NYC Film Critic

As is often the case, the trailers for Paul don’t really do the movie justice.  I won’t try to claim that the movie–which stars Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and the voice of Seth Rogen as the titular alien–is some kind of classic, but it’s an entirely enjoyable sci-fi comedy that benefits from a good cast and a lot of heart.  I explain my warm feelings towards this movie further in my review, just posted at Film Journal.

Last week’s big animated release Rango is one of my favorite films so far this year.  This week’s Mars Needs Moms, on the other hand, is currently tops my list of the year’s worst.  (Though, to be fair, I never saw Season of the Witch or The Rite.)  Read my review over at Film Journal and spend your money on something else this weekend.  May I recommend Rango?

Jane Eyre
Directed by Cary Fukunaga
Written by Moria Buffini
Starring Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell, Judi Dench
**1/2

One of my unfortunate cultural blind spots is 19^th century British literature penned by female authors.  To date, I’ve only read one Jane Austen novel (Pride & Prejudice, which I quite liked by the way), nothing by Mary Shelly (not even Frankenstein, although I did repeatedly devour the Illustrated Classics version back in elementary school) and nothing by any of the three Brontë sisters, Anne, Charlotte and Emily.  I’m also embarrassed to admit that I haven’t even seen any of the numerous film versions of the Brontë’s books up to and including the classic 1939 adaptation of Wuthering Heights starring Laurence Olivier and 1943’s Jane Eyre, starring the dynamic duo of Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine.  Of course, I am familiar with the broad outlines of both tales—the thwarted love affair between Heathcliff and Cathy and Jane Eyre’s poorly advised infatuation with the brooding Rochester, who keeps his wife locked away in the attic of his gloomy mansion—but couldn’t  offer a blow-by-blow account of specific plot details.

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Rango
Directed by Gore Verbinski
Screenplay by John Logan
Starring Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Ned Beatty, Bill Nighy
***1/2

Let’s get this out of the way upfront: I’m not sure that I’d call the new animated Western Rango a great kids movie, at least not for the under-5 set.  I saw the film with my three-and-a-half year old son and I found myself occasionally cringing at its copious gunplay and casual attitude towards death.  Rango also lacks the broad slapstick comedy that plays best with younger kids and the character designs noticeably avoid the unthreatening, plush-doll ready cuddliness that most contemporary cartoons employ.  Indeed, several of the characters featured here are downright fearsome, most notably Rattlesnake Jake, an enormous serpent with glowing eyes, ultra-sharp fangs and a six-shooter for a rattle.  When Jake slithered onscreen, I was certain my son would run screaming from the theater, but he took it in stride and, funnily enough, calls him one of his favorite characters.  In fact, I should note that he seemed to really enjoy the movie overall, only growing a little antsy and uncomfortable during a few scenes.  He’s also been talking about Rango non-stop since the screening, so it’s entirely possible that I was just being too oversensitive in the moment.  Nevertheless, I’d hesitate to recommend the film to other parents of very young children lest those kids come home traumatized and unable to sleep for weeks afterwards due to Rattlesnake Jake-induced nightmares.

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After a lengthy stint on the shelf, the ’80s-set comedy Take Me Home Tonight arrives in theaters.  Was it worth the wait?  I reveal all in my review over at Film Journal.  (Short answer: not really.)

Like most people, I assumed the Farrelly Brothers’ best days were behind them.  So imagine my surprise when their latest comedy, Hall Pass, turned out to be a modest pleasure.  It’s no There’s Something About Mary but at least it’s also no Shallow Hal.  Read my review over at Film Journal.

Putty Hill
Written and Directed by Matt Porterfield
Starring Sky Ferreira, Zoe Vance, James Siebor Jr., Dustin Ray
**1/2

Matt Porterfield’s Putty Hill is an earnest attempt to do something different with the “kids aren’t all right” school of movies, which seek to depict the aimlessness and/or amorality of contemporary youth.  It’s a genre that’s almost as old as Hollywood itself, growing out of such socially-conscious one-reelers as 1909’s A Drunkard’s Reformation and The Usurer’s Grip, which warned viewers against the evils of alcoholism and loan sharks respectively.

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William Shakespeare’s immortal Romeo and Juliet becomes Gnomeo & Juliet a decidedly forgettable animated comedy that won’t linger in the memory for a day, let alone five centuries.  Read my review at Film Journal.

Orgasm Inc.
Directed by Elizabeth Canner
***

Nine years in the making, Elizabeth Canner’s eye-catchingly titled documentary Orgasm Inc. is neither a profile of a corporation that specializes in providing orgasms nor an expose of the contemporary porn industry.  Rather, this thoughtful—if at times clumsy—film is the latest salvo in the ongoing debate over the increased power of the pharmaceutical industry in shaping our health-care system, a subject that has steadily made its way from the headlines into documentaries and even narrative features (see the recent Love and Other Drugs…well, the first half of it, anyway).

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Sanctum
Directed by Alister Grierson
Written by John Garvin and Andrew Wight
Starring Richard Roxburgh, Ioan Gruffudd, Rhys Wakefield, Alice Parkinson
***

Home
Directed by Yann Arthus-Bertrand
Narrated by Glenn Close
**1/2

Don’t get too excited by the prominent placement of James Cameron’s name above the title of this 3D-enhanced deep-sea diving adventure.  This isn’t the director’s official follow-up to the wildly successful Avatar; he’s not actually stepping back into the director’s chair until Avatar 2 and 3 start filming sometime next year.  Cameron merely executive produced Sanctum and lent the production the special 3D cameras he had developed for his sci-fi extravaganza.

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