Tag Archives: Michael Fassbender

Frank review — Quirky, original, and moving

Directed by Lenny Abrahamson, written by Jon Ronson and Peter Straughan Frank is a strange little backstage comedy/drama on its surface. Underneath it's a solemn examination of damaged people inside a circle of attention and creativity. It's maybe got a dash of Almost Famous, but it's far more peculiar. You should know, a favourable comparison… Read More

X-Men: Days Of Future Past review

Directed by Bryan Singer, written by Simon Kinburg from a story by Kinburg, Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn I never really understood why 20th Century Fox chose to prematurely conclude the X-Men franchise.  Fox officially called it quits as a trilogy, with Brent Ratner's limp X-Men: The Last Stand back in 2006. Yes, Singer's beneath-the-skin understanding… Read More

300: Rise of an Empire review

Directed by Noam Murro Written by Zack Snyder and Kurt Johnstad, adapting the Frank Miller graphic novel Xerxes To prepare for the sequel to Snyder's 2006 hit movie about the 300 Spartans at the battle of Thermopylae, I went back and watched the original 300 one more time. My feelings about it were deeply ambivalent,… Read More

12 Years A Slave review

Directed by Steve McQueenWritten by John Ridley, adapting a book by Solomon Northup12 Years A Slave is the most honest and unvarnished depiction of slavery I've ever seen. I'd wager it reaches a verisimilitude unmatched in the history of Hollywood movies on the subject—of which there haven't been that many, granted. It's hard to find historic… 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

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

A Dangerous Method review

Directed by David Cronenberg Written by Christopher Hampton, from his play A Talking Cure, which was adapted from the book A Most Dangerous Method by John Kerr. I have really been enjoying the Viggo Mortensen era of David Cronenberg's work. Mortensen has starred in the past three Cronenbergs, A History of Violence, Eastern Promises and… Read More