Showing Tag: " art" (Show all posts)

REVIEW: For the Klimt Painting “Woman in Gold” & the Memory of Her Aunt Adele, Austrian Maria Altmann Gives Us A Lesson in Art Restitution

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, April 19, 2015, In : 0.09% Cocktails

Woman in Gold

Directed By: Simon Curtis

Starring: Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds, Daniel Brühl, Katie Holmes, Tatiana Maslany, Max Irons, Charles Dance, Elizabeth McGovern, and Jonathan Pryce

A couple of years ago, I fumed in a series of reviews about having had enough of WWII-themed movies. As much as I hate to admit it, I might have been wrong. There are many facets to the Second Great War, and there might just be a few of them left untold on the big screen. In the last couple of years, filmm...
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REVIEW: Despite All His Grunts, Marine Painter Mr. Turner Is a Bit Too Still

Posted by James Brown on Tuesday, December 30, 2014, In : 0.09% Cocktails

Mr. Turner

Directed By: Mike Leigh

Starring: Timothy Spall, Dorothy Atkinson, Marion Bailey, Paul Jesson, Lesley Manville, and Martin Savage

Mr. Turner is my last stop on the Christmas box office train, and I am actually thankful that I'm at the end of this long ride. This holiday season, art and painting have been a noticeable theme at the forefront of the independent marketplace. In addition to Mr. Turner, we also have Tim Burton's Big Eyes on painter Margaret Keane. While I'm sure there ar...
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REVIEW: In Big Eyes, S. Cenic & MDH Keane Suffer the Same Fate, Walter Keane

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, December 28, 2014, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Big Eyes

Directed By: Tim Burton

Starring: Amy Adams, Christoph Waltz, Danny Huston, Jon Polito, Krysten Ritter, Jason Schwartzman, and Terence Stamp

I've said it a couple of times already, but I feel compelled to say it again. This Christmas at the box office has sucked. Where have all the good movies gone? Normally, there are a couple of movies that alter my choices on the year's best films at the last minute. Normally, there are potential awards season powerhouses arriving right about now...
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REVIEW: In the War of Words and Pictures, the Love Between Honors English Teacher Jack Marcus & Honors Art Instructor Dina Delsanto Wins

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, June 7, 2014, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Words and Pictures

Directed By: Fred Schepisi

Starring: Clive Owen, Juliette Binoche, Amy Brenneman, and Keegan Connor Tracy

Movie critics can be so snarky and judgmental. I know I'm saying this in the strangest of places — a movie review — but sometimes my fellow critics just hate a film to hate it. As I was wrapping up my review of this weekend's Words and Pictures, I took a look at Rotten Tomatoes and saw that a film that I actually quite enjoyed sits at a lowly 40%. I saw comments ess...
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REVIEW: Runner Runner – Richie Furst Fails in This Online Gambling Drama, #nodisrespecttobenaffleck

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Saturday, October 5, 2013, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor

Runner Runner
SoberFilmChick

Directed by: Brad Furman

Starring: Justin Timberlake, Gemma Arterton, Anthony Mackie, and Ben Affleck
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I knew that Runner Runner was going to be a bad movie. I am not a part of the “I hate Ben Affleck” fan club. To the contrary, Affleck has had some great films: Good Will Hunting, Dogma, Argo, and The Town to name a few. I did not join the countless fanatics that practically shut down Twitter when Affleck was cast as the new Batman. I think he is a radically d...
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REVIEW: Unfortunately for Vampires Clara and Eleanor, Neil Jordan Throws the Pages of Their Story at Byzantium to the Wind

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, July 14, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Byzantium

Directed By: Neil Jordan

Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Gemma Arterton, Sam Riley, Jonny Lee Miller, and Caleb Landry Jones

As prevalent as vampire movies are, it's difficult to find a good one. The ones we've gotten in recent years say enough. Just go torture yourself with Twilight, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, or Kiss of the Damned. Like the horror genre as a whole, it's bad, but it just keeps on going. When Neil Jordan, the director who created the delightfully devilish show The B...
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REVIEW: In Unfinished Song, Rusty Old Banger Arthur Shows His True Colors When His Wife Marion Says Let's Talk About Sex

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, June 29, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Unfinished Song (Song for Marion)

Directed By: Paul Andrew Williams

Starring: Terence Stamp, Gemma Arterton, Christopher Eccleston, and Vanessa Redgrave

Is it just me or do elder British actors have a lock on movies about old people? In the last year or so, we've had The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Quartet, and now Unfinished Song. With the exception of Amour, there haven't been too many non-British films about the elderly hitting theaters as of late. I will say that each of these British fli...
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REVIEW: To the Wonder Does Nothing to Awaken the Love, That Divine Presence Within Us

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, April 14, 2013, In : 0.09% Cocktails

To the Wonder

Directed By: Terrence Malick

Starring: Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko, Rachel McAdams, and Javier Bardem

Two years ago, I went to bat for Terrence Malick's Tree of Life. It was an artsy movie without a lot of dialogue. At the same time, however, it was a beautiful, impactful statement about life, the universe, and parenthood. In Malick's latest movie To the Wonder, he's moved onto smaller themes, namely love and faith. Once again, he creates a film with sparse dialogue that tries ...
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REVIEW: Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters 3D – Not Exactly Grimm’s Fairytale

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Saturday, January 26, 2013, In : 0.09% Cocktails

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters 3D
SoberFilmChick

Directed by: Tommy Wirkola

Starring: Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton, Famke Janssen, and Peter Stormare

“If you’re gonna kill a witch, set her ass on fire.”
– Hansel (Jeremy Renner)

There has been a recent trend of modernizing traditional fairy tales and converting well known characters into butt-kicking action stars. Snow White and the Huntsman and the upcoming Jack the Giant Slayer come to mind. Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters 3D ...