Short Reviews
Short Reviews
Mama
January 31st, 2013
The prologue tells us of a father fleeing scandal, grabbing his children and speeding into the mountains. They crash, wind up at a remote cabin, and then something happens to him. Read more »
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 »
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 »
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 »
Short Reviews
Les Misérables
January 10th, 2013
This film version of the popular French Revolution musical (based on the classic novel) is destined for Oscar nods. That being said, it doesn’t exactly work. Read more »
Short Reviews
Jack Reacher
January 10th, 2013
This new Tom Cruise vehicle does its work sleekly and well. However, to be honest, it’s a little hard to watch given recent news events. Read more »
Short Reviews
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
January 10th, 2013
This first of three movies to be extracted from J.R.R. Tolkien’s slim novel is moderately engaging. Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), a homey hobbit ill-suited to dangerous adventures, gets mixed up in just such a quest. Read more »
Short Reviews
The Guilt Trip
January 10th, 2013
Barbra Streisand returns to the big screen here, and the result is not bad. Streisand plays Joyce, the long-widowed mother of inventor Andy (Seth Rogen). Read more »
