CONNECTED movie review
Connected (2011) –**1/2 I missed a screening of Tiffany Shlain’s autobiographical documentary Connected earlier this year. The film screened at the Cleveland International Film Festival, and being based in Cleveland, you would think I would have made it to the movie or any movie at the festival. I didn’t. You see, I was working very long hours at the time of the festival. I had been doing it for more than a year. In at 7 a.m. Out at 7 p.m. Strategizing, implementing, reporting. The old grind. But part of my job was also running the social media accounts for my company. Tweeting, blogging, and status updating were a highlight of the job. And those activities were in stark contrast with other communication that I was involved in. The customers who interacted with me on those accounts helped guide...
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ATTACK THE BLOCK quickie review
Attack the Block (2011)–*** Quickie Review A group of British teens in an inner-city London neighborhood must protect their building from an alien attack. This debut feature from British comedian Joe Cornish is a hilarious, expertly paced sci-fi comedy. Anyone who has seen Skins or Misfits on the telly will be unaffected by the pot-smoking, foul-mouthed delinquents. But when you pit these entertaining kids against space invaders, you see shades of classic 80s genre pictures like Goonies and Monster Squad. Attack the Block, in turn, will likely be a cult classic for the ages. Directed by Joe Cornish and starring John Boyega, Jodie Whittaker and Alex Esmail, with Nick Frost as the local drug dealer...
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MONEYBALL movie review
Moneyball (2011) — ***1/2 Moneyball isn’t your average sports film mostly because it can’t be. It is, after all, a film about two men who upend the traditional means for developing a baseball roster. The film daringly balances the usual sports film cliches with moments of existential drama. It focuses on management level problems but never forgets the players on the field. It’s cynical and romantic all at once. I can’t say I’ve ever seen a sports film quite like it. Any Given Sunday comes closest, but even Oliver Stone’s behind-the-scenes look at football fails to provide an emotional struggle like that of Billy Beane’s. Beane (Brad Pitt), a former top draft pick who failed to live up to the hype, is the general manager of the Oakland Athletics. After losing the major players from his 2001 playoff team...
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ONE DAY movie review
One Day (2011)–** It’s dishonest to call One Day a romance. Yes, it’s a film about two people who are in love, but it lacks the intimacy and chemistry to really make the audience fall in love too. The truth is One Day much more closely resembles a coming-of-age film… or a mid-life crisis film depending on what single date were watching. The particular day on the calendar that we always visit is July 15, St. Swithin’s Day. In 1988, it’s when Dexter (Jim Strugess), a charming upper-middle class boy, and Emma (Anne Hathaway), a dowdy working-class girl, first spent time together. After a night of post-graduation festivities, the pair who don’t really know each make an attempt at a one night stand. It doesn’t work out, but something else happens. For the rest of the film we revisit their...
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Quickie: STAKE LAND
Stake Land (2010)–*** Quickie Review A vampire hunter and the young man he rescued trek across a post-apocalyptic America, fighting vamps and religious zealots along the way. This smart, slick horror epic might have been a great movie in another time. Sure, it’s good, but the vision and story that create great scenarios on film are also impeded by the medium. In a world where The Walking Dead exists as a full TV series, you almost feel slighted that Stake Land, which has room for greater depth to its character and their relationships, didn’t get the same treatment. I left the theater wanting more, but that also makes this film worth watching, regardless of its limitations. Starring Connor Paolo, Kelly McGillis, Daniel Hart, Michael Cerveris, and Nick Damici (also co-writer). Directed and co-written by Jim...
Read MoreQuickie: RARE EXPORTS
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale–***1/2 Quickie Review The residents of a small Korvatunturi mountain village learn the truth behind a Christmas fable when a nearby excavation team unearths the real Santa Claus. This Finnish fantasy comedy is a winning throwback to 1980s anti-Christmas classics like Gremlins, Scrooged and Die Hard. In fact, the father/son relationship makes you believe that filmmaker Jalmari Helander grew up on a heavy diet of Spielberg films. Whatever makes Helander tick, his Rare Exports is the rarest of imports, a genuine, out-of-the-box cult classic. Starring Onni Tommila, Jorma Tommila, Tommi Korpela, Rauno Juvonen, Per Christan Ellefsen, and Peter Jakobi. Watch the...
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