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The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005, Tommy Lee Jones)
People really started noticing Tommy Lee Jones fifteen years ago, with The Fugitive. He was recognizable, given his long career to that point, but it was after The Fugitive, people started talking....
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In the Electric Mist (2008, Bertrand Tavernier)
In the Electric Mist is a perfect example of how not to adapt a novel into a film. The source novel is the sixth novel in a series and the film–in a seemingly bold but utterly misguided move (much of...
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The Hurt Locker (2008, Kathryn Bigelow)
When The Hurt Locker gets predictable, it gets into trouble. Of the super predictable events, there was only one thing I didn’t get right. The Hurt Locker, which uses its recognizable faces in bit...
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3:10 to Yuma (2007, James Mangold)
Another remake where they credit the original screenwriter as a contributing writer in order not to call it a remake. Halsted Welles wrote the original 3:10 to Yuma’s screenplay… not sure why Mangold...
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Mimic (1997, Guillermo del Toro), the director’s cut
Based on one of the edits, I’m assuming Mimic isn’t exactly a director’s cut (i.e. del Toro finished his cut, the Weinsteins took it and reedited it) as an approximation. He went back and did what he...
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Scream 3 (2000, Wes Craven)
Neve Campbell wanted a reduced presence in Scream 3—she doesn’t really show up in the film’s plot until an hour in—but by not participating, she’s in a worse film. Her performance is fine. Ehren...
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Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003, Jonathan Mostow)
What’s interesting about Terminator 3—besides the “I’ll be back” references—is the lack of cheap homage to the first two. It’s an all new Terminator movie. It’s crappy, but it’s its own thing. Though...
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The Thing (2011, Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.)
The big problem with The Thing, besides it being pointless (though it needn’t be), is its stupidty. While van Heijningen is a perfectly mediocre director, he doesn’t know how to add mood or make...
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A Good Day to Die Hard (2013, John Moore)
Bruce Willis embarrasses himself in A Good Day to Die Hard. Not a lot, but enough the movie’s occasionally uncomfortable. Usually when it reminds of the previous Die Hard entries. But not when it...
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Halloween H20 (1998, Steve Miner)
Halloween H20 is a mishmash. It’s a sequel to a seventies slasher movie, it’s a post-modern slasher movie of the Scream variety, it’s a thoughtful sequel, it’s a somewhat successful rumination on...
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The Wolverine (2013, James Mangold)
The Wolverine suffers from too many pots on the stove, a director in Mangold who can’t manage said pots and some really, really silly things. Like giant monsters silly. The film’s at its best during a...
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The Wolverine (2013, James Mangold), the extended edition
The extended version of The Wolverine adds some twelve minutes to the theatrical version. I can’t quite remember the differences, but mostly it just makes the film seem longer. Mangold hasn’t got a...
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Snowpiercer (2013, Bong Joon-ho)
Snowpiercer is relentless. There are three quiet moments; I’m not estimating, I’m counting. The final quiet moment comes with some commentary on the earlier quiet moments. The relentlessness is...
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The Faculty (1998, Robert Rodriguez)
Robert Rodriguez gives his actors a lot of time in The Faculty. The supporting cast–mostly the titular faculty of a high school (albeit one suffering an alien invasion)–gets to be showy. The film opens...
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The Hurt Locker (2008, Kathryn Bigelow)
When The Hurt Locker gets predictable, it gets into trouble. Of the super predictable events, there was only one thing I didn’t get right. The Hurt Locker, which uses its recognizable faces in bit...
View ArticleClik here to view.
3:10 to Yuma (2007, James Mangold)
Another remake where they credit the original screenwriter as a contributing writer in order not to call it a remake. Halsted Welles wrote the original 3:10 to Yuma’s screenplay… not sure why Mangold...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005, Tommy Lee Jones)
People really started noticing Tommy Lee Jones fifteen years ago, with The Fugitive. He was recognizable, given his long career to that point, but it was after The Fugitive, people started talking....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Scream 2 (1997, Wes Craven)
This year (2007), I saw more summer movies than I have in at least five years. I avoid big Hollywood franchises (the modern ones, the revitalization attempts… it’s fifty-fifty), so I really don’t know...
View ArticleClik here to view.
3:10 to Yuma (2007, James Mangold)
Another remake where they credit the original screenwriter as a contributing writer in order not to call it a remake. Halsted Welles wrote the original 3:10 to Yuma’s screenplay… not sure why Mangold...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mimic (1997, Guillermo del Toro), the director’s cut
Based on one of the edits, I’m assuming Mimic isn’t exactly a director’s cut (i.e. del Toro finished his cut, the Weinsteins took it and reedited it) as an approximation. He went back and did what he...
View Article