-
Spring Breakers 2013
"LOOK AT MY SHIT!"
-
Oz: The Great and Powerful 2013
Here's a more fitting title: "Meh: The Mediocre and Uninspired"
-
Stoker 2013
I was immensely curious (and - considering Kim Jee-woon's "The Last Stand" - also a bit afraid) to see how Park Chan-wook would manage his transition to Hollywood. Having seen "Stoker", I feel safe to say that he absolutely nailed it because the look and feel of it falls seamlessly in line with the director's previous works.
One of the main points of criticism seems to be the "style over substance" argument. I, for one, adored every single frame of…
-
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 2013
I very much prefer watching the Dark Knight return than rise!
-
John Dies at the End 2013
If you mixed David Cronenberg's adaption of "Naked Lunch" with "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" while focusing too much on the craziness rather than the actual story, the result would probably be very close to "John Dies at the End".
-
Django Unchained 2012
"Django Unchained" is Quentin Tarantinos weakest movie to date.
Considering how insanely high he raised the bar in the past and therefore our expectations, this doesn't necessarily mean that his blaxploitation western is a bad movie. As a matter of fact, it is a very good one and even has quite a few scenes that are superior to some of his earlier work. Taken as a whole, however, I can't come to any other conclusion than the one stated above.…
-
Zero Dark Thirty 2012
Spoilert alert: Osama Bin Laden dies at the end.
-
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 2012
After what will forever be known as the "TDKR disaster", I tried to lower my expectations for the first film of Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" trilogy as much as I could. This turned out to be a wise decision, considering the movie is mildly and entertaining yet highly forgettable. It's basically "The Lord of the Rings" minus most of the distinct and lovable characters as well as the epic story.
-
Killing Them Softly 2012
Considering that some of the trailers hinted at a somewhat complex plot, the film ended up being a pretty straight forward crime thriller. It started out promising and has some beautiful cinematography as well as a few good scenes but unfortunately there are plenty of dull moments as well. I guess the bottom
line is that times are tough - even for gangsters. Oh, and why the hell was James Gandolfini even in this movie?! -
Hitchcock 2012
Slate movie critic Dana Stevens wrote in her review that the movie should have more fittingly been called "The Hitchcocks" and I completely agree. I would have loved to get a more detailed look at the making of "Psycho" but the main part of the film is about Hitch's relationship with his wife Alma. While it's still entertaining in a guilty pleasure-y, soap opera-y kind of way and it thought that the make-up job they did on Anthony Hopkins worked rather well, I simply expected more.
-
Life of Pi 2012
While the movie certainly was visually stunning, I was a little disappointed storywise, considering the book (which I have yet to read) was recommended to me with such high praise multiple times in the past.
EDIT: I felt the need to add a few more words, but I can't do that without going into detail, which is why you shouldn't read the comment section unless you've already seen the movie!
-
Silver Linings Playbook 2012
While I thought that "The Fighter" was tremendously overrated, "I Heart Huckabees" is still one of my most favorite movies ever so David O. Russell remains in my cool book. I went into Silver Linings Playbook completely unprepared, not expecting much and it simply blew me away. The cast is terrific and the chemistry between Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper can be felt through the screen. The only thing keeping it from getting a perfect score is the little too…
