the traveler's resource guide to festivals & films
a FestivalTravelNetwork.com site
part of Insider Media llc.
Reviews
Film Review: "Escape Plan"
- Details
- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Friday, 18 October 2013 06:23
- Written by Evan Pearson
“Escape Plan”
Directed by Mikael Håfström
Starring Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Caviezel, Faran Tahir, Amy Ryan, Sam Neill, Vincent D’Onofrio and 50 Cent.
Action, Mystery, Thriller
116 Mins
R
There’s a lot to be said for how entertaining a shoot-em up picture can be if handled with tact and the right people. Escape Plan dispenses with tact and focuses entirely on the “right” people, serving as a vehicle for the film’s stars to get into fights and be brooding, tough-guy stereotypes over a page-one rewrite of Escape from Alcatraz. Crass in all the wrong places, Escape Plan is a superficial viewing experience that takes the prison break formula to its extreme, both in plot elements and in believability. Where it should soar in scope, it exploits its star power, avoiding "setting the scene" or providing any action sequences that are even on par with the films that Escape Plan tries to emulate.
Film Review: "All is Lost"
- Details
- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Friday, 18 October 2013 00:15
- Written by Matt Oakes
"All is Lost"
Directed by J.C. Chandor
Starring Robert Redford
Action, Drama
108 Mins
PG-13
2013 is the year of the survivor-thriller living on top. In Gravity, Alfonso Cuarón explored themes of isolation amidst the inhospitable vacuum of space, using dazzling special effects to elevate a simple story to a visual masterpiece. Paul Greengrass dove into the true account of Richard Phillips and his struggle to maintain his humanity in a Somali pirate hostage situation in Captain Phillips, an excellent biopic fueled by a knockout performance from Tom Hanks. In All is Lost, J.C. Chandor pits man against entropy, testing the endurance of the human spirit against an onslaught of ill-tempered serendipity at sea. It must be time for a genre victory lap, because once more, survivor-thrillers have just crowned themselves king.
Film Review: "Kill Your Darlings"
- Details
- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Friday, 18 October 2013 00:15
- Written by Matt Oakes
"Kill Your Darlings"
Directed by John Krokidas
Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHaan, Michael C. Hall, Elizabeth Olsen, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jack Huston, Ben Foster, David Cross
Biography, Drama, Romance
104 Mins
R
Kill Your Darlings provides an origin story for some of the most prolific authors writing this side of the American Renaissance with a bit of a hot-blooded, cold-fingered approach. A burning sense of urgency ignites the passion of the characters onscreen - coiled up and bouncing off the walls, lunatics as they are - but that same urgency is largely absent from the film itself.
Like a budding author who hasn't quite found his style, John Krokidas' film gets too caught up with being a part of the excitement to really invite others to join the fun. There's palpable joy bubbling from the screenwriters' research and the performer's larger-than-life embodiments, but like newcomers to a party in full swing, we're observers, hopelessly trapped outside the true jubilance and forced to watch through a pane of glass.
Film Review: "The Fifth Estate"
- Details
- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Friday, 18 October 2013 00:15
- Written by Matt Oakes
"The Fifth Estate"
Directed by Bill Condon
Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Daniel Brühl, Jamie Blackley, Anthony Mackie, Laura Linney, Stanley Tucci
Biography, Drama
128 Mins
R
The best part about The Fifth Estate was the cheeseburger I ate before the movie. The bun was nicely toasted, hugging two juicy patties each pressed with a layer of cheese, topped with caramelized onions and the gentle spice of jalapeños. It was superb. The movie though was the antithesis of that burger. It was crap. Utter, unadulterated, "pee-a-little-in-your-pants because you're laughing so hard in its face" crap.
