Tagged with 2009 films …

Review: An Education, 2009, dir. Lone Scherfig

A critical darling of 2009, Lone Scherfig’s An Education approaches its subject matter– the blossoming relationship shared by Carey Mulligan’s not-yet-of-age schoolgirl and Peter Sarsgaard’s cultured and much older gentleman– with such a deft hand as to negate any potential for casting a lecherous taint upon the story. By any account, this should be treated … Continue reading →

Review: Ink, 2009, dir. Jamin Winans

When we fall asleep, we unknowingly receive visits from spirits who control the nature of our dreams. With a single touch, Storytellers provide us with an entire night sleep’s worth of pleasant fantasies where chocolate cake is the ultimate weight loss tool and jamming Hendrix-style in front of a cheering crowd comes naturally. Alternately, falling … Continue reading →

Review: Funny People, 2009, dir. Judd Apatow

To say that Funny People represents Judd Apatow’s first career stumble would be a lie. He’s been writing and producing since the mid-90’s, and stuffed in between the rousing success of his directorial debut and follow-up, The 40-Year-Old-Virgin and Knocked Up, respectively, as well as his numerous producing and writing credits (Forgetting Sarah Marshal and Pineapple … Continue reading →

Review: Sherlock Holmes, 2009, dir. Guy Ritchie

Guy Ritchie, the proud creator of notoriously stylized gangster films like Snatch and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, is not a director well known for his relationship with the concept of “restraint”. So the fact that my fingers are about to type the sentence, “Ritchie shows uncharacteristic restraint in his latest film,” comes as … Continue reading →

Review: Avatar, 2009, dir. James Cameron

More than a month after the film’s release, what else is there truly left to say about James Cameron’s game-changing, 3D, high-tech, science fiction extravaganza, Avatar? It is everything that other reviewers say it is, gorgeous, lush, fluid, inventive, vibrant, and yet vacuous, unoriginal, bloated, stilted, and pulseless. It’s the clash between cool technology and … Continue reading →

Review: Moon, 2009, dir. Duncan Jones

2009’s Moon is a remarkable achievement in hard, idea-based science fiction, and as an entry in a veteran filmmaker’s body of work, it could easily be a high point. So when we take into account the fact that it is a debut picture, its quality becomes emphasized even further. (If a first-time director can make … Continue reading →