Latest installment of car porn series goes nowhere fast
By Devin D. O’Leary
There’s a temptation in reviewing the sixth film in the successful The Fast and the Furious series to resort to monosyllabic caveman speak. Something along the lines of: Car fast, girl hot. That’s not precisely an insult, mind you, but more of an acknowledgment of the admirably uncomplicated formula the series has worked out for itself.
Robert Downey Jr. straps on the suit for one more super outing
By Devin D. O’Leary
If nothing else (and there’s plenty else), the record-breaking release of Iron Man 3 proves beyond a shadow of a doubt what last summer’s The Avengers already established: that Marvel has found a perfect way of translating its comic book universe to the big screen. While cross-town rival DC struggles to establish any movie franchise (other than Batman), Marvel has cranked out a string of films (Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, The Avengers) which exist in the same interconnected universe. The ties may be strong or light from one film to the next, but this new wave of Marvel films does what no other movie series has managed.
Movie-mad documentary turns theoretical critics into conspiracy theorists
By Devin D. O’Leary
Room 237—the puckish, reflexive, Escher-like documentary by Rodney Ascher—interviews several assumedly learned people who have spent waaaay too much time watching Stanley Kubrick’s loose adaptation of Stephen King’s horror novel The Shining. These dedicated folks have developed various, often conflicting theories about the 1980 film and its hidden “meaning.” Some theories are perfectly plausible, ohers are far-fetched and some just plain looney.
Danny Boyle’s twisty film noir tries to psych us out. Or does it? ... Yes, it does.
By Devin D. O’Leary
High-concept, twist-filled setup requires lots of voice-overs, frequent flashbacks and plenty of explicatory scenes in order to keep viewers apprised of what the hell is going on.
South of the border political drama sells audiences on the idea of revolution
By Devin D. O’Leary
Your knowledge of late-’80s Central American politics isn’t really an issue when it comes to the new political drama NO. In fact, the less you know about the rule of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, the more thrilling the film will be. If your closest connection to the material is Dennis Miller’s “Pinochet Countdown” contest from “Saturday Night Live,” then you’re primed and ready to watch NO spoiler free.
Minimalist drama finds Iranian master Abbas Kiarostami peeping on Tokyo trio
By Devin D. O’Leary
When we first meet fresh-faced, girl-next-door type Akiko (actress Takanashi Rin, who played the “pink” team member in several “Power Rangers”-esque TV shows), she’s sitting in a Tokyo cafe arguing with someone on her cell phone. As mere observers, we aren’t privy to the other side of the conversation, but we eventually figure out that Akiko is verbally fencing with her overly jealous boyfriend. This one-sided, information-light style of storytelling is part-and-parcel to Like Someone in Love, the low-key new drama from award-winning Iranian auteur Abbas Kiarostami (Close-Up, Taste of Cherry, The Wind Will Carry Us, Certified Copy).
Korean filmmaker goes goth in beautiful, baffling psychothriller
By Devin D. O’Leary
This hyper-gothic thriller is one ravishing and confusing chimera—as if Terrence Malick had directed an episode of “Dexter” written by Charlotte Brontë. It’s lurid, eerie and stylish as all get-out. And apt to drive mainstream audiences crazy.
James Franco books a return trip to Oz in Sam Raimi’s fantasy prequel
By Devin D. O’Leary
The massive success of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland three years ago kicked off an at-times wearying string of fairy tale updates (Red Riding Hood, Snow White and the Huntsman, Mirror Mirror, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Jack the Giant Slayer, ABC’s “Once Upon a Time”). That film’s $330 million domestic box office certainly incentivized Disney to come up with more family fantasy reboots. Oddly enough, instead of dipping into the deep well of already Disneyfied fairy tales, the company has decided to go with a story made famous by crosstown rivals at MGM.
Intimate biopic finds cinematic son hunting musical father
By Devin O’Leary
Documentary filmmaking has a certain reportorial air about it, and there’s an unspoken barrier that exists between documentarian and subject. Get too close and viewers might feel you’ve lost your objectivity. That’s not a problem that seems to concern filmmaker Stanley Warnow. After all, the subject of his film is his father.
Polarizing issue of immigration has its origins exposed in historical doc
By Devin D. O’Leary
New, PBS-style documentary by Peter Getzels & Eduardo López, tries to tackle the issue of immigration from a fresh perspective. Based on the book by award-winning journalist Juan González (“Democracy Now!”), Harvest of Empire asks one very simple question: What are these people doing here in the first place? The knee-jerk, surface-layer answer is that people from poor countries emigrate to America to make more money. Simple, no? But why are so many Latin American countries riddled with civil war, organized crime and overwhelming poverty in the first place? The answer, as in so many cases, lies in America’s neo-colonial government policy.
Evidence at hand says familiar documentary subject deserves one more look
By Devin D. O’Leary
West of Memphis, the new film from Amy Berg (director of 2006’s Catholic abuse exposé Deliver Us from Evil), is a bit of a cheat. Berg didn’t exactly pull her subject out of thin air. The trial of the West Memphis Three has been the subject of not one, but three award-winning, HBO-produced documentaries by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky. What about the infamous case of three Arkansas teens convicted of murder—mostly because they liked heavy metal and wore black—is left for Berg to explore in the wake of Berlinger and Sinofsky’s exhaustive Paradise Lost trilogy? As it turns out, a lot.
Emotionally draining French drama confronts life, love and (most of all) death
By Devin D. O’Leary
Amour, the lavishly praised, Oscar-nominated film from Bavarian/French director Michael Haneke, is really no fun at all. Not for a second. It’s a brutal, unflinching tearjerker about end-of-life issues. It may be one of the best films you’ll see all year. But will you see it? That’s the million-dollar question.
Arabesque animated fable offers a feline’s take on Middle Eastern religion
By Devin D. O’Leary
From the very first frames, viewers can tell the adult-oriented French cartoon The Rabbi’s Cat is going to feature some lovely, bright animation and an exotic setting. That’s almost but not quite enough to leaven a muddled story that requires a bit too much contemplation. The film is based on the work of French comic book artist Joann Sfar, who wrote and directed the lavishly animated, mostly successful biopic Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life. Sfar co-writes and co-directs The Rabbi’s Cat, ensuring the artist’s vision is, for better or worse, fully preserved.
