Movies
Short Reviews
Gangster Squad
January 24th, 2013
A triumph of production design but a pretty dull kill-’em-up, this 1940s-set L.A. cops vs. gangsters movie falls short. Directed by Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland) and based on a nonfiction book, the movie’s violence is over the top and its script is underwhelming. Read more »
Short Reviews
The Last Stand
January 24th, 2013
Arnold is back. The results are OK. Schwarzenegger plays Ray Owens, the sheriff of a sleepy Arizona border town. Little does he know that Mexican gangster Gabriel Cortez (Eduardo Noriega) has escaped federal custody and is speeding toward them to escape into Mexico. Read more »
Short Reviews
Broken City
January 24th, 2013
Billy (Mark Wahlberg) is a disgraced former cop turned private eye who is hired by the mayor of New York (Russell Crowe) to tail his wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones), whom he suspects of having an affair. Read more »
Movies
Mysterious Mother Figure
This spooky ghost story is haunted by two feral orphans … and the thing that raised them
January 24th, 2013
Mama breaks a lot of horror movie rules, right off the proverbial bat. Read more »
Short Reviews
Zero Dark Thirty
January 17th, 2013
Director Kathryn Bigelow has accomplished something pretty special in this partially fictionalized yet pseudo-realistic film about the Osama bin Laden manhunt. Read more »
Movies
Squad Slog
A pale, Untouchables wannabe, Gangster Squad wastes good performances
January 17th, 2013
A triumph of production design but a pretty dull kill-’em-up otherwise, the post-World War II-set Gangster Squad comes from the director of Zombieland, Ruben Fleischer. It’s clear Fleischer, who also made 30 Minutes or Less, hadn’t worked through his Zombieland jones by the time he got to his latest film. I liked Zombieland, which made a strong case for its brand of viscera and wisecracks. But Gangster Squad is a different sort of picture, or should be. Read more »
Videography
‘Black Days,’ The Lucky Cheats
January 10th, 2013
Harmonica-blowing blues-rockers the Lucky Cheats lay down hot tracks (check out 2011’s Sugar in the Tank CD) and put on sizzling live shows (as they did opening for the Blasters at Vinyl last month). Read more »
Movies
Improving Oscar
The Academy bets on Seth MacFarlane to be their pied piper of youthful viewers
January 10th, 2013
No sooner than the ball dropped in Times Square and Ryan Seacrest stepped out of his lifts and powered down in his cryogenic chamber, all entertainment talk turned to the Academy Awards. What will people wear? What ill-advised stunt will the Academy pull this year to spice things up? (A barbershop quartet made up of former Best Supporting Actors? Those suits from Ernst & Young bursting into a number from Les Miz?) Most importantly, will anyone watch? Read more »
Movies
Masterful Manhunt
Director Kathryn Bigelow offers a complex and thought-provoking depiction of the hunt for Osama bin Laden
January 10th, 2013
To consider what director Kathryn Bigelow has accomplished in Zero Dark Thirty, imagine the events depicted by the story if they’d been given the Argo treatment. Read more »
Short Reviews
This Is 40
January 10th, 2013
In the latest film from Judd Apatow, Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) reprise their roles from Knocked Up. They’ve reached age 40; there are money problems; Pete’s label is on the verge of insolvency; their sex life has cooled; Debbie becomes pregnant again. Read more »
