Posted in January 2011

Andrew’s Top Ten of 2010 (pt.2)

Andrew’s Top Ten of 2010 (pt.2)

Early America was a remarkable place, unique as the one nation where people from all around the world could come together and be called equal. The color of one’s skin, one’s native language, and one’s economic status didn’t matter. Once you arrived in America, it made no difference, because in America everyone was treated the … Continue reading

2011 Rising: My Films to Watch (pt.1)

2011 Rising: My Films to Watch (pt.1)

For me, 2010’s in the bag, but it’s not totally wrapped up until I take the time to ruminate over the upcoming slate of movies in 2011 that excite me, discourage me, intrigue me, or puzzle/offend me (and, of course, also post the rest of my top ten, which is, I promise, coming around the … Continue reading

Movies That Matter: The Boondock Saints

Movies That Matter: The Boondock Saints

There shouldn’t be any lead-in toward my feelings on this movie, so I’ll just say it: I absolutely loathe The Boondock Saints. Like, really, really hate it. It is not by any stretch of the means the worst or most incompetent movie that I’ve seen, but without a doubt one of the vilest and most … Continue reading

Review: Animal Kingdom, 2010, David Michôd

Review: Animal Kingdom, 2010, David Michôd

If there existed a “Best Debut” category at any of the self-aggrandizing awards shows which infect popular consciousness during the winter months of the year, then David Michôd would be a shoe-in. His very first feature, Animal Kingdom, isn’t ostentatious or glitzy; it’s far too self-assured to rely on gimmicks, adroitly made with the confidence … Continue reading

Andrew’s Top 10 of 2010 (pt.1)

Andrew’s Top 10 of 2010 (pt.1)

It’s that time of year (hey, at least it’s closer to that time of year than I was last January)– time for me to pontificate about which films released in 2010 tickled my fancy enough to be worthy of placement on my top ten list. I had a rough time with this year, personally; I’m … Continue reading

Review: The Social Network, 2010, dir. David Fincher

Announcement to Jesse Eisenberg: From henceforth you are no longer allowed to work with writers whose names are not Aaron Sorkin. Sorkin, known throughout his career for engineering propulsive and mercurial dialogue, possesses a style almost tailor-made for Eisenberg’s precipitative speech patterns. Throughout The Social Network‘s two hour running time Eisenberg seems to be the … Continue reading

From the Cinema to the Sofa: The Cape (ep. 1.1/1.2)

From the Cinema to the Sofa: The Cape (ep. 1.1/1.2)

Holy awful, Batman. In fact, beginning any review of NBC’s latest original series (a term here that, you’ll soon see, I use very, very loosely) with a Batman reference feels totally apropos given how much the program owes to Christopher Nolan’s very solid interpretations of the classic hero. The Cape frankly reeks of Batman Begins … Continue reading

Review: The King’s Speech, 2010, Tom Hooper

Review: The King’s Speech, 2010, Tom Hooper

Tom Hooper’s critical darling The King’s Speech could have been made strictly as a breezy piece of crowd-pleasing art house entertainment, light, airy, and ultimately forgettable, and it still would have been worth seeing. Alternately it could have been approached explicitly as a period drama intent on examining the speech impediment of the man who … Continue reading

Review: The Town, 2010, dir. Ben Affleck

The Town serves as a direct competition between Ben Affleck, actor, and Ben Affleck, director, in a bid to determine which of the two stands out as the dominant personality. Anyone who saw 2007’s Gone Baby Gone already can guess that the latter incarnation of the Cambridge-born Affleck emerges victorious, and if anything, The Town … Continue reading