Category Archives: Recommended

Pacific Rim review

Directed by Guillermo del ToroWritten by del Toro and Travis BeachamI've enjoyed a lot of what Hollywood has served up for the summer of 2013 blockbuster season. Superhero pictures like Iron Man 3 and Man of Steel have delivered, for the most part, as did the sixth Fast & Furious. But what I'm always looking for…Read More

Before Midnight review

Directed by Richard Linklater Written by Linklater, Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke, based on characters by Linklater and Kim Krizan What might have been film history's most unlikely—and delightful—sequel gets a sequel. Back in 1995 Linklater told a story in Before Sunrise that had the tang of authenticity and autobiography; two 20-somethings meet on a…Read More

Behind the Candelabra review

Directed by Steven SoderberghWritten by Richard LaGravenese, based on the book by Alex Thorleifson and Scott ThorsonThis feels like such an unlikely film, a biopic of the legendary entertainer Liberace. He was an extraordinarily private person for someone in the public eye, spending his entire life closeted. I think we can have a lot of…Read More

To the Wonder review

Written and directed by Terrence MalickCinema as poetry. This is how Malick's last feature, The Tree of Life, was described by some. But that wasn't half of it. To the Wonder takes that descriptor far further. And in doing so, Malick provides an astonishingly beautiful film, but one that demands a lot of attention and…Read More

Oblivion review

Directed by Joseph Kosinski, Written by Kosinski, Karl Gajdusek, Michael Arndt, from a comic by Kosinski and Arvid Nelson Today I really miss Roger Ebert. I would have loved to have read what he thought of Oblivion. I know he enjoyed the work of Alex Proyas (Dark City, Knowing) for the expansive vision in his science…Read More

Zero Dark Thirty review

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow Written by Mark Boal In the opening scenes of Zero Dark Thirty, following the text that the film is "based on first-hand accounts of actual events," Jason Clarke's CIA agent, the single-named Dan, is interrogating a prisoner at some Black Site, an American ops location without an address, somewhere in Pakistan. They're…Read More

Django Unchained review

Written and directed by Quentin TarantinoI suppose it was inevitable that Tarantino would get grief about his movie Django Unchained, a western that takes place in the antebellum south. It's a grand adventure that borrows a lot from Sergio Leone, but with no hesitation in the script to use what we all euphemistically call "the…Read More

Skyfall review

Directed by Sam Mendes Written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan based on characters by Ian Fleming James Bond returns for the 23rd time (in an EON Productions film), the third time for Daniel Craig. Since he took the mantle of the most famous secret agent in the world (something of an obstacle…Read More

Cloud Atlas review

Written and directed by Lana and Lilly Wachowski and Tom Tykwer, from the David Mitchell novel I should confess right off the top that I haven't read the book, so am coming to this film fairly blank slate. But I was impressed by the achievement here, which maybe I shouldn't be given the pedigree of…Read More

Prometheus review

Directed by Ridley ScottWritten by Jon Spaihts and Damon LindelofI didn't have much faith that this would work. Prequels long after the fact—and 33 years is pretty damn long—rarely do. Filmmakers change. The hunger that defined Scott's early work, tales of his perfectionism on set and the stylistic rigour so evident in his films, some…Read More