10s movies
Movie Review: Phoenix
4 stars out of 5 This is an example of a movie that I ended up liking a lot more than I realized while watching it. Because there were definitely a few things going on that I wasn’t crazy about: —It’s really cheap-looking. Sometimes the production values reminded me of a basic-cable TV movie, and […]
Movie Review: The Diary of a Teenage Girl
3.5 stars out of 5 So this is the story of a 15-year-old girl who starts having an affair with her mom’s 35-year-old boyfriend. Spoiler alert: If you’re waiting for the dude to be hauled off in handcuffs for statutory rape, you will be disappointed. Because the movie isn’t about that, man: It’s San Francisco […]
Movie Review: Mission Impossible—Rogue Nation
3.5 stars out of 5 Full disclosure: Yes, writer/director Chris McQuarrie was a friend of mine in high school. Yes, around 1991 he said I should come out to Hollywood. Yes, I decided to stay in a crappy marketing/training job in Ewing, New Jersey. And yes, soon after, Chris won an Oscar for writing The […]
Movie Review: Mistress America
3.5 stars out of 5 Let’s get one thing out of the way: Yes, I’m still head-over-heels in love with Greta Gerwig. She is delightful and should write and star in every movie forever. I loved Frances Ha from a couple of years ago and I rushed, rushed, rushed to see this new one, again […]
Movie Review: Vacation
2 stars out of 5 Timing, as they say, is everything. On Tuesday, I wanted to go to the movies at my local theater. First choice, the new Mission: Impossible. Second choice, Southpaw. Alas, the starting times didn’t jibe with my schedule, so I was forced to choose door No. 3: Vacation. Now, I sensed […]
Movie Review: Irrational Man
4 stars out of 5 Every time Woody Allen makes a movie, I go see that movie, and I tend to enjoy them. If that makes me an irrational man in your eyes, so be it. This time around, I was really impressed that, despite the comforting presence of many Allen touchstones, he was still […]
Movie Review: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
3 stars out of 5 For recent vintage coming-of-age movies set in Pittsburgh, Adventureland (2009) is—in my not-so-humble opinion—far and away the best. Coming in second: 2012’s The Perks of Being of a Wallflower. Taking the bronze from the Iron City? Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. In a nutshell, our teenage protagonist befriends […]
Movie Review: A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
4.5 stars out of 5 P.T. Anderson: Sure, I’m a fan. Wes Anderson, of course — huge favorite of mine. But who the hell is Roy Andersson? All I knew was that my friend Cat posted a movie trailer on Facebook and wrote “Amazin’.” She seems to like cool, quality things, so I clicked. I […]
Movie Review: Love & Mercy
4 stars out of 5 In the mid-1970s, my sister and I had a copy of the Beach Boys’ Endless Summer compilation album. The cover was weird, with these creepy bearded cartoon dudes peeking out from behind leaves, but we loved the music. My second-grade buddy Jeff Anderson was a fan too. Next thing I […]
Movie Review: Aloha
3.5 stars out of 5 Cameron Crowe had a hell of a run early in his directorial career: Say Anything…, Singles, Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous. Since then, he’s still out there trying, doing decent work, but hasn’t quite reached the same heights: Vanilla Sky (compelling), Elizabethtown (underrated), We Bought a Zoo (didn’t see it, but […]
Jack Silbert, curator