NYC Film Critic

I was recently introduced to the children’s book Diary of a Wimpy Kid (think Adrian Mole in the American suburbs) and was pleasantly surprised by how witty and charming it is.  The movie, on the other hand, is neither of those things.  Read my review at Film Journal.

The Runaways
Directed by Floria Sigismondi
Starring Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning and Michael Shannon
***

Most rock-star biopics tend to focus on the larger-than-life personalities of their subjects rather than the places and times from which they emerge.  That’s not to say that movies like Ray and Walk the Line don’t pay attention to period details; all the era-appropriate hairstyles, fashions, cars and even magazine covers are always carefully placed in the frame and every now and then a character will either witness or make a comment about some major historical event to convince the audience that, yes, this really is 1963 or 1972.

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Green Zone
Directed by Paul Greengrass
Starring Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson and Amy Ryan
***

Arriving in theaters the week after The Hurt Locker dominated the Oscars, picking up six trophies including Best Director and Best Picture, Paul Greengrass’ Iraq War-themed action drama Green Zone is in something of a tight spot.

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She’s Out of My League
Directed by Jim Field Smith
Starring Jay Baruchel, Alice Eve, T.J. Miller, Lindsay Sloane
**½

Were it not over-edited and over-scored to within an inch of its life, She’s Out of My League could have been a very charming and very down-to-earth romantic comedy.  As it is, League offers a few modest pleasures, but it’s hard not to spend the majority of its 105-minute runtime picturing the movie it might have been with more conviction and a lot less studio-enforced gloss.

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Mother
Directed by Bong Joon-ho
Starring Hye-ja Kim, Bin Won, Ku Jin and Yoon Jae-Moon
***½

Like the best genre filmmakers, South Korean director Bong Joon-ho understands that a genre picture doesn’t just have to provide solid entertainment–it can also function as incisive social commentary.

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Tales From the Script
Directed by Peter Hanson
Featuring Allison Anders, John Carpenter, Josh Friedman and William Goldman
***

Because the subjects profiled in the new documentary Tales From the Script, directed by Peter Hanson and co-written and co-produced by Paul Robert Herman, tell stories for a living, it shouldn’t be surprising that this behind-the-scenes look at the art and commerce of Hollywood screenwriting is filled with memorable yarns.

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Tim Burton vanishes down his own rabbit hole with his muddled take on Alice in Wonderland.  Read my review here.

The Crazies
Directed by Breck Eisner
Starring Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, Joe Anderson, Danielle Panabaker
**1/2

As much as I enjoy horror movies, there’s one thing about the genre that frustrates me: all too often, the films require their characters to act like total morons in order for the axe-wielding maniac/possessed toy/ghostly apparition/scaly demon spawn to pick them off one by one.
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Kevin Smith goes mainstream with disappointing results in the new cop comedy Cop Out.  I add to the chorus of pans here.  Better luck next time, Kev!

Prison movies don’t get much more entertaining than Jacques Audiard’s Oscar-nominated thriller A Prophet.  Read my review here.