European wartime romp The Monuments Men is nothing to write home about

 

On the face of it, The Monuments Men should make for a great piece of cinema.

A classic “men on a mission” movie set in the dying days of the Second World War, directed by the talented and starring the never-less-than-charming George Clooney, backed by a whole roster of recognizable actors?…

Dallas Buyers Club is a life-affirming tonic of a film

 

If ever there was a film that just may have conceived to mint Oscars, Dallas Buyers Club might be it.

It concerns the exploits of a homophobic cowboy, Ron Woodroof, who contracts AIDS and pairs up with trans woman, Rayon, to begins selling unapproved drugs to the Dallas gay community.…

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit fails to fully surface

 

Has ever a hero been rebooted as repeatedly and with little aplomb as Jack Ryan? From Sean Connery-starrer Hunt for the Red October back in 1990 through to the present day, Tom Clancy’s best-known protagonist has grossed more than half a billion dollars.…

Anchorman 2: broadcasting hilarity or just dead air?

 

It’s been a decade since the original Anchorman regaled us with the exploits of the scotch-guzzling, self-aggrandizing Ron Burgundy and his motley news team.

Having acquired cult status thanks to its endless quotability – “That escalated quickly”, “I love lamp”, etc.,…

The Wolf of Wall Street: Scorsese howling into the void?

Apart from perhaps Steven Spielberg, the career of Martin Scorsese is unparalleled in the last fifty years of Hollywood.

Not only does his contribution to cinema define an entire genre – name a modern crime film that doesn’t owe some debt to Goodfellas – he consistently seems to take on only the films that he wants to make, only the projects that interest him.…

August: Osage County is an overstuffed goose of a family drama

 

August: Osage County opens amidst the hay bales of the American Midwest and with the words of T.S. Eliot – “Life is very long”.

The truest expression of this stage-play adaptation lies in the cramped confines of the Westen family’s plantation-style home and the words of W.B.…

Out of the Furnace shows us the crucible of the impoverished Mid-Atlantic US

 

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.

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.…