Tag Archives: Drama

The Florida Project: True Movie Magic

florida-project.jpgIt’s December, which means we’re deep into award season–where the standard offerings might include family dramas you’ve seen before, but with a slight new flavor (Lady Bird) or the period drama your grandparents will rave about (Darkest Hour). None of these films will do anything inventive with the form because they’re like pizza – not fine dining, but you know what to expect regardless of where it comes from.

The Florida Project is the kid that steals that proverbial pizza, throws it on the ground, and asks if you want to go spit on cars.

Continue reading

Character trumps mindless action in The Grey

The Grey star Liam Neeson and director Joe Carnahan have both been living it up in Hollywood productions for the last several years.  Neeson continues to pop up as some grizzled badass who will kill your childhood puppy, and Carnahan has been making zany slick action flicks like Smokin’ Aces and A-Team after making a big splash in 2002 with his gritty cop drama Narc (Ray Liotta, Jason Patric).  With The Grey, Carnahan and Neeson both return with less pomp and more dramatic flavor. Continue reading

Stake Land the great American vampire tale

It’s not often that a genre film doesn’t realize that it’s a genre film.  A comedy plays within the conventions of its niche and most horror films do the same.  Daybreakers is one of the best vampire films since the 1980’s unleashed Fright Night and The Lost Boys because, like its forerunners, it knows how to play to the genre trappings as intelligent entertainment.  That’s usually the best horror fans can expect from the genre. But films like The Blair Witch Project, Let the Right One In or Stake Land treat a horror tale like a drama and not a creature feature – which makes it all the more frightening. Continue reading

Another Earth might be the best sci-fi film of the year.

“This is a story about a girl who does something unforgivable.” So utters Rhoda Williams a couple of minutes into the mind-blowing trailer for Another Earth, which may be the best science-fiction film of the year. And the best part? Unlike most sci-fi films, this one delves deeply into the emotions of its characters; it sees how they interact, as well as how they react to the discovery of the titular Macguffin. It tackles questions worthy of a bigger budget, but with an honesty only possible with a shoestring. In short, while it will fall completely under the radar, this is one of the best films of the year, and should be sought after. Travel to a bigger city if you must, but see this film. Continue reading

Everything Must Go: Will Ferrell more than a funny man

The recent films of Will Ferrell have been hit and miss.  The Other Guys was a fantastic return to the improv magic of Anchorman (both were directed by Adam McKay), while Land of the Lost and Semi-Pro were not met with kind reviews or box office figures.  If Ferrell isn’t a guaranteed hit-maker, he does have a great opportunity to try his hand at other roles.  And as the lead in the drama Everything Must Go, he’s something to behold. Continue reading

Win Win: Can’t argue with the title

Judd Apatow’s last film Funny People was unjustly criticized for being a drama that happened to be funny, which is what you’ll get with Win Win. Continue reading

Your grandparents will love The King’s Speech

When we last saw Colin Firth, he was leading Tom Ford’s A Single Man in a quiet daring role.  He returns this year with a stuttering problem, in this nice film that doesn’t quite deserve the level of clamor it’s receiving. Continue reading

The Fighter a bruiser to watch

David O. Russell launched into the film world with his notable war/drama/comedy Three Kings, did the existential comedy I Heart Huckabess after that, and has now come out with a boxing picture, The Fighter.  The pieces don’t look like they’d fit together, but Russell’s sense of comedy and drama blends well with a cast that can do it justice. Continue reading

127 Hours

It might surprise you that Danny Boyle’s latest film 127 Hours has a message suitable for this holiday season–beyond the suggestion to cut off your own arm to escape the death trap family dinner table. Continue reading

TV Worth Watching: Community’s Battlestar Galactica is Breaking Bad at Sealab 2021

I suppose one of the defining features of a film snob is abhorrence for television.  All those commercial breaks, laugh tracks, overwrought dramatics.  But in both film and television there’s a lot of crap – you just have to know where to find the good stuff.  So as a film fan who does not have cable or those digital boxes to even watch basic channels, here are the shows (past and present) that make me wish I did. Continue reading