Tag Archives: USA
Review: Atomic Blonde (USA 2017)
A hard-R gender-flipped Bond film pretending it’s The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, Atomic Blonde is one of the clearest cut cases of style over substance I’ve seen in a while. The film – a mess of double … Continue reading
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Tagged 2017, Charlize Theron, David Leitch, David McAvoy, John Goodman, Toby Jones, USA
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Review: The Frisco Kid (USA 1979)
I feel like this movie never really evolved beyond the elevator pitch. “Gene Wilder will play a rabbi who gets into hijinks in the Wild West! And Harrison Ford will play his desperado sidekick! The comedy will write itself!” Unfortunately, … Continue reading
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Tagged 1979, Gene Wilder, Harrison Ford, Robert Aldrich, USA, Western
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Review: Weiner (USA 2016)
This documentary contains some fascinating material on the failed Anthony Weiner 2013 mayoral run in New York, though I was not overly impressed with the way, at least in the early going, the filmmakers put their thumb on the scale … Continue reading
Review: Joe (USA 1970)
Joe has a weird, outsized reputation that contrasts with its relative obscurity – it is a film more talked about than watched. And Joe is a truly odd duck, a Cannon-produced hippie-sploitation movie that points an accusing finger at the … Continue reading
Review: The Neon Demon (France/Denmark/USA 2016)
Nicholas Winding Refn’s fable-like dissection of the feminine beauty standard is a truly odd duck. Visually gorgeous, and cold as ice, this story of a young model’s attempts to make it in Los Angeles often zags when you expect it … Continue reading
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Tagged 2016, Christina Hendricks, Elle Fanning, Jena Malone, Keanu Reeves, Nicholas Winding Refn, USA
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Review: Whiplash (USA 2014)
Whiplash is a perfect example of a mediocre narrative redeemed by an outstanding finale. J.K. Simmons is great – he has always been great since making his first splash on Oz – but this film doesn’t ask him to stretch beyond his … Continue reading
Review: Gamer (USA 2009)
I was hoping for the insane highs of Crank 2, but this Neveldine/Taylor joint was a little too bland. The central metaphor – with Gerard Butler as a convict put under the control of rich gamer geeks and forced to … Continue reading
Review: Captain America: Civil War (USA 2016)
Entertaining enough, for a lumbering behemoth that had to service over a dozen major characters and advance multiple plot threads.
Review: Missing in Action (USA 1984)
I like Joseph Zito, but this quickie Vietnam revenge actioner starring Chuck Norris that Cannon rushed out in time to beat Rambo: First Blood, Part II is a real stinker. The narrative is incredibly choppy, and the action scenes are … Continue reading
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Tagged 1984, Cannon Films, Chuck Norris, James Hong, Joseph Zito, M. Emmett Walsh, USA, War
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Review: Punk Vacation (USA 1990)
This movie is profoundly confused. The filmmakers basically took all the tropes of the 60s biker film (think The Wild Angels or The Glory Stompers), and moved them into the 1980s while substituting new wave punks for the traditional leather-clad … Continue reading