"When I do not want to say things in real life I often say them here." — Mimi Smartypants
“Hey, don’t knock masturbation. It’s sex with someone I love.” — Woody Allen (as Alvy Singer), Annie Hall (1977) S. Darko (2009) I liked Donnie Darko, but I didn’t see much point in S. Darko, unless the point was to cash in on the the success of Donnie Darko. Movie producers don’t do that, do […]
Some reviewers dismiss Avatar as a 2 hour and 40 minute visual effects feast with 20 minutes of plot. Other reviewers slam it for having a plot based on exploitation and imperialism. Okay, Avatar is a long movie. But I was riveted to my seat the entire time, and not merely by the visual effects. […]
“Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.” — Humphrey Bogart (as Rick Blain), Casablanca (1942) The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008) Something about this movie bothers me. No, it isn’t that it plunges me into shame, anger, despair, horror, and sadness. No, it isn’t […]
“It was beauty killed the beast.” — Robert Armstrong, King Kong (1933) Shine a Light (2008) I think the idea was that Martin Scorsese would turn a concert film into cinematic magic, and I must say the photography and staging is brilliant, but really it’s just another concert film and not all that memorable as […]
“I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let’s face it.” — Marlon Brando, On the Waterfront (1954) The Ramen Girl (2008) The Ramen Girl is like a prettily-wrapped gift box with nothing but tissue inside. There isn’t enough here to […]
“You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” — Roy Scheider, Jaws (1975) Quantum of Solace (2008) I think Daniel Craig is a great Bond, potentially better even than Sean Connery, but as other reviewers have complained, this movie is too similar to the Bourne trilogy (Bourne Identity/Bourne Supremacy/Bourne Ultimatum) to really have the feel of a […]
“I’ll be back.” — Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Terminator (1984) Elegy (2008) There’s absolutely no doubt this movie is based on a Philip Roth novel (the novel in question being The Dying Animal): it’s a melancholy, self-absorbed examination of an aging man’s character, all flaws prominently on display. Ben Kingsley and Dennis Hopper are perfect in […]
“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” — Gone With the Wind (1939) The Fall (2006) That movies like this can even be made is a hopeful sign that not every single miserable thing in this cynical world is about money. The film is visually spectacular, and there’s no CGI . . . it’s […]