 Recent Reviews This page shows all recent reviews written by users of this site, regardless of the release date of the film.
The movie is as strong as I recall the novel being, except without the "dust bunnies" and other inessential nonsense. The three lead actresses are great, especially Kathy Bates in a complex role. Maine looks foreboding in the steel-gray photography. –Scott Hardie • February 4 2012, 5:48pm EST • 1 reply
This movie's reputation for being an entertaining battle of wills between an ambitious law student and his implacable professor isn't based on screen time; the latter has very few scenes. But I enjoyed the film as a thoughtful, if slightly dated drama. –Scott Hardie • February 3 2012, 9:51pm EST • 1 reply
Put Happiness, Ghost World, and Lost in Translation into a blender, and it starts to look like this loopy 2005 indie comedy, often mislabeled as a drama. It's laugh-out-loud funny in some parts, and endearingly sweet in others. –Scott Hardie • January 31 2012, 7:49pm EST • 1 reply
If there were some colorful new superlative that had not yet been employed to praise the documentaries of Ken Burns, Mark Twain might be able to think of it, but I can't. This is one of Burns's best films, painstakingly crafted and ceaselessly riveting. –Scott Hardie • January 27 2012, 8:53pm EST
Edward Norton creates two very different characters, a philosophy professor and his pot-farmer brother, in this genre-bending indie movie. But the film's real appeal is its thoughtful consideration of bigger issues: Love, faith, humanity, language, identity, courage. Various characters debate these topics openly and intelligently, like an Oklahoman version of Waking Life with a subplot about homicidal drug dealers. Its surrender to the necessity of plot is a weakness, especially during the obligatory showdown in a dark warehouse that feels phony, but most of the movie is refreshing food for thought; these characters have more on their minds than just the mundane details of their day. I discovered after seeing it that writer/director/co-star Tim Blake Nelson studied classical philosophy and even discussed it in press interviews, which is pleasant but not really a surprise. –Scott Hardie • January 25 2012, 9:41pm EST |
|
Funeratic • Celebrity Goo Game • Thorough Movie Reviews • Tragic Comedy • Gothic Earth • GooCon • Pirate Paradise |
Welcome to Funeratic! Please login or register. ©2012 Scott Hardie | RSS |
