Category Archives: Drama

The Words review

The poster is the best thing about this picture   Written and Directed by Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal It's not very often I get to see a movie that fails as spectacularly as this one. And not in the usual way, from laziness or the factory-tooled mediocrity of many Hollywood movies. This doesn't fail…Read More

Ruby Sparks review

Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris Written by Zoe Kazan Ruby Sparks is almost two movies, or, at least, starts as one and then becomes another. That's a neat trick if it's done well as it is here. The first movie is a light, magic-realist romcom as you can see by the trailer. You…Read More

Savages review

Directed by Oliver StoneWritten by Stone, Shane Salerno and Don Winslow, from Winslow's novelChon (Taylor Kitsch) and Ben (Aaron Johnson) are two very successful California pot growers and dealers. They run a clean and efficient operation that makes them very comfortable, providing chances for humanitarian missions, too (so we know these are dealers with a…Read More

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel review

Directed by John Madden Written by Ol Parker from a Deborah Moggach novel These Foolish Things With a cast like this, in this environment, it's hard to not like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. I've read some reviews that criticize the picture for riding too much on the charm of that cast, with too little…Read More

Footnote review

So, I was going to mention a change in my professional life, for those who are keeping track. I've left my job as an editor at The Coast, the Halifax alternative weekly newspaper. I was film editor there, a position I very much enjoyed. I've moved on to a new editorial position elsewhere, which I'm…Read More

Friends with Kids review

Written and directed by Jennifer WestfeldtFirst off, let's offer Ms Westfeldt a word of congratulations. Though I understand she was thrust into the director's chair by circumstance, she managed to direct, write and show up in almost every scene of this film. When was the last time we saw a woman pull a hat-trick like…Read More

Page Eight and London River reviews

Two very different but very London-centric political thrillers now on DVD: Page Eight | Written and Directed by David Hare (BBC) Pravda playwright and The Reader screenwriter David Hare returns to directing for the first time in years with this John le Carré-style British spy drama. Johnny Worricker (Bill Nighy) plays a straight-arrow MI5 man,…Read More