Alright, Alright, Alright: Matthew McConaughey and the Inescapable Fusion of Player and Part

After a lost decade of rom-coms Matthew McConaughey roared back to life with a trio of indies in 2012. In each film he created lively even somewhat audacious performances. While all of these characters were embraced with  acclaim – particularly his turn as the chiseled strip-club owner Dallas from Magic Mike – dissenters began to rear their ugly…Read more Alright, Alright, Alright: Matthew McConaughey and the Inescapable Fusion of Player and Part

To Live

Standing wearily in the small, dingy bathroom, with its chalk-white walls and uncleaned mirror, Darren studied his reflection. Sharp angular features, populated by freckles, and flecked with whiskers stared back at him. Sighing heavily, his chocolate-colored eyes drifted towards his bathroom's tub, an unassuming, utterly normal piece of porcelain, its milky color broken only by…Read more To Live

Film Review: The Last Stand (2013)

There has never been a more truthful mantra from Arnold Schwarzenegger than his iconic “I’ll be back” phrase from 1984′s The Terminator. Time and time again Arnie has proven his resilience against the inevitability of time, age, and even an infuriating (and perhaps misguided) political career. Nobody has been able to keep the big dog…Read more Film Review: The Last Stand (2013)

Film Review: The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey (2012)

Appropriating part of the title of Jackson’s upcoming third Hobbit movie, There and Back Again, seems like an appropriate way to describe the experience of watching The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. After a nine-year break returning to Middle Earth proves to be a surreal experience, especially for those who came of age with the original trilogy. Things look the…Read more Film Review: The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey (2012)

Film Review: Sweet Sixteen (2002)

Adolescence has rarely looked bleaker than in Ken Loach‘s grimy, grim coming of age film from 2002, the ironically titled Sweet Sixteen. Bizarrely described on its Netflix casing as a “…heartwarming…” story, Loach’s film is a powerful albeit somewhat conventional portrait of blighted lives, hopelessness and the allure of criminality in a crumbling, washed-out Scotland.…Read more Film Review: Sweet Sixteen (2002)

Film Review: Bruce Almighty (2003)

One only needs to briefly scan Jim Carrey's filmography to understand his malleability. From the loveable albeit idiotic yo-yo’s of Dumb and Dumber and Ace Ventura to the searing, nuanced performances delivered in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Truman Show, Jim Carrey has proven that he can do it all. So why does…Read more Film Review: Bruce Almighty (2003)

Film Review: Everybody’s Fine (2009)

At the turn of the century Robert De Niro went to sleep in regards to his professional life. Throughout the 2000′s he would slumber, drifting in this zombified state through cartoon camp (The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle), listless drama, (Hide and Seek, Men of Honor) and abrasive self-parody (Meet the Fockers, Analyze That). However,…Read more Film Review: Everybody’s Fine (2009)

“Don’t Lose Your Way” – Thoughts on Christopher Nolan’s Transformation from Hard-Boiled Nihilist to Simpering Moralizer

From the ice-cold amorality of his debut feature, Following, to the electrifying and nihilistic conclusion of Memento, Christopher Nolan's film career seemed to once hold great promise. However, in the years that followed Nolan's sensibilities changed dramatically. This seismic change is evident not only in his films possessing  a continually inflated scope, or his casts…Read more “Don’t Lose Your Way” – Thoughts on Christopher Nolan’s Transformation from Hard-Boiled Nihilist to Simpering Moralizer