One you may have missed: After Earth

YEP YEP – “We are all telling ourselves a story,” says the father to the son. “Fear is not real. The only place fear can exist is in our thoughts of the future. It is a product of our imagination, causing us to fear things that do not at present, and may not ever, exist.” Yeah, … Continue reading →

Very long day’s journey into Osage County

NOPE – What do you get when you take the self-indulgent demons of Eugene O’Neill, the prosaic Southern charm of Horton Foote, a half a dozen Oscar winners, and a carton of Marlboro Lights and throw them into a blender? August: Osage County. Adapted from her celebrated play, Tracy Letts’ film version is over-written, over-directed, over-edited, … Continue reading →

Blue Jasmine under the influence of Blanche Dubois

YEP YEP – The unique, and at times perplexing, thing about tracking Woody Allen’s films over the past decade is waiting to see if the actor or actress he casts as his on-screen alter ego can sufficiently summon the requisite neurosis to capitalize on his distinct writing style. For nearly the last 20 years, Allen has … Continue reading →

American Hustle breaks a sweat but not much else

NOPE – “People believe what they want to believe.” This is one of the overriding themes of David O. Russell’s heavily anticipated and aggressively marketed, star-studded American Hustle. Ironically, this statement now applies to Russell himself. He must have walked out of the editing room and told himself he was satisfied with the end result. He shouldn’t … Continue reading →

Unnecessary trip down memory lane in Parkland

“The man has been hit,” a Secret Service agent says into his mouthpiece. “Repeat, the man has been hit.” How to tell the tragic story of the Kennedy assassination in a fresh way with a new angle. It’s with that skeptical eye that one enters Parkland, an eerily authentic recreation of the immediate aftermath of the event … Continue reading →

Billy Jack a hero of gargantuan virtue

The opening narration from Billy Jack: “All any of the town’s people knew about Billy Jack was that he was a half-breed. A war hero who hated the war and turned his back on society by returning to the reservation – where he watched over the Indians, the wild horses, and the kids at my school. … Continue reading →

Llewyn a one note folk tale

YEP – I am the first in line to heap massive praise on the Coen Brothers when they hit the bullseye. When they don’t, the film can be either really bad (Intolerable Cruelty, Burn After Reading, The Ladykillers) or mildly amusing and watchable (A Serious Man, O Brother, Where Art Thou?). Inside Llewyn Davis is an odd film. … Continue reading →