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Camptastic
Knocked Up is the weekend’s premiere release, as well as one of the year’s funniest films. Yet having seen virtually everything hitting theaters today, I can also safely say that anyone interested in some cinematic humor – and not able to get into Judd Apatow’s latest – will want to check out Mr. Brooks. Kevin…
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Overboard
No surprise that Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End will be this Memorial Day weekend’s movie to see. And for those who suffered through last year’s Dead Man’s Chest, it’ll also be no surprise to learn that the final entry in this theme park ride-inspired franchise is a big, noisy, convoluted mess. I’m now…
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Knockout
Only a few reviews to offer today, but one of them is (gasp!) quite positive – for Judd Apatow’s Knocked Up. Rarely do populist comedies prove to be consistently funny, understatedly sweet, and reasonably sharp as well, but I’m happy to report this one achieves the trifecta. And when it hits theaters in early June,…
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Ridiculosity
Awful sickness + lots of screenings + two crazy children + myriad family-related projects + lack of restful sleep = pure, exhausted loopiness. Nonetheless, here’s two weeks’ worth of new review links (thirteen in all). For those only interested in reading my positive thoughts, feel free to skip ahead to the reviews of Waitress and…
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New Name, New Look, Same Great Taste
As anyone reading this will have noticed by now, the blog formerly known as The Nick Schager Film Project has been transformed into Lessons of Darkness. The reasons for the switch are quite simple: After 3 1/2 years of mounting unhappiness with the site’s former, unimaginative name (which I came up with while killing time…
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The Calm Before the Jury
Jury duty – which was supposed to begin last Wednesday, but will now commence on Tuesday – has wound up lightening my recent work load. Nonetheless, some new stuff for this rainy (at least here on the East Coast) Friday. Today: The Invisible (Slant magazine) The Last Time (Slant magazine) Something to Cheer About (Slant…
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Astonishment-Free Wrap-Up
Making a derivative New Zealand version of Napoleon Dynamite is a bad idea. Meg Ryan’s plastic surgery was really unsuccessful. The farcical films of Francis Veber aren’t as cute as they think they are. In other words, this week’s regular collection of review links holds few surprises, aside from the fact that Vacancy – a…
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Old Bests New
All of the films reviewed this week pale in comparison to Charles Burnett’s Killer of Sheep, which I was fortunate enough to catch during its recently concluded, first-ever NYC theatrical run. My review of that 1977 masterpiece can be found below this post. As for the new stuff, well, Disturbia and Year of the Dog…
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At the Grindhouse
There are many new movies opening this weekend, but the most talked about one(s) is Grindhouse, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s twin-bill homage to ’70s-era exploitation films. Given its preference for replication rather than reinvention, it’s not surprising to find that the project is something of a mixed-bag. Yet it’s nonetheless one that – as…
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Smaller Portion
Today’s collection of links isn’t as plentiful as those of the past few weeks. As always, however, what counts isn’t quantity, but quality – which, come to think of it, is precisely what’s lacking in two of the below three films. This Friday: Blades of Glory (Slant magazine) Future Fridays: Are We Done Yet? (Slant…
