What could I possibly write about “Taxi to the Dark Side” that would make you decide to see it? For heaven’s sake, it’s a documentary about Guatanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib and policies of torture. Not exactly the kind of thing you’re likely to pick up the next time you run to the video store. Especially now that we’ve elected a new President who promises change, why should you bother to learn about the legal crimes of an old regime?
Continued…
Posted in All Reviews, On DVD.
By Willie Krischke — August 29, 2008.
Ahh, finally….a summer comedy that is actually funny. Really, really funny. For more than a few moments at a time.
After a series of so-bad-they’re-bad flicks (Love Guru, Zohan, Step Brothers) and a minor disappointment (Pineapple Express), “Tropic Thunder” delivers the goods. It is hilarious. It’s stupid-funny, and not just in bits, but all throughout. It is manic and smart and did I say funny? This is the kind of comedy you know you will see more than once. Without knowing what the lines are yet, you know you will be quoting lines from it.
You’re going to hear that it’s offensive, that you should boycott this one, because of material about the mentally disabled, or about African Americans, or pandas, or Asian movie taste. Well, I don’t fall into any of the demogaphics that might be offended, so I can’t really say for sure, whether it’s offensive or not. But I don’t understand the protests. Continued…
Posted in All Reviews, On DVD.
Tagged with Ben Stiller, comedy, parody, Robert Downey Jr., satire, Tom Cruise, Tropic Thunder.
By Willie Krischke — July 11, 2008
A movie set some 800 years in the future, “WALL-E’ is a throwback of sorts. It pays tribute to lots of movies, from the expected – “2001,” “Close Encounters,” “E.T.” and “Short Circuit,” but also to more unexpected, and more human, sources, like “Hello Dolly,” “Modern Times, and any number of Jerry Lewis and Woody Allen characters. This nostalgia gives a “sci-fi” film a big heart, which is good, since it’s about an abandoned planet and nearly hopeless future for our kind.
Our hero (his name is short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth Class) is the last inhabitant of Earth, except for a cockroach. The planet is covered with garbage, and the generators of all that trash have moved on – apparently, even the Earth was disposable. WALL-E, keeps compacting trash, because he’s a trash compactor, and what else is he going to do? He erects vast towers of piled garbage, shaped like the Empire State Building. He has the right personality for the job, and this is perhaps the best joke in the movie: WALL-E’s the kind of guy who likes going through trash, because every now and then he finds treasures. These he collects, as well as anything that might be useful, and his abode looks like your typical software engineer’s desktop – completely overwhelmed with nifty junk, organized in some way known only to him. His favorite possession is a worn out VHS copy of “Hello Dolly,” which he watches obsessively, trying to puzzle out the civilization that left him behind. (God help us if mounds of trash and “Hello Dolly” are all that remain of human civilization. Isn’t there a copy of “Hamlet” floating around out there somewhere? )
Continued…
Posted in All Reviews, On DVD.
Tagged with Andrew Stanton, Film, Future, Pixar, Reviews, Robots, Sci Fi, WALL E.
Don’t have time to read a well-written, reflective, thought-provoking review? Just want a quick glance at what’s playing and what’s new at the video store? Check out the “Quickies”page.
You get a quick “Recommended/Not Recommended” on every movie I’ve reviewed recently, as well as short video clips of the movies recently released on DVD to help you decide if it’s the kind of movie you’re looking for.
So come on over!
Posted in The Movie Blog.
By Willie Krischke — November 15, 2008.
“Casino Royale” was the first Bond movie I’d liked in a long time, so I came in to “Quantum of Solace” with fairly high expectations. Big mistake. Probably, if I’d just expected yet another entry into the Bond canon, I might’ve enjoyed it more. Because “Solace” shows that its prequel was more a happy accident than a masterful reworking of the Bond character.
Continued…
Posted in All Reviews, In Theaters.
Tagged with Daniel Craig, James Bond, Judi Dench, Mathieu Almaric, Olga Kurylenko.
I’d like to thank Seth Neal for the hard work he’s put into this new web design. Seth, you rock.
There are still a few kinks we’re working out, so look for new features in the near future. Also, I’d love to receive any feedback from readers about the new look and/or what they like to see. Just post it in the comments.
-Willie
Posted in The Movie Blog.
By Willie Krischke - November 11, 2008
Nothing happens in “Flight of the Red Balloon.” Nothing. And when I say nothing, understand that I don’t just mean no robberies, kidnappings, car chases, explosions, mutations, gunshots, or conspiracies. I’m a good arthouse moviegoer; I know that in some of the best movies made, all the action takes place inside the characters. But nothing happens in “Flight of the Red Balloon.” Nothing. No revelations, no growth, no tough moral choices, no significant bonding over communication barriers, no overcoming or succumbing to racism, no falling in love, no falling out of love, no emotional healing, no emotional wounding, no dealing with the past, no discovering or losing hope, strength, peace, acceptance or happiness. When I say nothing, I mean nothing.
Continued…
Posted in All Reviews, On DVD.
Tagged with Juliette Binoche, Red Balloon.
By Willie Krischke - originally published July 12, 2008
Guillermo Del Toro has a distinctive, captivating visual style that is reason enough to go see his movies. In this way, he reminds me of Jim Henson’s more “serious” endeavors, movies like “Labyrinth” and “The Dark Crystal.” They were so visually inventive, so different from anything anyone else was doing that things like pacing and plot didn’t really matter. “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” feels like that. Some summer movies get by without these basic elements by being non-stop roller coaster rides; Del Toro’s films, like Henson’s, are tours through a creepy-fascinating wax museum chock-full of things straight out of both dreams and nightmares.
Continued…
Posted in On DVD.
Tagged with Film, Golden Army, Guillermo Del Toro, Hellboy, Movie Reviews, Ron Perlman, Selma Blair.
By Willie Krischke — June 27, 2008
The title of “Kung Fu Panda” makes the movie sound like an animated, animal kingdom remake of “Beverly Hills Ninja” starring Jack Black as Chris Farley because Jack Black is a poor man’s Chris Farley, all flop sweaty and manic and good-heartedly stupid. Yikes. Generally, fat guys are funnier when the joke isn’t about their size; their size can make a funny joke funnier, but it can’t make a bad joke a good one.
So I wasn’t all that excited to see “Kung Fu Panda;” I thought it would be endless unfunny variations on an unfunny premise. Imagine how surprised I was to discover a smart, funny, engaging, visually exciting movie which, really, could just use a cleverer title. “Kung Fu Panda” is really fun. It might be one of the best movies of the summer.
Turns out that Jack Black isn’t just a poor man’s Chris Farley. He’s made a lot of money in that role (“Margot at the Wedding,” “Be Kind Rewind,” “Nacho Libre,” etc.) but maybe he just needs a new agent. As Po, he’s pitch perfect as a regular guy, kinda large, kinda lazy, who’s a big fan of Kung Fu, but stuck working in a noodle shop. Not an insane fan, not a manic idiot, just, you know, a big fan. Making the character relatable makes the movie much funnier and gratifying; you like this guy. You want him to win.
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Posted in On DVD.
Do you ever have that dream
Where you open your mouth and try to scream
But you can’t make a sound
That’s every day starting now
That’s every day starting now…
–Ani Difranco, “Wish I May”
This must be what it feels like to be Angelina Jolie in “Changeling.” Her eight year old son disappears, which is enough in itself to make anyone mother scream herself hoarse. The police tell her she can’t even file a report for 24 hours, because “99 times out of a hundred, the kid finds his way home.” Then, when they finally do start looking for him, sure enough they find him – or, at least, they find someone willing to pretend to be him, in order to get a free ride to Hollywood and a chance to meet some movie stars.
This is where the screaming begins.
Continued…
Posted in All Reviews, In Theaters.
Tagged with Angelina Jolie, based on a true story, Clint Eastwood, feminism, Jeffrey Donovan, John Malkovich, LAPD, serial killers.
