Unbroken
Dad Bait: The Movie Starring: Jack O’Connoll, Takamasa Ishihara Review written by Robert D. Patrick Chapped, sun-braised lips and unbridled suffering? It must be December, because the saliva slacked maws and welted skin is in full effect just in time for Oscar season. Clint Eastwood’s Unbroken – – – I mean Ron Howard’s Unbroken – – – I mean Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken is a...
The Railway Man
A Train Called War Starring: Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman Review written by Tom Bevis “I have a small problem,” Eric Lomax (Colin Firth) tells his veteran cohorts in the crisp shade of a Veteran’s Club, “which I suspect this small gathering might find interesting.” Thus are the first spoken words of The Railway Man and many of its trailers. But the film has misled you. The Railway Man has led you to believe it will be a war-themed...
Hyde Park on Hudson
Look Who’s Coming to Dinner Review written by Robert Patrick Starring: Bill Murray, Laura Linney The frail frame and steely resilience of one of our most beloved presidents and the staccato, machine gun spurts of one of the most misunderstood kings in England’s history. What do you get when you put them together? Fiery, moving portraits or plot points about hot dogs? Apparently plot points about hot dogs. Bill Murray looks...
The Impossible
Naomi Watts Cries; Upset Review written by Robert Patrick Starring: Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor There is a scene in the 2005 film, Ellie Parker, where Naomi Watts, sitting in a vehicle, challenges her friend to see “who can cry first.” In the following moments, the camera breathes on Watts’ neck, tightly framing her wincing face, as she groans and weeps uncontrollably. Watts’ face, contorting and strained,...
Hitchcock
Presenting Hitch; Not the Will Smith Film Review written by Robert Patrick Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren The bulbous frame and bulldog-jowls of the master of suspense are about as well-known as the Campbell’s soup can or Edvard Munch’s “The Scream”. The director’s suit, an emulsion of black and white, was always there to greet the audience. Alfred Hitchcock was a brand. The portly silhouette and...
Lincoln
James Spader Dons Arcane Mustache; Day-Lewis Barks Review written by Robert Patrick Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field Abe Lincoln is always portrayed as a sentient block of wood. Here, in Spielberg’s take on the lionized president, he remains intrepid and warmly enigmatic. Daniel Day-Lewis’ voice crackles like a bed of embers as his wiry, tall frame slinks around from office to house. Day-Lewis’ portrayal of...
A Dangerous Method
A Freudian Slip Up Starring: Michael Fassbender, Viggo Mortensen Review written by Robert Patrick Director David Cronenberg is known for his spatterfests, where heads explode like Gallagher watermelons, guts spew from television sets, and severed fingers are nonchalantly plucked like flower petals in a child’s hand. In recent years the maestro of macabre has toned down the science fiction horror elements, replaced them with...
J. Edgar
Does this Movie Come with an Ejection Seat? Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Naomi Watts Review written by Robert Patrick Warner Brothers should have renamed J. Edgar “Watch Clint Eastwood Fall Asleep at the Wheel”. This historical biopic about the advent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is terse, rife with plasticity, and about as warm as an insulated container of liquid hydrogen. Screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, in an...
Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975
The Revolution In Fragments Starring: Angela Davis, Stokely Carmichael Review written by Robert Patrick Director Göran Olsson’s documentary, The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975, has a clunky, cumbersome title; the name is like a topiary that needs reshaping. Something with more steely brevity, clenched fist punctuality would be more fitting of this snapshot of the Black Power movement in America. Olsson’s thoughtful doc is...
Moneyball
Archival Footage and Concentrated Brooding Starring: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill Review written by Robert Patrick If I had said that there would be a movie released this year about sulking and computer screens, you would probably predict that the film was about a depressed teenager glued to his PC. Alas, the fog has lifted and instead it is about baseball and grown men. Michael Lewis, the author of The Blind Side, penned Moneyball, a movie...
