The Hitman has a long lineage in Hollywood. But whereas Hollywood often likes to gussy up the Hitman to make him more “empathetic”, Michael Shannon’s performance as a real-life Hitman known as The Iceman purposely and brilliantly plays against this idea.
Category: "Movie Reviews"
“The Great Gatsby”: Life’s A Party
Well, what we did think was going to happen by giving the keys to The Great American Novel to Baz Luhrmann, holder of a masters in Cinematic Spectacle & Kitsch? He takes the material and guns the engine like Jay Gatsby himself at the wheel of his beloved yellow 1929 Duesenberg.
“At Any Price”: An Agribusiness Melodrama
Iowa cornfields can have so many connotations on the movie screen. And in Ramin Bahrani’s latest film, At Any Price, they symbolize the the crushing responsibility of family legacy.
“Mud” Signals The Arrival Of The Next Great American Filmmaker
Occasionally a hyperbolic declaration contains no hyperbole. This is one of those occasions. With Mud and its precursor Take Shelter, writer/director Jeff Nichols has displayed a command of the craft second to none. His future appears immense.
“Pain & Gain” Drives Itself Right Off The Cliff
The American Dream, a term that has become terribly diluted down through the years, still is generally thought to contain some sort of element of “hard work” but, really, what good is “hard work” when a mere glance around offers the tantalizing possibility of oh so many shortcuts?
“The Numbers Station” Is Very Much By The…..Well, Obviously
The Numbers Station chooses to be a straight thriller, which is perfectly fine, of course, so long as you are able to render the proceedings, you know, thrilling. This relies on technique and storytelling, otherwise it’s akin to watching the DJ at the club press the buttons and pull the levers without actually hearing the music.
“To the Wonder” Is A Rapturous Testament To The Fleeting Nature Of Love & Life
The breathless first minutes of Terrence Malick’s To the Wonder mix swooping images of astonishing beauty with whispered voiceovers that tell us everything and nothing. The remainder of the film is a purposely frustrating attempt to rekindle what we felt and what the characters felt in those first fifteen minutes.
“The Place Beyond The Pines” Can’t Quite Overcome Its Own Ambition
With Place Beyond The Pines, the follow-up to his extremely intimate Blue Valentine, director Derek Cianfrance has subscribed to cinema’s time-honored rule – that is, broaden your scope, paint on a mountainous canvas, exceed your grasp.
Misguided “Admission” Rises Above Expectations, But Stumbles For Trying To Be Something It’s Not
It’s not the movie that the trailers promised it would be. And while the efforts to do so almost derail the film completely, it’s saved by a couple veteran actors that manage to turn Admission into an enjoyable film.
