The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
You Thought the Days of Train Robberies Were Over Starring: John Travolta, Denzel Washington By Tom Bevis There is no doubting we’re in the age or remakes. All too often, the remakes result in bland and pale imitations of the originals. But sometimes, ever so rarely, a remake comes out to astound, to adapt perfectly to the times and stand alone as its own piece of work. The Taking of Pelham 123 is definitely the latter. I have to...
Angels & Demons
Or: Tom Hanks’ Haircut Starring: Tom Hanks, Ayelet Zurer By Tom Bevis The only thing worse than a mullet is a half-mullet. But let’s not hold Tom Hnaks’ silly haircut against the film. It’s just simple fashion, after all. And don’t let the sins of Angels and Demons’ predecessor, The Da Vinci Code, keep you away, either. Those who couldn’t get through the earlier film will be happy to hear that much of slowness and stiffness...
State of Play
Apparently Government Is Corrupt Starring: Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams Written by: Andrew Younger Performing his best Alan J. Pakula impersonation circa 1974, director Kevin MacDonald’s latest offering addresses journalistic integrity in the wake of political decay and corporate conspiracy before surrendering complex social commentary to cheap plot twists and easy resolutions. In the midst of congressional...
12
Existential Hell Starring: Sergei Makovetsky, Sergei Garmash By Robert Patrick In the original 12 Angry Men, there was a sense of palpable fear. The jurors, knitted together with makeshift patchwork, were devoured by plumes of cigarette smoke, their fists were bolted to their chins in deep thought, and their tongues rapped against their mouths with the sound of machinegun fire. The original production, made in 1957 and starring Henry...
Gomorra
Shooting Blanks in the City of Sin Starring: Gianfelice Imparato, Nicolo Manta By Tom Bevis The screen is black, blank. You can hear a faint buzzing as the projector whirls. The screen begins to shrink, to fluctuate, and it almost seems to breathe. Then an image burns into the black: the bright, sterile, white interior of a tanning salon. In the next ten minutes, you will witness the cruel murders of a handful of men. Judging by the...
Sunshine Cleaning
Adams Continues Strong String of Films Starring: Amy Adams, Emily Blunt By Stella J. Kim Funny, touching and sensitive, director Christine Jeffs has created a gem with Sunshine Cleaning, an off-beat comedy about the trials and errors that life throws at us, and the funny way things end up working out. Set in New Mexico, Sunshine Cleaning stars Amy Adams and Emily Blunt as sisters who team up to start their own biohazard removal/crime...
Taken
More Exciting Than Kinsey Starring: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace By Robert Patrick “I can tell you I don’t have money,” Liam Neeson tells his daughters captors, using the baritone hum of his voice to speak calmly into a receiver. “But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you.” And with that composed suggestion of vengeance, so...
Paul Blart: Mall Cop
The World’s Only Tribute to Mall Security Starring: Kevin James, Jayma Mays By Tom Bevis Raise your hand if you think Paul Blart: Mall Cop looks like the stupidest movie ever made. Yeah, my hand’s up too. And it’s not surprising at all. The trailers made the film out to be a senseless extravaganza of slapstick: fat jokes and physical violence abound. It doesn’t help that the director, Steve Carr, has made a name for himself...
Gran Torino
Maintaining an Active Lifestyle for Seniors Starring: Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang Clint Eastwood must be full of regrets. After five decades in film, the towering American icon seems resigned to play the role of a man whose best days are behind him. Estranged from his children and his church, Eastwood’s Walt Kowalski is a former fighter in need of something to fight for—essentially reconstructing the same character he inhabited in...
Nobel Son
Under the Radar and Over the Expectations Starring: Alan Rickman, Bryan Greenburg By Tom Bevis Nobel Son is, to say the least, a roller coaster. It’s difficult to explain what the movie is about without dropping too many spoilers. Everything I had read prior to walking into the screening said it was about Eli Michaelson, a chemistry professor (Alan Rickman) who wins the Nobel Prize at the same time his family is disintegrating,...
