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Review: 'Morning Glory' Not Ready For Prime Time
All you need to know about "Morning Glory" is that it was written by "The Devil Wears Prada" scribe Aline Brosh McKenna. While the mega-success of that film propelled her towards becoming a very in-demand writer, like her male equivalent Allan Loeb, we're still waiting to see what all the fuss is about. 'Prada' was never a terribly brilliant piece of writing and that film's success was due more to Meryl Streep (and to a lesser extent Emily Blunt and Anne Hathaway) than anything on the page. But if it worked once, might as well try it again, as McKenna essentially reworks the formula in "Morning Glory" transplanting the fashion industry for n...
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Cinemania '10 Reviews: Jacques Rivette's 'Around A Small Mountain' & 'Lily Sometimes'
While it may not carry the prestige or the name recognition of some of the other festivals in Montreal such as Fantasia or the Festival Du Nouveau Cinema for this writer, "Cinemania" may be our favorite. Now in its 16th year, this festival focuses solely on francophone cinema, and while it does round up selections from the usual Berlin/Cannes/Venice/TIFF circuit it also offers up many French language films that don't end up on those runs either, allowing for plenty of surprises over the course of the festival's ten day run. The festival kicked off on November 4th and we'll be giving you periodic updates over the next week or so with what we'v...
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Review: 'Unstoppable' Is One Of Tony Scott's Most Enjoyable Films In Years
"Unstoppable" is about a runaway train on a collision course to wipe out a mid-sized Pennsylvania town and that streamlined premise might be the best thing to happen to director Tony Scott in years. The schizophrenic director, given to rapid edits, multiple filters, and cameras stuck in a wide array...
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Review: Aussie Neo-Western 'Red Hill' Fails To Live Up To Its Promising Trailer
If there was one movie this year that this writer wanted to be fantastic, it was "Red Hill." The trailer focused on the strikingly beautiful cinematography, but gave little detail on the plot. For that, it seemed fishy, but those misgivings were swiftly buried by piles and piles of awe. It basically looked like "No Country For Old Men" set in Australia, and while there was no shot in it being anywhere near as brilliant as that, it still held the possibility of being a strong film. Reading the director's statement was even more promising, as Patrick Hughes seemed passionate not only about his movie, but about movies in general. Seemingly down-...
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Review: Audacious 'Four Lions' Has A Good Comedy Roar, But Never Moves In For The Kill
Black humor that tracks potentially offensive or controversial subjects such as substance abuse and pedophilia, incest, rape, etc. are the bread and butter of satirist, actor, writer and director Christopher Morris, so it's really no surprise that his feature-film debut, "Four Lions" lampoons suicid...
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Review: 'Megamind' Can't Defeat A Dull Story
It's hard for Pixar's competition to keep up, but if anyone has been able to give them a run for their money lately it's DreamWorks Animation. Earlier this year, the studio scored a critical and commercial hit with "How To Train Your Dragon," last year they had the hit "Monsters Vs. Aliens" and with...
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Review: '127 Hours' Is A Thrilling, Life-Affirming Survival Tale & One Of The Best Films Of The Year
This is a repost of a review that ran earlier this year during TIFF 2010. The film is in limited release starting this week.
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London Film Fest '10: 'Somewhere' Is A Shallow Disappointment From An Ossified Sofia Coppola
We're unashamed fans of Sofia Coppola here. Obviously, she's not great in "The Godfather Part III," but as far as her directing work goes, "The Virgin Suicides" stands as one of the stronger debuts in recent memory, "Lost In Translation," despite the backlash, is still pretty excellent, and even "Ma...
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Review: 'Welcome To The Rileys,' A Portrait Of Unconventiality
PUNCH. The remains of a car burn in the darkness. Whomever was present for such a disaster no longer breathes air. PUNCH. A black screen, the title “Welcome To The Rileys” proudly displayed at the center of the screen. PUNCH. The visage of a burly man smoking a cigarette comes into frame. While the ...
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