Movie Reviews

Melancholia Review

Lars von Trier’s Melancholia defies classification about as much as it does your expectations. What else is there to expect, really, from the director of Antichrist and a very personal story of depression and the end of the world. I guess the easiest thing to call it would be the anti-Tree of Life. Where Terrence Malick offered an ultimately hopeful story about life, its origins, and its hardships, von Trier is more interested in examining the very primal feelings of helplessness and despair one would experience during Earth and mankind’s final moments. Of course, the visuals of such an event will take your breath away, and the performances from co-lead actresses Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg are phenomenal. So despite a few narrative missteps, Melancholia ends up being an awe-inspiring film.

Take Shelter Review

When done right, few tales are more riveting than a person’s descent into madness. Alfred Hitchcock proved this time and time again and Jeff Nichols reinforces it in Take Shelter, a film likely to have been lauded by the master of suspense himself. Anchored by the performances of Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain, “Shelter” broods and festers, but ultimately thrives on the brink between buildup and utter chaos.

Shannon, far from a household name, but a favorite of cinephiles since his head-turning supporting role in Revolutionary Road, stars as Curtis, a construction worker and father living in a rural town with his wife, Sam (Chastain), and their young daughter, Hannah (Tova Stewart). Their daughter has developed extreme hearing loss and Curtis’ job provides them the benefits necessary to afford cochlear implants, but Curtis’ recent slew of horrifically real nightmares seems to be the real issue here.

Martha Marcy May Marlene Review

As far as gritty character studies go, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a recent one quite as good as Sean Durkin’s Martha Marcy May Marlene. The writer/director, wearing both hats for the first time, proves adept at two very difficult things: Structuring a film to maximize tension and emotional impact, and getting an outstanding performance out of a previously unknown actor.

Margin Call Review

Margin Call does for business what The Ides of March did for politics. It tells a familiar, high-stakes story about people making difficult and morally-questionable decisions. And like George Clooney’s film from earlier this month, rookie writer/director J.C. Chandor’s film isn’t afraid to get very technical on its viewers. If you’re unfamiliar with some of the basic causes of the financial crisis, you very well might get lost, but this talky thriller is surprisingly tense, features a number of exceptional performances, and is certainly worth 100 minutes of your time.

The film opens on Eric Dale’s (Stanley Tucci) last day on the job at an anonymous (but presumably large) Wall St. financial firm. He’s been laid off, along with dozens of others, and on his way out, he leaves his protégé, Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto), with a memory stick and a message: “Be careful.”

Red State Review

The Phelps family and the Westboro Baptist Church are some of the most horrid and despicable people, using Christianity as a mask and justification for their bigotry. Kevin Smith is a known critic of religious dogma and turned his sights on this horrible splinter group. In an unnamed middle American state the Five Points Church lead by Pastor Abin Cooper (Michael Parks) picket the funeral of a local murdered gay man. Three teenagers, Billy Ray (Nicholas Braun), Jared (Kyle Gallner) and Travis (Michael Angarano) discover a website of women who want to sex and go on Saturday night to meet a local lady, Sarah Cooper (Melissa Leo). But Sarah is member of the Five Points Church and the boys are drugged and captured. As the boys attempt to escape matters escalate and the Five Points Church compound is placed under siege by the ATF, led by Special Agent Keenan (John Goodman).

Real Steel Review

Never underestimate robot boxing. Despite reaching for nearly every cliche in the family-oriented sports underdog drama handbook short of titling the film “Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots,” DreamWorks delivers a undeniable crowd-pleaser with Real Steel.

The Ides of March Review

The Ides of March is a slick thriller with a clear message: idealism and hope have no place in politics. Succumb to these feelings and you’re finished. Yes, it’s not a new thesis, but it’s one that director George Clooney presents unflinchingly. 

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Review

In recent years we have seen an expansion in the spy thriller genre. Whether it is the “new Bond” series or the “Bourne” trilogy, the action-oriented movies like the “Mission: Impossible” series and Salt, or contemporary affairs such as Body of Lies andRendition, spies are all over the place. This new adaptation of the John le Carré novel Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy sets out to be a much more complex and grounded affair than the usual spy flicks.

50/50 Review

Most movies don’t know how to handle cancer. Heck, most people don’t know how to handle cancer, and I’m not talking about the patients. Cancer, or any other terminal illness for that matter, almost always plays some kind X-factor in a film — that is when a film dares to enter a realm often deemed depressing and “not for the movies.” Most often, scripts will position cancer as an emotional turning point in a tearjerker film or as the initial spark of some banal “live life to the fullest” comedy.

50/50 puts an end to that. Written semi-autobiographically by cancer survivor Will Reiser, it would seem it takes one to write one. Although cancer drives the entire story, the story doesn’t fixate on cancer or melodramatize the terrible truths we already know about potentially fatal illness.

Drive Review

Even those of the blockbuster persuasion will fing things to like about Drive: a plethora of fantastically nuanced performances, stunningly creative camera shots and a pulse-heightening score are only the pillars that support a white-knuckle exercise in dead quiet, nail-biting non-events and impending dread.