For the past three years, I’ve been ranking every film I see- just the new releases, from January 1st to December 31st. The rankings are subjective, based entirely on how much I enjoyed and/or connected with or appreciated the film rather than on some sort of objective artistic criteria. Basically, this is a list of […]
It’s time, once again, for the On DVD series featuring new releases from Paramount and Elevation Pictures. The Imitation Game (Elevation Pictures, March 31) The re-watch value on this Oscar-winning WWII thriller is high thanks to superb performances from the entire cast (led by Benedict Cumberbatch with a ton of key supporting turns, including Keira Knightley and […]
For the past two years, I’ve been ranking every film I see- just the new releases, from January 1st to December 31st. The rankings are subjective, based entirely on how much I enjoyed and/or connected with or appreciated the film rather than on some sort of objective artistic criteria. Basically, this is a list of […]
Richard Curtis is a man who is extraordinarily good at what he does. He writes (and sometimes directs) British romantic comedies and he does it with more consistency than almost anyone else working in that genre. He has more movies on my favourites list than any other writer (even Aaron Sorkin and Nora Ephron top […]
There are a lot of exciting films coming out in 2013 (here’s looking at you, Catching Fire!) but none of them have us as psyched as the impending release of Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing. The My Cinema staff is excited, the My Theatre staff is excited, the My TV staff is excited- the film, which finally hits wide release this Friday, […]
Here’s the thing, I like Pitch Perfect. I’ve seen it twice now and enjoyed it both times, because it’s exactly the movie I’m supposed to like. I mean, university a capella? Hilarious, and also ripe for all sorts of character fun and honest-to-god stories about competition and friendship and belonging (there are people whose job […]
I am all about the alt-rom-com this year and Celeste & Jesse Forever is the second great one that came out this summer. I’ve been flipflopping on whether or not I like Rashida Jones for years. My dislike of Karen (The Office) was too strong to be erased even by her being a part of […]
Ruby Sparks was my most anticipated movie of the summer and it was the first time in a long while that I went in with high expectations and had them surpassed. Zoe Kazan’s script is touching, and unique, but it’s also brimmingly hilarious. And she and Paul Dano are hilarious in it. As directed by […]
I was really looking forward to The 5 Year Engagement. I was convinced it would be the movie that would finally make me love Emily Blunt (I’ve never warmed to her, but remain convinced that John Krasinski would never marry a cold fish). And she fares pretty well. She’s just goofy enough to shed that […]
Think Like a Man is the ensemble comedy that Gary Marshall keeps trying to direct. It’s funny and clever with a cast of interconnected characters who are at least marginally believable (can we all please agree that Jessica Biel’s never again allowed to play the lonely, un-lovable girl? K, thanks) and the film enjoys that […]
As a (mostly) unabashed fan of romantic comedies, you end up having to do a lot of apologizing. You’re supposed to couch your enjoyment of these films in the self-aware “of course, it’s JUST a romantic comedy.” Never mind that technically all films are JUST something. That’s what genre means. All films (short of maybe […]
There are many, many things that do not work about This Means War; check out Rotten Tomatoes, where the film is currently getting a 26% fresh rating. The movie is home to enough clichés to power about fourteen thousand post-modern comedies (like Friends with Benefits) about how clichéd romantic comedies are. The ending you can […]
Garry Marshall was once my favourite director. I will admit this only with the accompanying information that I was about 12 at the time, a devotee of the Julia Roberts- Richard Gere oeuvre (Runaway Bride, Pretty Woman) and quite entranced by The Princess Diaries. He’s not an inspired director, but he makes sweet, enjoyable films, […]
I’m watching The Holiday and wondering at that film’s most unbelievable achievement: making me fall madly in love with Jack Black. It’s this scene that does it, one of the loveliest ever.
Aside from listening to the Bing Crosby tune “White Christmas,” I really knew nothing about the 1954 classic film by the same name. For example, I didn’t know it was a musical, didn’t know it starred Bing Crosby, had no idea it took place in a snow-less Vermont, and didn’t know it was in goofy […]
When I say to people that I love all Christmas movies, the good, the bad, and the really bad, I think that I mean it. That doesn’t mean they’re all equally entertaining or anything, but I can sit through pretty much anything if you put a Santa hat on it. I decided to test that […]
I love Christmas movies. Actually, scratch that, I love everything about Christmas to an extent that is probably unhealthy. Growing up as a little half jewish, half not-ish girl, the month of December was probably my favorite time of year (except maybe for my birth month, but the fact that I insisted on a whole […]
The film adaptation of the truly wonderful book One Day, predictably, leaves much to be desired. While the presence of the always sensational Patricia Clarkson (perfectly cast in the pivotal role of Dexter’s idealized mother) certainly helped the film along, the incredible miscasting of the story’s leading lady proved devastating to the adaptation. So much of […]
I was really looking forward to Friends with Benefits. I think Mila Kunis is damn cool and love Justin Timberlake (especially now that he’s in an acting phase of his existence instead of a music one); I’ve long been a fan of Patricia Clarkson (who is quickly become Hollywood’s trademark “cool mom”), generally find Jenna […]
Crazy, Stupid, Love’s mission statement is spelled out for you in its title. It’s one of those movies that proudly wears its ridiculous heart on its sleeve; its ultimate mission is to make you believe that it’s completely acceptable for a 13 year-old and his father to hijack an 8th grade graduation to make ridiculous […]
Something Borrowed was a movie that I 75% loved. I loved it; I was ready to declare it my favourite rom com of the year. Ginnifer Goodwin, perhaps the most likable actress on the planet, plus my beloved John Krasinski and his wonderfully developed sense of irony- it was a winning combination. Even Kate Hudson […]