Mickey Rouke in full method mode
I liked the first Iron Man for its offhandedness. I guess it is too much to expect a sequel (by design a safe bet on the part of the studio) to rely on improvised dialogue. Iron Man 2 tries mightily to deliver the goods, with action to spare and Robert Downey Jr. and co firing off jokes at a mile a minute. Read more »
Yesterday, I was called for jury duty, but was let out early, allowing me to sneak in a matinee of Paul Greengrass’ Green Zone. I love going to matinees, which still carry the allure of playing hookie. At this particular showing, I was alone in the audience. When the middle-aged theater employee surveyed the near-empty house and said “Enjoy your movie,” I felt like an eccentric millionaire who demands private, mid-afternoon screenings of earnest Matt Damon films.
On to the movie: Read more »
Yep, this is a movie about penises. No matter what lengths the director goes to misdirect the audience with all the banality (read: derivative, Lifetime-appropriated teenage life narratives), the whole thing boils down to a disappointingly simplistic, pubescent fantasy. Yes: that’s bold, italics, AND underlines you see there.
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Repo Men is a film about hating your job, set in a dystopian future. In that way, it wants to be “Office Space meets Blade Runner.” Those films are classics; unfortunately, Repo Men is not. Read more »
Going into Friday night’s premiere of John Woo’s new period epic Red Cliff, I had mixed expectations. Granted, Woo is one of the foremost action directors of my lifetime (see Harrison’s take on The Killer). On the other hand, his last couple films geared towards American audiences unconditionally sucked. Red Cliff is a totally different affair. Filmed in Mandarin, financed by the Chinese government and drawing from Chinese legend, Red Cliff feels liberated from the burdens of trying to please an American audience. Its beatiful, it kicks ass, and yes, it has flying doves. Read more »
Die Hard
No action movie from the 1980s is as heralded today as is John McTiernan’s 1988 film Die Hard. When considering the competition (George P Cosmatos’ 1985 Rambo: First Blood Part II, James Cameron’s 1984 The Terminator), it becomes clear that what makes Die Hard so thrillingly exciting, so stunningly unique, is its accessibility. Read more »
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