GrouchoReviews.com: Theatrical Reviews http://grouchoreviews.com/ Thu, 23 May 2013 16:57:55 GMT Film/DVD reviews, interviews and features. Frances Ha (2013) [*** 1/2] http://grouchoreviews.com/reviews/4505 /reviews/4505 Brims with funny ideas both verbal and visual that are finely tuned by Baumbach and his cast, and sharply edited... Thu, 23 May 2013 16:33:00 GMT Peter Canavese Epic (2013) [***] http://grouchoreviews.com/reviews/4506 /reviews/4506 Nothing new, but given its solidly built kids‘ adventure, I‘m not going to, y‘know, look down on it. Thu, 23 May 2013 16:26:45 GMT Peter Canavese The Hangover Part III (2013) [* 1/2] http://grouchoreviews.com/reviews/4507 /reviews/4507 Less like a movie and more like a contractual obligation. Thu, 23 May 2013 16:20:06 GMT Peter Canavese The Iceman (2013) [** 1/2] http://grouchoreviews.com/reviews/4504 /reviews/4504 The main selling point here…and it‘s a considerable one…is Shannon, who shows new shadings in the role of Kuklinski... Thu, 23 May 2013 13:16:02 GMT Peter Canavese Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) [***] http://grouchoreviews.com/reviews/4501 /reviews/4501 Smart or...dumb? Yes, and...fun to hang around with for a couple of hours. Wed, 15 May 2013 05:53:00 GMT Peter Canavese The Great Gatsby (2013) [**] http://grouchoreviews.com/reviews/4500 /reviews/4500 Luhrmann approaches the story and directs his actors in ways that hold them at a distance from us: the overkill plays less as bold art and more as lack of trust in the source material. Fri, 10 May 2013 13:48:00 GMT Peter Canavese In the House (2013) [*** 1/2] http://grouchoreviews.com/reviews/4499 /reviews/4499 Inviting photography and a relentless pace complement Claude‘s unfolding narrative, but the big thrills are in the deftly drawn characters...and the incisive satire... Fri, 10 May 2013 13:43:00 GMT Peter Canavese At Any Price (2012) [** 1/2] http://grouchoreviews.com/reviews/4498 /reviews/4498 Works best when it sticks close to Henry, whose broad grin fails to mask a growing desperation. Quaid not only makes a believably corn-fed patriarch, but he captures the mien of one who is slowly ceding his soul... Sat, 04 May 2013 23:49:07 GMT Peter Canavese Renoir (2013) [** 1/2] http://grouchoreviews.com/reviews/4496 /reviews/4496 Perhaps it‘s damning Renoir with faint praise to call it agreeable, but Gilles Bourdos‘ film...shows an admirable restraint, quiet simplicity, and lush pictorial beauty. Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:06:00 GMT Peter Canavese The Place Beyond the Pines (2012) [*** 1/2] http://grouchoreviews.com/reviews/4494 /reviews/4494 The most satisfying cinematic experience we‘ve had at the multiplex thus far this year, and largely through its disinterest in playing along with movie trends. Thu, 11 Apr 2013 22:16:45 GMT Peter Canavese Evil Dead (2013) [** 1/2] http://grouchoreviews.com/reviews/4493 /reviews/4493 There are two types of people in the world. Those who should under no circumstances see the horror sequel/reboot Evil Dead and those who just gotta see it. Thu, 04 Apr 2013 18:17:00 GMT Peter Canavese From Up on Poppy Hill (2013) [***] http://grouchoreviews.com/reviews/4491 /reviews/4491 Sunny days, blue skies, and rippling blue waters lined with greenery...Plain nice, and there‘s nothing wrong with that. Thu, 28 Mar 2013 18:30:00 GMT Peter Canavese The Host (2013) [ 1/2] http://grouchoreviews.com/reviews/4490 /reviews/4490 Do not consume The Host before operating heavy machinery. Side effects may include spontaneous coma or fits of giggling. Thu, 28 Mar 2013 18:22:29 GMT Peter Canavese The Croods (2012) [** 1/2] http://grouchoreviews.com/reviews/4486 /reviews/4486 Appears to have been market-tested to within an inch of its life, so despite a theme of finding the capacity to evolve, the picture remains mired in the tar pit of formula. Fri, 22 Mar 2013 13:56:56 GMT Peter Canavese On the Road (2012) [**] http://grouchoreviews.com/reviews/4485 /reviews/4485 This pretty period-pictorial companion piece to the novel fatally misses out on the brain-firing raw buzz that Kerouac felt and passed on to his readers... Fri, 22 Mar 2013 13:51:14 GMT Peter Canavese Stoker (2013) [** 1/2] http://grouchoreviews.com/reviews/4484 /reviews/4484 Park’s skills for surreal subjectivity and the mischievously weird certainly don’t hurt, but they can’t quite banish Stoker’s narrative speed bumps and draughts of cold air... Sun, 17 Mar 2013 00:13:59 GMT Peter Canavese Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) [** 1/2] http://grouchoreviews.com/reviews/4480 /reviews/4480 Oz the Great and Powerful gets saved from the junk heap by Franco and especially by director Sam Raimi, who happily treats the enterprise as a sandbox. Sat, 09 Mar 2013 16:48:00 GMT Peter Canavese No (2013) [*** 1/2] http://grouchoreviews.com/reviews/4481 /reviews/4481 Swims upstream against high-definition with a defiantly lo-fi approach that‘s also ingeniously evocative of the historical period. Sat, 09 Mar 2013 07:53:00 GMT Peter Canavese Greedy Lying Bastards (2013) [** 1/2] http://grouchoreviews.com/reviews/4482 /reviews/4482 The film isn‘t a worldbeater as either old-school journalism of rigorous reportage or dazzling showmanship...will be of most use as a time capsule of sorts... Fri, 08 Mar 2013 22:07:16 GMT Peter Canavese Emperor (2013) [* 1/2] http://grouchoreviews.com/reviews/4483 /reviews/4483 The mealy half-truth director Peter Webber...and screenwriters Vera Blasi and David Klass settle for just winds up a waste of everyone‘s time. Fri, 08 Mar 2013 22:06:16 GMT Peter Canavese