Shame

A devastatingly honest study of human desolation, Steve McQueen’s Shame boldly delves into the life of a man held captive by what comes effortlessly to him.  Brandon Sullivan (Michael Fassbender) is handsome, intelligent and charismatic; a product of a society obsessed with image and information. The veneer of Brandon’s appearance and behavior is meticulously crafted. [...]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

I agree with my fellow critics.  There isn’t much point in reciting (spoiling) to you the particulars of the film.  Watch it for yourself, either because you’re a Harry Potter fan and need closure, or because it is, in fact, one of those rare instances where cinema transcends a genre and uses ogres, wizards, spells [...]

The Illusionist

Written by Jacques Tati, directed by Sylvain Chomet, The Illusionist traces the changing seasons over the course of a year, as well as the changing professions of a beleaguered magician trying to keep pace with the ungrounded desires of a teenage girl. It is both whimsical and vibrant, grey and sad. The story is based [...]

Biutiful

“It’s dangerous to trust a man who is hungry.” – Policeman to Uxbal Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Biutiful tells the story of a man beset by death, despair and guilt, seeking redemption for his misdeeds. Uxbal (Javier Bardem) has scams running in Barcelona, Spain, like spinning plates he’s attempting to keep up. The slightest event could [...]

Another Year

Gerri: “What is the one thing you feel would improve your life, apart from sleep.” Janet: “A different life.” Mike Leigh’s Another Year is a character study in walking train wrecks. Lesley Manville’s Mary is a middle-aged lush. Every glass of wine is her second-to-last. Gerri (Ruth Sheen), Mary’s co-worker, and her husband Tom (Jim [...]

THE SOCIAL NETWORK Dominates CFCA Awards

Today, Peter Sobczynski of the Chicago Film Critics Association announced that THE SOCIAL NETWORK won for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay (Aaron Sorkin). Nominations were announced Friday, alongside the Dallas-Ft. Worth Film Critics Association’s award winners. It was followed by two wins for INCEPTION in the categories of Best Original Screenplay and [...]

The King’s Speech

In April of 1924, King George VI opened the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley. The Duke of York, played beautifully by the affable Colin Firth, stammered in his delivery of the games’ opening speech. As a child, the Duke was raised mostly by nannies, had stomach problems and was forced against his left-handedness to write [...]

TRON: Legacy

Twenty-eight years after Steven Lisberger’s Tron, Disney has run out of ideas and, having exhausted their share of straight-to-video sequels plundering every successful original story they made, they’ve now come to recycling this movie. Not only that, but director Joseph Kosinski has been commissioned to also rehash The Black Hole. It’s not to say that [...]

The Fighter

On July 18, 1978, Dickie Eklund, the “Pride of Lowell,” whose career spanned ten years—nineteen wins, four by knockout—lost to boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard after ten rounds by unanimous decision. After his retirement, he coached his half-brother, Micky Ward to a successful career spanning 26 fights from 1985 to 1991, as well as three [...]

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