HollywoodandFine.com I have, on occasion, posted rants about filmmakers and actors who I consider overrated, a list that includes John Hughes, Terrence Malick, Zooey Deschanel and Ridley Scott, among others. And, at some point, a reader sent in a comment that said, “Why not write about someone who’s underrated?” To …
HollywoodandFine.com The waste of talent in Fisher Stevens’ “Stand Up Guys” is criminal. It’s the movie equivalent of shooting a man in Reno, just to watch him die. This tale of three aging lawbreakers – played by Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin – is not just clichéd. It’s …
HollywoodandFine.com There are pleasures to be had from Yaron Zilberman’s “A Late Quartet,” opening in limited release today (11/2/12), principally having to do with its treatment of group dynamics battling artistic temperaments. The question is whether those are sufficient to warrant sitting through the rest of it. Set in the …
HollywoodandFine.com I’ll admit I’m a sucker for Martin McDonagh’s work. I’m a fan of his plays and loved his first feature, “In Bruges.” And I’m just as excited about his new film, “Seven Psychopaths,” perhaps the movie that forces you to laugh at more inappropriate moments than any film in …
HollywoodandFine.com I’m not going to invoke the title of this film to describe writer-director Todd Solondz. But “Dark Horse,” opening in limited release Friday (6/8/12), is pure Solondz, a return to form after “Life During Wartime” and “Palindromes,” which seemed like experiments in style more than anything else. He once …
HollywoodandFine.com Playing like some disjointed hybrid of “Strangers on a Train” and “The Parallax View” by way of “Death Wish,” “Seeking Justice” is never terrible – just never terribly anything else, either. Having a seasoned action pro like Roger Donaldson at the helm helps. On the other hand, putting Nicolas …