The task of adapting Leo Tolstoy’s 864 page, multi-volume novel “Anna Karenina” for the silver screen undoubtedly possesses a high level of difficulty, not just due to the obvious challenge of condensing such a detailed work into a two-hour production, but because one must be very creative in finding a new angle to tell such […]
Review: “Anna Karenina” Read More »
“Lincoln” is not a biopic of President Abraham Lincoln, as the title might suggest, but a look at the legislative process through which he came to be known as the Great Emancipator. Large swaths of the movie are more akin to CSPAN 1865 than a comprehensive look at the man or the issues of his
Bill Condon is the best thing that could have ever happened to the “Twilight” franchise. After two paralytically humorless sequels that pleased little more than diehard fans, the acclaimed director of “Kinsey” and “Dreamgirls” unexpectedly took the reigns on the series’ fourth entry and effectively restored the original’s endearing fusion of teen film romance and
Review: “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2” Read More »
David O. Russell’s “Silver Linings Playbook” sets itself up for disappointment by initially adopting the appearance of a sophisticated movie that it’s not. The premise–two mentally ill people, he bipolar and she coping with the death of her husband, fall in love despite their difficulties with day-to-day life–suggests that the film is the rare romantic-comedy
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Just as I predicted in this weekend’s Box Office Beat column, the final installment of the “Twilight Saga” franchise, “Breaking Dawn – Part 2,” was able to duplicate the box office success of its predecessor and gross in the $140m opening weekend range — $141.3m, to be exact. That’s a strong finish for what has
Weeekend Box Office: “Twilight” closes well Read More »
“Skyfall,” is, like all James Bond films to some degree, a conservative work. That’s not to say politically conservative, but stylistically, the way that it safely fits within the cinematic zeitgeist. And as an action film of the times, “Skyfall” serves as a fine example. Audiences have come to expect their heroes broken and stripped
It took me two full reels to get into “This Must Be The Place”–an experience that I suspect many viewers will have with the film–because I wasn’t sure if I was willing to accept Sean Penn’s singular protagonist as the real deal. Even though Penn is among the finest working actors today, the character can’t
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Hello and welcome back to Box Office Beat, the column in which I predict the upcoming weekend’s box office results. After coming within 1.9 percent of the actual for “Skyfall” last weekend, I’m feeling pretty good about my prognostication abilities–at least for now. Let’s hope I don’t goof on one or both of this weekend’s
Box Office Beat: Weekend of November 16 Read More »
A few liberal American critics have argued that the lessons of “A Royal Affair,” which chronicles Enlightenment thinking’s triumph over the religion-abusing aristocracy of 18th Century Denmark, apply to today’s domestic political sphere, as far-right officials and pundits like Michele Bachmann and Sean Hannity use the country’s Judeo-Christian tradition to justify what the left views
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Certain literary works, especially those that traffic in the fantastical, are best left on the page because they cannot be brought to cinematic life in a manner that remains true to their original spirit. Presumably, this is the case with Qing Dynasty author Pu Songling’s “Erotic Ghost Story,” a beloved work in Chinese culture, but
Blu-Ray Review: “Painted Skin: The Resurrection” Read More »
