Yearly Archives: 2013

Five reboots I’d like to see

This is really a case of If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em. I've gone on record saying I'm dubious of reboots, relaunches and reimaginings on film and TV. So rarely are those efforts to replicate and update original material anything near as much fun as what spawned it. But, hey, nobody is listening to…Read More

All Is Lost review

Written and directed by JC ChandorThis project is something of a risk for both the director and his star.For the former—Chandor's first feature was Margin Call in 2011, a talky ensemble piece set on Wall Street in the moments before the 2008 financial crash. This time he writes and directs something entirely different, the tale…Read More

CTV Morning Live, November 1, 2013

We have fun on the tee-vee. I showed up as The Man In Black this morning on CTV Morning Live with the ever delightful Heidi Petracek—you'll need to go to the second page to see the clip. We spoke about Enough Said, Carrie and Enders Game, which opens today. I hope to see it in the coming…Read More

Carrie (1976 and 2013) review

1976Directed by Brian DePalmaAdapted by Lawrence D. Cohen from the Stephen King novel2013Directed by Kimberly PierceAdapted by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa from the Cohen script and the King novelI went through my Stephen King phase as a teenager, reading most of his early novels and short stories. I wish I better remembered Carrie, the novel. But preparing…Read More

The Counselor review

Directed by Ridley ScottWritten by Cormac McCarthyThis is the first screenplay written directly for the big screen by Pulitzer Prize-winning McCarthy, whose dusty, western novels often concern themselves with the darkness in men's hearts—adapted in movies like No Country For Old Men and All The Pretty Horses, as well as the post-apocalyptic The Road. This,…Read More

Enough Said review

Written and directed by Nicole Holofcener | On Demand Holofcener is the writer-director of a number of awkwardly funny American indie films. To call them comedies, or romantic comedies, is too reductive. They're independent films, and tend to avoid easy catagorization, but centre on urban relationships, about women and men and their friendships and love…Read More

Captain Phillips review

Directed by Paul GreengrassWritten by Billy Ray, based on the book A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea by Richard Phillips and Stephan TaltyGreengrass is the king of docu-dramatic liberal action cinema. I realize that's a bit of a mouthful, and that if I'm right about the association, the UK filmmaker…Read More

Rush review

Directed by Ron HowardWritten by Peter MorganThere aren't a lot of great motor racing movies. Um, scratch that. There aren't any. Grand Prix? It's over-long and hasn't aged well. Le Mans? Other than Steve McQueen, it doesn't have much to recommend it. Days of Thunder? They tried to redo Top Gun in NASCAR and the best…Read More

Gravity review

Directed by Alfonso CuarónWritten by Cuarón and Jonás CuarónThe first thing I thought of after seeing Gravity: "I wonder what Chris Hadfield would make of this movie?"Now, I've gone on record saying I'm not being the biggest fan of computer generated imagery. In fantasy and action movies too often it reads as substandard animation, taking away…Read More

The Spectacular Now review

Directed by James Ponsoldt Written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, adapting the Tim Tharp novel | Amazon Prime, Netflix The Spectacular Now manages a very difficult trick: it quietly shifts its tone without selling out or undercutting the way it starts or how it ends. It's a teen coming-of-age movie that begins lightly…Read More