Comics, TV and movies John is looking forward to in 2014 (Commentary)
These are the comics, TV shows and movies I’m most looking forward to in the year ahead:
Movies
‘Gravity’ a high-tech piece of minimalist filmmaking (Movie review)
Starting with its nearly 20-minute uncut opening shot of George Clooney and Sandra Bullock floating in space making repairs on a scientific satellite, the entire hour and 40 minutes of “Gravity” is packed with “How’d they […]
Hair, fashions shine in ‘American Hustle,’ and it’s a decent yarn, too (Movie review)
“American Hustle” starts by showing Christian Bale’s combover — understatedly termed “elaborate” by Amy Adams. It’s a perfect lead-in for a movie about a con-man and –woman (Bale and Adams), a corrupt politician (Jeremy Renner), an […]
John’s top 10 movies of 2013
These were my 10 favorite movies of 2013: 1. “The Way Way Back” — The title could refer to filmmakers Nat Faxon and Jim Rash looking back at their childhoods in the 1980s or to the rear-facing […]
‘Drinking Buddies’ delves into the emotional mechanics of love (Movie review)
“Drinking Buddies” is proof that a movie can be enjoyable to watch even if it fails to make a resonant thematic point. It realistically shows how romances and relationships operate thanks to naturalistic, almost improvisational, performances […]
Villeneuve’s ‘Prisoners’ is one of the year’s best thrillers (Movie review)
I held off for a while on seeing “Prisoners” because the previews seemed to give away the whole movie: 1) Girls kidnapped, 2) dad (Hugh Jackman) tortures suspect (Paul Dano) who is obviously innocent, 3) the film […]
‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Ewoks: The Battle for Endor’ (1985) a heartfelt improvement on the original (Movie review)
Whenever someone brings up the topic of sequels that are better than the original, I always mention “Ewoks: The Battle for Endor” (1985). One, because most likely no one other than me has seen the two Ewok […]
‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure’ (1984) is an Endor travelogue (Movie review)
The six episodic “Star Wars” films, adhering to George Lucas’ philosophy of putting story first and not getting too showy about the artistry, don’t wallow in their settings or cultures. They pique our interest, then […]
Lifeguards in crisis in ‘The Lifeguard,’ ‘To Do List’
Movie reviews: Kristen Bell and Aubrey Plaza play lifeguards struggling with life in “The Lifeguard” and “The To Do List.”
WikiLeaks drama ‘The Fifth Estate’ not quite as great as the ideas in it (Movie review)
“The Fifth Estate” is the liberty-themed movie I was most looking forward to this year. But while it is too loaded with important ideas to dismiss entirely, it is rather disappointing coming on the heels of […]