Author Archives: Chris

I’m surprised I didn’t post about this last fall when it first came out. I watched it in a movie theater, and then again recently on DVD. It is far better than one might expect from the trailer, which appears … Continue reading →

Is anyone watching this? I felt duty-bound to watch it since Lena Dunham went to Oberlin, and there still exists video footage of some of her performance art around campus. I found Tiny Furniture to be too precious and privileged for my … Continue reading →

Martha Marcy May Marlene explores the fractured identity of a young woman who spends two years in a cult of sorts before escaping to stay with her sister. The young woman (Elizabeth Olsen) was named Martha by her family, but … Continue reading →

Pick of the bunch is Haywire, easily the best action thriller since the third Bourne movie, and more evidence of Steven Soderbergh’s astonishing range. The story of a betrayed covert operative, Mallory (played by MMA champion Gina Carano) wreaking revenge … Continue reading →

Alexander Payne’s latest film paints three inter-linked stories onto a lush background of Hawaii’s leafy suburbs, beaches and awe-inspiringly beautiful coastal wilderness. The first involves the discovery by Matt King (George Clooney) that his wife Elizabeth (Patricia Hastie), who in … Continue reading →

This is probably not the film to watch if your image of Norway is all fjords, glistening snow and affluent social democracy. The action all takes place in a drab industrial zone of some nameless city, the piles of snow … Continue reading →

This is an odd movie. I went assuming it was a smarter, cooler Fast and the Furious, and there are a couple of good driving scenes. But it is primarily an exercise in backward-looking noir, trying to re-create the look … Continue reading →

Another enjoyable, sleek, highly competent, and controlled film from Soderbergh. [Apparently he is giving up directing to devote himself to painting. There was a trailer for his next movie, a good-looking action thriller with female lead, entitled Haywire, before Contagion.] … Continue reading →

I was in an airport bookstore browsing for something to read while I waited to get re-routed around the hurricane, and I saw a new edition of Tinker, Tailer, Soldier Spy, It had the tag: “Soon to be a major … Continue reading →

More than any other movies, including those from the Pixar studio, the Harry Potter series is one I can only really watch through the eyes of my children. The publication span of the books almost exactly mirrors my older son’s … Continue reading →