 2003 because there's just not that much there. Fortunately, up-and-coming director Nicolas Pesce is good enough to make an entry in the series that is, if nothing else, effective. In its better moments, the film manages to do a bit more than just getting the job done." (more)
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EFILMCRITIC'S 15TH OSCAR PICK 'EM
by Erik Childress |
| "IT'S BACK, Ladies & Gentlemen! "THE GREATEST OSCAR CONTEST EVER!" We take a lot of pride in this contest as its just one of the many things we can offer our readers and supporters for coming back and spreading the word about us. This year we are doing things just a tad differently though. We are using it to raise money for children's healthcare." (more) |
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'I LOVE THE SMELL OF NAPALM IN THE MORNING.'
- Kilgore, Apocalypse Now
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