Homer’s memorized recitals of the stories of the heroes and gods certainly required a attention span. The Wrath of The Titans certainly does not. It demands only the attention typically demanded by modern Hollywood blockbuster screenwriting. But would Homer, in all his “As I lay dying, the woman with the dog face wouldn’t close my eyes as I descended into Hades”-ness, been better served by ... more >
ARCHIVES
Top-notch fx in THE WRATH OF THE TITANS – REVIEW
Feel the wrath, baby!
Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson and Rosamund Pike
Directed by Jonathan Liebesman
Texas killing fields
Swampland shenanigans: and real scary, too
Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Sam Worthington and Chloe Grace Moretz
Directed by Amy Canaan Mann
As I watched The Texas Killing Fields, I had one question running through my mind: why don’t they make more films like this? I don’t mean this in the Terrence Malick-random-acts-of-genius sort of way, as in “why can’t every filmmaker take seven years in post-production to create a high-minded masterpiece?” I mean it in a “whatever happened to the if it’s Friday, ... more >
The debt
New drama from Focus Features brings back dark era
Jessica Chastain, Helen Mirren, Sam Worthington and Tom Wilkinson
Directed by John Madden
Split between two settings, two time periods, and two casts, it’s no wonder that John Madden’s The Debt divides so easily into two levels of quality. There’s one part that I like to call a classy, sexy Cold War spy thriller. There’s another part that I like to call “the ending.” Three Mossad agents share an apartment in East Berlin in 1966; two men and a young woman. The cramped quarters in a ... more >
Last Night
Spielberg screenwriter tries her hand at filmmaking
Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington and Eva Mendes
Directed by Massy Tajedin
Joanna (Keira Knightley) and Michael (Sam Worthington) are a gorgeous, chic married couple, living in a posh New York City loft. She's a freelance fashion writer, he's a successful real estate agent. Half-naked much of the time, they have cute domestic squabbles and make up over midnight snacks in the kitchen. They're at the three-year point of marriage, and a little bit uncomfortable with routine ... more >
Clash of the Titans
The heavens raise hell
Sam Worthington, Ralph Fiennes, and Liam Neeson
Directed by Louis Leterrier
A week after “How to Train Your Dragon” reminded me how much joy I could get out of a 3-D movie, “Clash of the Titans” comes in and F’s it all up. The decision earlier this year to switch from 2-D to 3-D delivers nothing in terms of thrills and washes out the color, making this a sad-looking sword and sandal epic. Sam Worthington, establishing himself as the new go-to action guy, ably plays ... more >
Avatar
Neo-colonialism Hollywood-style. I'm just saying.
Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana and Sigourney Weaver
Directed by James Cameron
In the many early raves for James Cameron’s Avatar, one critic compared the film to the first major talkie, 'The Jazz Singer.' Not a bad comparison. The 1927 audience for that film was undoubtedly astounded by that first magic sprinkling of sound onto film. Yet 1927 happens to be the greatest year for silent filmmaking. Few would think of 'The Jazz Singer' as being artistically in the same league ... more >