As evidenced by recent releases such as Margin Call, The Wolf of Wall Street, and even this year’s 99 Homes, movies about the financial market can be risky, complicated beasts. There’s always a scene that boils down to metaphors or “explain this to me like I’m a child.” The Big… Continue reading
Gangster Squad is an absolutely bananas shoot ’em up that seems plenty content being just that. The story, wearing the “based on true events” tag with a permanent wink, couldn’t be simpler and it’s all basically a coat hook for bloody shootouts, of which there are many. Those expecting a… Continue reading
From the “guaranteed to depress” files comes Blue Valentine, writer/director Derek Cianfrance’s exhaustive dissection of a relationship from beginning to end. Put an accent on “end,” because the film spends much of its runtime wallowing in its own misery and piling catastrophe upon catastrophe. Where Cianfrance does succeed, however, is… Continue reading
It’s always a frustrating predicament when the performances in a film are so unabashedly superior to its script that, on acting alone, it’s almost recommendable. Director Gregory Hoblit’s Fracture is such a specimen; a film whose lead performances, by Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling, are engaging and chock full of… Continue reading