As return engagements go Yossi is something of a surprising powerhouse and an unquestioned success for Fox. The now established filmmaker shows just how much he’s blossomed and grown as a storyteller, his subtle touch a refreshing reminder that familiar stories can still intimately connect when they are delivered with honesty and respect.
While it’s apparent the director would have liked to have taken some darker turns, what he has delivered is a family-friendly adaptation of the timeless tale kids and adults should enjoy equally, and for that fact alone I find Jack the Giant Slayer to be a towering success that’s sure to grow on me the more I ponder it.
The Last Exorcism Part II wants to be the fiery conclusion to an epic tale but what it really ends up being is just another subpar horror effort wasting the time and talents of virtually everyone involved. This isn’t frightening, it’s just unfortunate, and I seriously doubt there will be many who watch the film who will end up feeling differently.
Surprises are few and far between, while the outcome is rarely in doubt, and while the director’s use of restraint and subtlety is laudable, there are times when Phantom shuffles its feet in circles going aimlessly nowhere.
The weird thing about The Sweeney is just how unoriginal it is…As good as the cast is, as great as individual moments might be, the tedium put forth by the majority of the narrative is extreme, making watching this movie from beginning to end incredibly difficult.
While Haythe and Waugh have a message regarding drug laws they want to impart (not with anything approaching subtly) they still do it by constructing characters and situations easy to connect with. Snitch is hardly original but it does have style, it certainly has energy and it remembers to put story and character before the action, giving the audience a reason to be applauding and not just a wooden heroic mannequin to halfheartedly root for.
Like Someone in Love, freestyling and evolving much like the jazz standard that inspired the title, is a refreshing blend of heart, lust, longing, desire, family and friendship I couldn’t take my eyes off of. Kiarostami proves once again he is one of the true cinematic titans working today, and even with minor reservations his latest is a masterful excursion into existential consciousness I’ll happily drown myself within again relatively soon.
A strong, if not entirely successful, motion picture, NO is a gripping and thought-provoking procedural sure to spark complicated and stimulating debates for many years to come.
Be that as it may, as fifth go-arounds are concerned this one is certainly not a charm, and for fans of the series it’s best to just say ‘yippee-ki-nay!’ and leave this latest installment well enough alone.