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Black Swan (2010, Darren Aronofsky)
I hate responding to films like Black Swan because I don’t know where to start. From the first sequence, Aronofsky defines his approach as singular. Except for that first sequence, he never tries to...
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Léon (1994, Luc Besson), the long version
When he’s doing good work, Luc Besson makes these transcendent films, but even some of his lesser works often have some moments with that quality. Léon does not. Many of the elements are there–but...
View ArticleHotel Chevalier (2007, Wes Anderson)
It’s wrong to call Hotel Chevalier Anderson’s best film. The end of the film is some of the best work he’s ever done and a lot of the writing is some of the best writing he’s ever done (alone). The...
View ArticleThor (2011, Kenneth Branagh)
Thor has two problems to overcome. Director Branagh is successful at one of them. The first problem is half the film takes place in mythological Asgard, which is an ancient place, but very modern with...
View ArticleThor: The Dark World (2013, Alan Taylor)
Thor: The Dark World toggles between cloying and disinterested. Between Alan Taylor’s limp direction and the tepid script, it never really has a chance. Either the world will end or it won’t. The film...
View ArticleStar Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999, George Lucas)
Hi. My name is Andrew. And, from 1999 to sometime in 2000, I was a Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace apologist. When writing out the title, I forced myself to type it Star Wars: Episode I – The...
View ArticleStar Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002, George Lucas)
Attack of the Clones is bad. The beginning almost seems all right, with Ewan McGregor and new addition (and astoundingly terrible actor) Hayden Christensen on a mission. It plays like a thirty minute...
View ArticleAnnihilation (2018, Alex Garland)
The two most bewildering things about Annihilation are director Garland’s inability to frame for Panavision aspect ratio—did cinematographer Rob Hardy just not want to tell him he was reusing the same...
View ArticleWhat If…? (2021) s01e07 – What If… Thor Were an Only Child?
I was surprised when Chris Hemsworth showed up for this episode, but even more surprised when Academy Award winner Natalie Portman’s named came up on the titles next. Especially since the part is...
View ArticleThor: Love and Thunder (2022, Taika Waititi)
Thor: Love and Thunder ends like all Thor movies, promising the next one will—finally—deliver on the promise. The first movie follow-up fumbled when co-star Natalie Portman didn’t rate an Avengers 1...
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