Movie Reviews

FEATURE REVIEW: "Epic"

It's not a disaster or an embarrassment like Hoodwinked or Barnyard, but given the experience and abilities of Chris Wedge and Blue Sky artists, it should be better.

Weekend Preview: 'Before Midnight' a Must-See, 'Fast & Furious 6' Nabs Good Reviews, 'Hangover' a Headache

Memorial Day Weekend is bringing well-reviewed films both big and loud, and small and thoughtful (if also a bit loud: see a certain knock-down argument in "Before Midnight"). That film, Linklater's brilliant third installment in his romance trilogy starring Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke, is receiving ...

Cannes Film Festival Diary: Le Dernier Jour

“Carey Mulligan is an oyster.” So said a French photographer outside a cafe on the rue Hoch. Five of us were sitting around, with Christine in the middle, which is to say that everyone knew her; the photographer was a colleague from Paris, and was just coming from the red carpet at the Palais. He sh...

Cannes 2013 Review: Ryan Coogler’s 'Fruitvale' Is An Important Statement On The Power Of Perspective

Cannes Review Roundup: Alexander Payne's 'Nebraska' a Wistful but Slight Father-Son Road Trip Film

Alexander Payne's "Nebraska," starring Bruce Dern and Will Forte as a father and son embarking on a roadtrip, screened today at Cannes. The response is thus far mixed to positive, with praise for the film's wistful tone and a "career-crowning" performance from Dern. Those less impressed site the fil...

Cannes: Lesbian Coming-of-Age Epic 'Blue Is the Warmest Color' Offers Honest, Sexually Frank Insights

The first sex scene in "Blue Is the Warmest Color," Abdellatif Kechiche's French coming-of-age drama about a young lesbian couple, lasts longer than any other sequence in the movie. To dwell on its length, however, shortchanges its relevance to this three-hour-long feature. After a brief heterosexua...

Cannes Review: With 'Nebraska,' Has Alexander Payne Gone Soft?

Alexander Payne's movies walk a fine line between cruel satire and emotional truth, but in "Nebraska," it's particularly hard to discern which is which. The black-and-white road trip dramedy might be his least essential work, but it's also notably distinct from the rest of it. The first project that...

Cannes Review: Alexander Payne’s ‘Nebraska’ An Overfamiliar Tale Of Connections Broken & Remade

There’ve been great masses of critical laurels laid at Alexander Payne’s door over the years, some, in our eyes, more earned than others. When it really hits home, the director’s quiet humanism and wry humor can yield perceptive insights, especially into certain trademark areas of expertise: family ...

Review: While Darker, ‘The Hangover Part III’ Ends Series In Forgettable, Unremarkable Fashion

Director/writer Todd Phillips' filmmaking career has been fairly inconsistent so far, but the peaks and positive results have always been hilariously effective. "Road Trip" was unexpectedly funny and "Old School," a comedy touchstone of sorts, practically invented the fratty, bromantic, arrested dev...