Posted in: Review

Computer Chess

Subtle and mesmerizing, Computer Chess informally meditates on the nature of consciousness, our capacity for comprehension, and group sex. Andrew Bujalski (Funny Ha Ha, Mutual Appreciation, Beeswax) convincingly places us in the early ’80s where a few dozen young computer scientists from various prestigious universities (as well as one outspoken maverick with serious social boundary issues named […]

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The Contrarian: Ridley Scott Hasn’t Made a Good Movie Since Blade Runner, and Blade Runner Isn’t That Good

I wish I could have written this column before the stupefyingly miscalculated Prometheus had put so many Scott apologists on their back foot, because to strike at the man’s oeuvre now seems a bit exploitative, or even sadistic.  Still, such is the integrity of my mission that I don’t mind kicking a man while he’s […]

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The Contrarian: Attack of the Clones is a Film of Incalculable Historical Significance

What does Palme d’Or winner Amour, Sundance Grand Jury winner Winter’s Bone, and The Evil Dead remake all have in common?  They might never have been made were it not for the unwavering vision of George Lucas and a little movie called Star Wars: Episode 2 – Attack of the Clones. Clones was the first […]

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21 & Over

It’s a college sex comedy that’s neither sexy nor comedic, but it does take place on a college campus so… there’s that I guess. 21 & Over, written and directed by the writers of the first Hangover movie (Jon Lucas and Scott Moore), is an unembarrassed attempt to simply remake that movie with characters 15 […]

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Quartet

An exquisitely humane essay on death, Quartet, like the ensemble at the center of the story, deserves to be remembered more than it probably will be. Quartet takes place at a well-appointed retirement home in a bucolic English countryside for aged virtuosos of various stripes called Beecham House, and as such the film’s gorgeous soundtrack is […]

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The Contrarian: The Hobbit is Way Better than Any of the LotR Movies

That The Two Towers, the weakest of the LotR movies, is one of the most critically lauded films of the last ten years and that The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, as of writing this piece, is certified rotten by the “Top Critics” on Rotten Tomatoes is a tragic miscarriage of filmic justice.  An Unexpected Journey is not only the best […]

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Identity Thief

Effectively without merit, Seth Gordon’s (Horrible Bosses) tiresome Identity Thief still managed to make $172 million.  Good news for Melissa McCarthy, I guess.  Bad news for American comedy, though, as now Seth Gordon will continue to make movies. Let’s begin with the premise which, even for a broad comedy, is unusually lacking in credibility.  Sandy […]

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The Contrarian: I Want the Kathryn Bigelow Who Made Point Break Back

There’s a scene in Point Break in which the Ex-Presidents reveal to Johnny Utah (remember how there’s a character in this named Johnny Utah?) that they’re not robbing banks for the money. No, no, no my friend. Only Republicans rob banks for money. We rob banks to put our finger in the eye of The […]

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Admission

Modern rom-coms and Ivy League schools actually have a lot in common.  They’re both vestigial organs from a bygone age when men were Wiffenpoofs and women married typewriter salesmen after high school (or else mooned over their English professors at Sarah Lawrence).  They’re also mutually indistinguishable from one another, even while they remain convinced of their perfect singularness with a certitude […]

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Gangster Squad

An unconvincing facsimile of a crime drama, Gangster Squad, in the end, is merely a podunk action movie in a nice suit. Gangster Squad concerns a group of cops led by John O’Mara (Josh Brolin) who are forced to confront organized crime kingpin Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn), vigilante-style, on account of their police department’s corruption.  The […]

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The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

I’m going to make you a promise: this review will be magic-trick-pun free and now, having read that, you can read the rest in peace. Brass tacks: despite its flaws, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is funny, and if you’re a comedy fan you should see it.  It’s performers are in top form, Jim Carrey plays […]

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Silver Linings Playbook

Though hamfisted at times and ultimately predictable, Silver Linings Playbook still manages to bring some real brio to a genre long since sodden with platitudes and empty humor.  And despite some serious errors in judgement, Silver Linings Playbook is one of those rare love stories with actual heart. After coming upon his wife in flagrante delicto having shower-fun-time with […]

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