“Nothing will make sense to your American ears, And you will doubt everything we do. But in the end, you will understand.” So says a character in Denis Villeneuve’s outstanding “Sicario.” These prophetic words haunt both the audience and protagonist until they suddenly crystallize. The film is like a whodunit where instead of a crime, there’s a philosophical […]
“Edge of Tomorrow” could (half-) jokingly be titled “Groundhogs and Aliens,” but that doesn’t mean one should take it lightly. Tom Cruise’s latest would-be blockbuster is the kind of summer movie we need more of but see progressively less of, an elaborate actioner with a brain that combines its special effects with a story that
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Rian Johnson’s “Looper” is a phenomenal science-fiction film, full of tantalizing ideas and, more importantly, confident about how to use them. Its story centers around time travel and the violent intersection of an assassin and an older version of himself, a conflict captured through an insidiously clever scenario that allows for alternating scenes of thrilling
One of the most valid critiques of the mumblecore movement is that its stories lack universality — that they speak specifically to hipster audiences in their late 20s and early 30s who share a sense of directionless-ness with the characters, as if said characters have nothing in common with any other demographic. The major exception
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Embedded above is the new international trailer for Rian Johnson’s “Looper,” which lets the viewer in on quite a bit more than the domestic version. However, if you’re already sold on the movie, Johnson recommends via Twitter that you refrain from viewing the spoiler-containing video: “If you’re already set on seeing ‘Looper,’ I’d avoid any
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While I have long detested the employment of the phrase “wait for HBO” among critics–as a staunch defender of the theatrical experience, I believe most films are either good enough to warrant a night out or aren’t worth seeing, period–“The Five-Year Engagement” so perfectly fits the cliché that I may have to break with tradition
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I wrote earlier about how so heavily scrutinizing the first trailer for Rian Johnson’s Looper was destroying the mystique that the movie’s success depends upon, but poring over photos is a bit different — they give away next to nothing, thereby even strengthening said mystique. The photo above had already been released by distributor Film District, so
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