NYC Film Critic

Clear Blue Tuesday
Directed by Elizabeth Lucas
Starring Becca Ayers, Julie Danao-Salkin, Vedant Gokhale, Robi Hager, Erin Hill.
**

I hate to sound like a pessimist, but Elizabeth Lucas probably set herself up for failure with Clear Blue Tuesday, an indie movie musical that attempts to deal with the impact of September 11, 2001 on the lives of 11 New Yorkers.  For the record, the film’s chief problem isn’t its choice of subject matter.  While 9/11 may seem like an incongruous subject for a musical, I’m willing to bet that there’s a supremely talented composer out there who could find a way to effectively explore the events and feelings provoked by that day and its aftermath through song.  (After all, until Stephen Sondheim came along, who would have guessed that a great musical could be mined from the subject of presidential assassinations?)

(more…)

The Grindhouse trailer Machete becomes a full-length feature with mixed results.  Read my review over at Film Journal.

George Clooney teams up with photographer-turned-filmmaker Anton Corbijn to make a homage to the Euro-thrillers of yesteryear.  It’s a movie that has so much going for it–great locations, great cinematography, great pacing–and yet it never really comes together.  Read my review at Film Journal.

Sweet Crude
Directed by Sandy Cioffi
**1/2

Documentary filmmakers always take a risk when they choose to make themselves characters in their movies.  Sure the approach has yielded some memorable movies—see Sherman’s March (the granddaddy of all contemporary first-person documentaries), Roger & Me, Stone Reader and Super Size Me.

(more…)

British director Neil Marshall carries on the B-movie tradition with his latest genre mash-up, Centurion, a hugely entertaining Gladiator-meets-Rambo action adventure picture set in Roman times.  Based on this movie, Michael Fassbender deserves to be a big, big star.  The film opens this Friday in select markets.  Read my review over at Film Journal.

NYCFilmCritic is back from vacation at last and what better way to mark the end of summer than with a gory 3D-enhanced spectacle involving nubile co-eds and killer fish?  Believe it or not, Piranha 3D is actually one of Summer 2010’s more entertaining efforts, as long as you don’t go in expecting compelling characters, rich storytelling and emotional depth.  Treat it for what it is–silly, stupid trash–and you’ll have a good time.  Read my full review at Film Journal.

NYC Film Critic is taking an early August break, but before I go I’m leaving you with a batch of reviews for movies opening over the next two weeks, including my take on Edgar Wright’s much-anticipated (by me at least) Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, along with capsules of smaller releases like Get Low and Tirador.  Last but not least, I’ve also included my mid-year status report listing my favorite movies of 2010 so far.  As Scott Pilgrim might say, it’s an epic column full of epicness.

(more…)

40-Year-Old Virgin co-stars Paul Rudd and Steve Carell reunite for Dinner for Schmucks a somewhat funny, somewhat obnoxious remake of a French farce.  Read my review at Film Journal.

Salt
Directed by Phillip Noyce
Written by Kurt Wimmer
Starring Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chewitel Ejiofor
**1/2

Between The A-Team, The Karate Kid and Predators the summer of 2010 has been looking a whole lot like the summer of 1988.  And here’s one more ‘80s throwback for you, Salt, a new thriller about a squad of Soviet spies who launch a mission to destroy America from within.

(more…)



Inception
Written and Directed by Christopher Nolan
Starring Leonard DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe.
***

Heist movies are only as good as their climactic heist and in Inception, writer/director Chris Nolan comes up with an ingenious one.  Seizing on the gimmick of dreams Nolan stages a heist that takes place across four different dreamscapes, including a rain-soaked city, a posh hotel, a remote mountain bunker and, last but not least, a crumbling metropolis that exists on a level of dreaming that’s referred to in grave tones as “limbo”—a place from where few who venture ever return.

(more…)