Albert Nobbs was not my cup of tea, but it could possibly be yours. I’m not a big fan of period pieces, but I thought that by virtue of an incredible performance by Glenn Close, I would transcend my prejudice. Was Close’s performance technically excellent? Yes, probably. She had the accent, the gait, the look, [...]
Read More Albert Nobbs, drama, Glenn Close, Janet McTeer, joyce, Mia Wasikowska, Rodrigo GarciaThis isn’t a real review–I’m just writing to bring a movie to your attention: Burning Palms. I previewed this movie–a collection of five stories–over the weekend, and it was good. Really good. Here’s my caveat, though: It is dark. Very black humor. The themes may be disturbing to some, including rape and incest, but the [...]
Read More Burning Palms, Christopher Landon, comedy, drama, DVD, joyce, Lake Bell, R, Zoe SaldanaHow Do You Know was a real disappointment. You’d think that a cast that included Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson, and Jack Nicholson, could pull off a decent Rom Com, but alas, this was a poorly scripted effort, the plotline was not well-developed, and the only actor who even began to inhabit his role [...]
Read More blu-ray, comedy, drama, DVD, How Do You Know, Jack Nicholson, James L. Brooks, Janusz Kaminski, joyce, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd, PG-13, Reese Witherspoon, romanceGet Low won the hearts of many film critics, and I found it to be definitely worth the view as well. It’s an actors’ showcase: you have your Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, and Bill Murray. All are veterans, and I watched the movie to see them, if nothing else.
Read More Aaron Schneider, Bill Murray, Get Low, joyce, Robert Duvall, Sissy SpacekI really did enjoy spending 98 minutes watching You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. We see Woody Allen here doing what he does best: using his satiric lens to depict the most human emotions and experiences. His humor is unmistakable, and if you’re a fan, you’ll probably like the film enough to appreciate a [...]
Read More Anthony Hopkins, Antonio Banderas, comedy, Freida Pinto, Gemma Jones, Josh Brolin, joyce, Naomi Watts, R, romance, Woody Allen, You Will Meet a Tall Dark StrangerConviction was a very “serviceable” drama based on a true story. Hilary Swank stars as Betty Anne Waters, a working mom who decides to put herself through law school so she can defend her brother, Kenny (Sam Rockwell), whom she believes to be wrongfully convicted of a grisly murder.
Read More biography, Conviction, drama, Hilary Swank, joyce, Juliette Lewis, Melissa Leo, Minnie Driver, Peter Gallagher, R, Sam Rockwell, thrillerThere’s not that much to say about The Town, except it was good. Really good. The Town is Ben Affleck’s baby—he adapted the screenplay, he directed it, and he starred in it. It’s hard to believe that the goofy, half drunk kid I saw on Inside the Actor’s Studio nearly ten years ago, could have [...]
Read More Ben Affleck, Blake Lively, blu-ray, crime, drama, DVD, Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm, joyce, R, Rebecca Hall, The Town, thrillerCyrus got a lot of positive press, and a good number of critics liked it. It has all the ingredients for getting a big thumbs up from me, too, but it just didn’t go down so easily. The directors, brothers Mark Duplass and Jay Duplass, also gave us The Puffy Chair, which was a staff [...]
Read More blu-ray, comedy, Cyrus, drama, DVD, Jay Duplass, John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill, joyce, Marisa Tomei, Mark Duplass, R, romanceGoing the Distance was just an okay romantic comedy. I didn’t love it by any means. I didn’t feel any great chemistry between the stars, Drew Barrymore and Justin Long, even though they have been an on-again, off-again couple for a while. I really liked Drew in He’s Just Not That Into You (a much [...]
Read More blu-ray, comedy, Drew Barrymore, DVD, Going the Distance, joyce, Judd Apatow, Justin Long, Nanette Burstein, R, Robert Evans, romanceEat Pray Love was okay. It seems like it could have been a lot better, somehow. Perhaps if the main character, Liz, had been played by someone else. Perhaps if the movie had gotten direction from someone other than Ryan Murphy. Something just fell a little flat in the cinematic retelling of the story in [...]
Read More Billy Crudup, drama, DVD, Eat Pray Love, James Franco, Javier Bardem, joyce, Julia Roberts, PG-13, Richard Jenkins, romance, Ryan Murphy, Viola Davis