Above a dying mining town somewhere in the Rust Belt of the United States, one of the most talented actors of his generation, bearded and disheveled, pauses with a rifle to take a shot.
A deer is in his scopes.
Author: robertmwallis
Graduate of Royal Holloway and the London Film School. Founder of Of All The Film Sites; formerly Of All The Film Blogs. Formerly Film & TV Editor of The Metropolist and Official Sidekick at A Place to Hang Your Cape. Co-host of The Movie RobCast podcast (formerly Electric Shadows) and member of the Online Film Critics Society.
American Hustle might be my favorite film of 2013
AKA The David O. Russell Reunion; Batman, Lois Lane, Rocket Raccoon, & Mystique: The Movie; or, Golden Globes For Everyone!
I don’t make a habit of using this space to gush over how much I love one film or another.
Mandela: A Long Walk to Freedom is a noble enough cinematic endeavor
Released in the immediate aftermath of its subject’s death, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom has the unenviable task of standing as cinematic testament to perhaps the most vital political figure in African history.
Close enough is the time you could be forgiven for thinking that the film’s publicists may have bumped off the ninety-five year-old Mandiba for the sake of a publicity coup.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is long on aspiration if a little short on poise
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty has been in the movie pipeline for a while.
Based on a short story published in 1939, this particular version of the tale has been in development hell since the mid-nineties. There have been plenty of would-be Walters in that lineup, too: Jim Carrey, Will Ferrell, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson.…
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug loses its treasures amid ersatz
Like a winged beast from the North, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is upon us.
Its predecessor, An Unexpected Journey – Peter Jackson’s first film as director since 2009’s The Lovely Bones and our first return to Middle-Earth in nine years – was notably not one of my favorite films of the previous year.…
The Butler is content to carry water
2013 has been a year for many things.
Hostage crises in Algeria and North Korean nuclear tests, 3D printers and a meteor explosion over Russia. Meanwhile, the NSA’s been spying on everyone and Justin Bieber has been taking up the headlines in “Teenage-Boy-With-Unlimited-Power-Behaves-Like-Dickhead Shock”.
… Spike Lee’s Oldboy is a criminally bland remake
There are many films that have no reason to exist besides turning an ill-conceived buck.
Transformers 4, for instance – now with 100% more Mark Wahlberg – or the upcoming Terminator reboot – as if the series’ timeline wasn’t convoluted enough already.…
The Counselor is a film in desperate need of help
The Counselor is an unusual beast.
In its opening moments, cheetahs stalk wild hares on the Savannah, not of Africa but Mexico; a flamboyant, eccentrically rich couple picnic nearby in the company of some luxury motors.
Sometime soon Michael Fassbender’s nameless eponym will be buying a diamond from Bruno Ganz’s merchant, who pontificates on the beauty of the stone lying in its flaws.…
Saving Mr. Banks is self-serving nostalgia from the House of Mouse… It’s also great, hugely feelgood fun
Try to think of an occasion on which you’ve seen the celebrated Mr. Walt Disney portrayed in film.
Simply put, you can’t: the Disney corporation has fiercely guarded the image of their founder, almost as fiercely as their iconic mascot.…
Thor: The Dark World makes for a fun, forgettable outing in the MCU
Marvel Studios is the cinematic juggernaut of our time, perhaps all time.
Spanning eight films over five years, it has so far grossed in excess of $5 billion. Bi-annual releases were common in Phase 1 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe – films ranging from 2008’s Iron Man to The Avengers last year – and, as of 2013, seems likely to become standard practice.…