‘Bethlehem’ Movie Review

New review is up on Movie Mezzanine. This one is of a fairly decent if fairly forgettable Israeli political thriller/character drama. At the very least, it has a hell of an ending. Click here for the full review on Movie Mezzanine.

The Big Wedding Movie Review

oh god why did i watch this movie why why god whyyyy

Upstream Color Movie Review

Here’s another Movie Mezzanine review for ya: Shane Carruth’s long-awaited follow-up to Primer has finally come out and it’s a breathtaking piece of cinema. My thoughts on Upstream Color. Click this link to read.

The Place Beyond the Pines Movie Review

Family and fate converge in the intimate epic from Blue Valentine director Derek Cianfrance. My review of The Place Beyond the Pines starring Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes, Ray Liotta, and more great actors in a great movie. Click here to read.

Lore Movie Review

My latest review on Movie Mezzanine: Cate Shortland’s Lore, which breathes new life to the WWII movie by offering a fresh perspective and rich moral complexity. To read, click this link.

Killing Them Softly Movie Review

[Killing Them Softly
Written & Directed by Andrew Dominik
Starring: Brad Pitt, Richard Jenkins, and James Gandolfini
MPAA: R – For Violence, Sexual References, Pervasive Language, and some Drug Use]

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My mantra for reviewing movies has always been to judge and critique something based on its own merits instead of based on expectations, source material, other films, etc. This is so I could, of course, keep a very balanced viewpoint that judges the film on its qualities and weaknesses, and those alone. This is, of course, how I view criticism for games, books, the like. So let it be said that when I end up disliking a movie that I was previously anticipating, it’s without a doubt not a form of “disappointment”. It’s just me judging the movie for what it is.

Still though, it should be said that Andrew Dominik’s The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is what I like to consider a modern masterpiece. A brilliant, deliberately paced, thoughtful, and gorgeous character study/western epic that packed an emotional punch. So when it was announced that Dominik would be reuniting with Brad Pitt for his next movie Killing Them Softly, I got pretty stoked. And there’s certainly a lot to like in the film; it’s just a shame that the finished project is appallingly dull, forced, and heavy-handed.