|
|
 |
|
|
| Amidst the many blockbusters that capture the most significant amount of press, a generous amount of smaller movies are wowing critics and audiences alike this summer, at least those who take the time to seek them out. One such film is The Kids Are All Right, a drama-comedy about a lesbian couple whose teenage children decide to seek out their "surrogate" father, which subsequently throws their family into chaos. Read FilmJabber's full The Kids Are All Right movie review. |
| Michael Cera is known for playing a geeky and awkwardly charming young man in every movie he appears, and if that's a shortcoming it doesn't explain the masterpiece that is Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. In this action-comedy-romance from the director of Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead, Cera plays the exact same character he did in Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, only here he has super powers and video game upgrades. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is the ultimate movie for nerds, but it will appeal to broader audiences if they give it a chance. Read FilmJabber's full Scott Pilgrim vs. the World movie review. |
| Four years ago, Sylvestor Stallone was a washed-up action star. For the last decade, many of his movies went straight to video and the ones that did make it to theaters reminded audiences and critics alike that Stallone was well past his peak. With his age becoming a factor, it was highly unlikely Stallone could ever become relevant again. And yet, in the last few years, Stallone has quietly rebooted his career. Sure, he returned to his roots with Rocky Balboa and Rambo, but those films, both of which were surprisingly good, indicated that Stallone had finally accepted what his remaining fans wanted of him. Box office success followed, and now he's back with his latest directorial product: The Expendables, a movie that truly harkens back to the glory days of 80's action films. Read FilmJabber's full The Expendables movie review. |
| Review by Nathan Samdahl (B) Read FilmJabber's full Animal Kingdom movie review. |
| Angelina Jolie is the only true female action star. She can sell it and people will buy it. She can be sexy and tough-as-nails at the same time. She has a knack for choosing high-adrenaline pictures. And yet, when you examine her resume, Jolie has yet to lead an action film that has cemented its place in the lore of the genre. Salt, her newest action movie, doesn't change matters. In fact, it is largely a huge disappointment. Read FilmJabber's full Salt movie review. |
| Review by Nathan Samdahl (B-) Countdown to Zero, the documentary by filmmaker Lucy Walker, traces the history of the most destructive singular invention in human history, the nuclear bomb. The film also stresses the importance of working towards complete nuclear disarmament and the many ups and downs that have occurred en route to achieving this lofty goal. Read FilmJabber's full Countdown to Zero movie review. |
| Based on the novel by Jay Parini, The Last Station examines Russian author Leo Tolstoy's struggle to balance his commitment to a life devoid of material things with fame, wealth and the needs of his loving wife and family. The movie, written and directed by Michael Hoffman, stars an incredible cast that includes James McAvoy, Helen Mirren, Paul Giamatti and Christopher Plummer as Tolstoy. Read FilmJabber's full The Last Station movie review. |
| In lieu of an American remake by David Fincher in the near future, I decided it was about time to watch the Swedish thriller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which has grossed over $100 million worldwide. The movie only received a limited release in the United States, but it's now available on Netflix Instant Play, DVD and Blu-Ray. It's also well worth the two-and-a-half-hour investment. Read FilmJabber's full The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo movie review. |
| The 80's continue to attempt a comeback in 2010 with the release of Predators, a throwback to the original film in the franchise. In this new version, Adrien Brody replaces Arnold Schwarzenegger as the badass muscleman (who saw that coming?), one of several commandos abducted from Earth and thrown together on an alien planet that Predators use as hunting ground. Read FilmJabber's full Predators movie review. |
| Christopher Nolan is one of the smartest, most sophisticated directors working today - if not the best. Ever since he marched onto the scene with Memento, the director has churned out one sophisticated thriller after the next. He masterfully blends mainstream delivery with an intelligence rarely seen in blockbusters. Inception is his latest masterpiece, an action-heist movie that works like The Matrix, only with ten more layers of complexity added for good measure. Read FilmJabber's full Inception movie review. |
| Whoever said "mediocrity sells" is right, as The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is gearing up for its second week of release $200 million richer. It's amazing what cheesy dialogue and pouty characters can do for a movie. Bella, Edward and Jacob return for the third movie in the four-and-a-half-part series, and thankfully it's no New Moon: it actually has a plot, climax and purpose for existing. Read FilmJabber's full The Twilight Saga: Eclipse movie review. |
| Another year, another Pixar movie and an all-but-assured lock for Best Animated Picture of the Year. The long-anticipated Toy Story 3 is here, and with it marks the return of Woody, Buzz and the rest of the gang that is responsible for introducing audiences to CG-animated cartoons. Nostalgia runs high and Pixar once again turns in remarkable effort, but after Ratatouille, Wall-E and Up, Toy Story 3 feels small in comparison. Pun only slightly intended. Read FilmJabber's full Toy Story 3 movie review. |
| Tom Cruise jumped on a couch. Get over it already. Sure, the guy was a little overzealous, but he's a rich movie star who gets to have sex with Katie Holmes. Get over it. The truth of the matter is, before and after that fateful Oprah episode, Tom Cruise is a good actor. He's also a good actor who picks his projects very carefully and rarely stars in an outright disaster. Looking at his 30-year career, Tropic Thunder is the weakest movie on his resume - and that one won Cruise acclaim. Read FilmJabber's full Knight and Day movie review. |
| The Seattle International Film Festival is now over, and as a Seattle-based film critic, I managed to get to only two movies. Thankfully, both were worth it. The second of two I saw on Saturday (note that this was the first day of over-75-degree weather Seattle has had since 2009) was a spy drama-thriller titled L-affaire Farewell, or, as us simple Americans like to call it, Farewell. The movie depicts the true story of a KGB agent who provided extremely sensitive intelligence to the West, intelligence that was so crippling it is labeled as "the beginning of the end" of the Soviet Union. Read FilmJabber's full Farewell movie review. |
| The 1980's continue to attempt to make a comeback with an adaptation of the cult classic television series "The A-Team," a show that seemed destined to be resurrected at some point. This new version looks to amp up the action and humor with a talented cast and respected director Joe Carnahan (Narc and Smokin' Aces). Having only seen a few episodes of "The A-Team" as a child and little memory of it beyond the presence of Mr. T, I have nothing to compare it to, but for the most part, The A-Team movie succeeds where it needs to, by providing a non-stop onslaught of entertainment. Read FilmJabber's full The A-Team movie review. |
| In 2008, the comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall debuted with relatively little fanfare. Marketing for the picture painted it as a mildly funny but otherwise unremarkable romantic comedy. Given its spring release date, I for one didn't consider it a priority. But producer Judd Apatow had once again enabled a superb product; Forgetting Sarah Marshall went on to be a small hit and one of the funniest movies of the year. Read FilmJabber's full Get Him to the Greek movie review. |
| From the director of Interview with the Vampire, The Good Thief and The Crying Game comes Ondine, an adult twist on the classic mermaid tale. Colin Farrell and Alicja Bachleda star in this surprisingly seductive tale. Read FilmJabber's full Ondine movie review. |
| America is a funny place these days. And by funny, I mean disappointing. While conservatives continue to fret about the degradation of American values in the economy and our way of life - citing liberty and freedom - they continue to restrict the freedom of their fellow citizens. Homosexuals are just the latest minority to be discriminated against in this country, and whether you approve or disapprove of the gay lifestyle, don't for one second think that denying them certain rights that straight people are allowed is anything but discrimination. Read FilmJabber's full 8: The Mormon Proposition movie review. |
| Review by Nathan Samdahl (C) Amazed by Amelie, yet underwhelmed by A Very Long Engagement, I really didn't know quite what to expect with Micmacs, the third film I've seen from famed French director Jean Pierre Jeunet. Sadly, Micmacs falls a bit short of both other films. Micmacs follows the main character Bazil, who is taken in by an oddball group of characters known as the Micmacs after he is struck in the head by an errant bullet and subsequently loses his job and apartment. Together they help Bazil take down two weapons manufacturers (that sit right across the street from one another), one of which created the bullet that shot him and the other that made the landmine that killed his father. It is sort of Duplicity meets The Ladykillers, with a bit of the Coen brothers' Hudsucker Proxy thrown in. It's a fun, interesting concept that should have a lot going for it. Read FilmJabber's full Micmacs movie review. |
| As someone who owns all eight Freddy Krueger movies, including the good, the bad and the ugly, I was looking forward to the rebooted version of A Nightmare on Elm Street with hesitant anticipation, well aware that while glossy and full of beautiful actors, it would have to get things just right to be a worthy entry in the celebrated series. Unfortunately, this new Nightmare on Elm Street is a nightmare for all the wrong reasons. Read FilmJabber's full A Nightmare on Elm Street movie review. |
