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- Monday, May 20, 2013 Gainesville, Georgia
Archive By Section - Movie reviews
For your consideration, Part 4: Top contenders in a banner year
This being the last column in which I will mention the 2012 year in movies, it's time to make some observations.
For Your Consideration, Part 3: Handicapping the top Oscar performers
Now that the nominees have been announced, the Oscar discussion shifts to predicting winners. This week, I'll look at the actor races, then next week I'll handicap the Best Picture and Best Director categories. And just to be clear on something: The Oscars don't really determine the bests of the year. They're just a commercial for Hollywood. But hey, the college football season is over and this is more fun for me than the NBA, ...
For Your Consideration, Part II: ‘Beasts,’ ‘Master’ on Oscar bubble
And the hits just keep on coming. For part two of this year's awards series, we look at two films on the fence. Both have earned high praise from some critics circles but have been ignored by others. Both are as flawed as they are brilliant, so it's hard to predict how Academy members will vote. Nomination or not, though, both are essential viewing. By the way, you can start checking my accuracy in this ...
‘Zero Dark Thirty’ is controversial but brilliant
One of the year's most controversial films is, in my opinion, also its best. I suppose any movie about the hunt for and killing of Osama bin Laden is going to be provocative, but "Zero Dark Thirty" has proven especially so. Writer/director Kathryn Bigelow and co-writer Mark Boal researched this film by interviewing CIA operatives, members of Seal Team Six - the unit that ultimately killed bin Laden - and others with knowledge of classified ...
For Your Consideration: The Oscar buzz begins
This week we begin our annual look at the movies likely to compete for best picture at the Oscars, as well as the actors who might take home a statue. Studios use the award season as low-cost publicity, so this series also serves as a winter preview since some of these films will hopefully make it to area theaters over the next month or two.
Cruise is a reach in role, but story still works
Fans of crime writer Lee Child (pen name of Jim Grant) were livid when they heard Tom Cruise would be cast as Jack Reacher in the movie adaptation, and rightly so.
‘Django’ is pure Tarantino schlock, love it or not
Quentin Tarantino. The name inspires a wild mixture of reactions. Tarantino has unquestionably given us a couple of the most memorable works of the last 20 years of American cinema: "Reservoir Dogs" and "Pulp Fiction." He is an auteur with a style as distinct as any living filmmaker, combining the broad characterization, indelible imagery and intentionally outrageous violence of exploitation cinema with the graceful cinematography, quality acting and complex structures of art cinema. However, his ...
‘Les Misérables’ too big for its own good
Confession is good for the soul, so here goes. I do not like the musical "Les Misérables."
‘This is’ a shrill, empty, tone-deaf disaster
"This Is 40" is among the worst movies bearing the name of writer/director Judd Apatow. And that is really saying something.
‘The Impossible’ a tidal wave of emotion
"The Impossible" doesn't exactly pull off the impossible (a pun which many reviewers will surely use), but it is an astonishing piece of work.
‘The Hobbit’ in an unexpected format
With the arrival of Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," another epic adventure begins.
‘Hyde Park’ a royal ramble, but it works
"Hyde Park on Hudson" might be the strangest movie I recommend all year. The film is based on the diary and various papers of Margaret Stuckley, who went by "Daisy" (Laura Linney) and was a distant cousin of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Bill Murray). Throughout his presidency, FDR made extended, working visits to his mother's home, dubbed Hyde Park, in upstate New York. Daisy lived nearby, and over the years she and FDR developed a close, ...
Stylish ‘Anna Karenina’ fades at the finish
"Anna Karenina" is nearly a great film. The first act is flat-out brilliant, as director Joe Wright introduces his characters with a hyperkinetic camera that launches a classic story into the 21st century and uses a theater set in ingenious ways. Leo Tolstoy's novel plays out among the typical haunts of the Russian bourgeoisie - exquisite parlors, ballrooms and theaters. The story has also been adapted to the stage many times. It makes a kind ...
‘Silver Linings Playbook’ is feel-good done right
I'm the kind of person for whom the phrase "feel-good movie" is a negative term. I like to feel good, and I especially like to feel good by the time a movie's end credits roll.
‘Smashed’ is a smashing indie winner
"Smashed" is an example of many things I love about independent film. It's made by a young, promising director, James Ponsoldt, from Athens. It features a handful of stars willing to take on what are for them small roles, but for the film makes the difference between being seen and not being seen. The movie takes on a difficult topic - alcoholism - from a fresh perspective, and while it offers truths, it doesn't beat ...
Articles by Section - Movie reviews
‘Mayan Blue’ a stunning film with Ga. ties
"Mayan Blue" is an atypical Georgia film. Most of the crew either come from or live in North Georgia, yet the film was shot entirely in Guatemala and features an abundance of breathtaking underwater cinematography.
‘Gatsby’ all glitz and little substance
Sandwiched among the usual superheroes and science-fiction epics comes a very odd summer tentpole release, an extravagant, big budget adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's literary masterpiece, "The Great Gatsby," directed by Baz Luhrmann ("Moulin Rouge!", "Romeo + Juliet") and in 3-D.
Jeff Marker’s summer 2013 movie preview, Part II
Last week we looked at the upcoming movies for summer 2013 in the action and drama categories. This week, we finish the season's preview lineup with a peek at family flicks and movies to make us laugh.
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