Film Reviews
Shiva the Destroyer
A talented cast is left stranded by the family gags in This Is Where I Leave You.Kristian Lin
When I read Jonathan Tropper’s novel This Is Where I Leave You, I wasn’t all that impressed with it, but I figured it could be made into a funny movie with a talented cast. Now the movie version is here, and a talented cast...
Goo Goo G’joob
Forget The Human Centipede! Kevin Smith’s Tusk is crazier yet.Kristian Lin
OK, I’ve seen some bizarre horror movies in my time, but Tusk is definitely the strangest one of all. I’ve seen scarier ones and I’ve seen funnier ones, but the next time some horror fan asks me what’s the sickest, most...
The Drop: Streetlight People
The late James Gandolfini isn’t the only bright spot in this mobbed-up thriller.STEVE STEWARD
It’s likely that the late James Gandolfini’s performance in The Drop will be lauded in tearfully hyperbolic fashion, maybe even to the point where it overshadows the movie. In all honesty, Gandolfini is pretty good — thin...
Princess of Whales
Korean outlaws provide hijinks on the high seas in The Pirates.Kristian Lin
They say that comedy can be highly culturally specific, and I can tell you it’s true after staring uncomprehendingly at the Korean movie Miss Granny earlier this year while the Korean audience around me cracked up. Still, som...
The Virgin Homicides
A girl finds her high school running on pure blood in Innocence.Kristian Lin
The blandly titled Innocence is the latest in the relatively small field of horror movies in which the slasher preys on teenage virgins. One reason there are so few of these films (the cleverest of which is Jennifer’s Body) i...
Two-Part Solo
The Identical is like Walk Hard without the jokes.Kristian Lin
What if Elvis’ twin brother had lived? The makers of The Identical aren’t the first to ask that question, but they are the first to build a movie around the idea that a 1950s rock star had a long-lost twin who watched from ...
End-of-Summer Roundup
These films are easily overlooked at the multiplex. Should they be?KRISTIAN LIN
It’s the end of August, and the movie distributors are busy depositing all their odd entries in the smaller auditoriums at the AMC Grapevine Mills. So I’ve put together this handy guide to help you sort through this esoteri...
Wake Me Up
Chloë Grace Moretz does hospital rounds while comatose in the dull If I Stay.Kristian Lin
Chloë Grace Moretz is 17 now, and in the past four years and change, I’ve seen her play a superheroine (Kick-Ass), a vampire (Let Me In), a werewolf (Dark Shadows), and a girl who can move things with her mind (Carrie). Her ...
Strait Fighters
The record-breaking Roaring Currents depicts a hellacious battle at sea.KRISTIAN LIN
This past weekend, the movie known in this country as The Admiral: Roaring Currents became the biggest box-office hit in South Korean history, surpassing Avatar. It also opened here at AMC Grapevine Mills, where it played to pa...
Crosses to Bear
Funny about a grim subject, Calvary is the year’s best religious film.Kristian Lin
Brendan Gleeson has acted in many Hollywood and British movies, but only the filmmakers in his native Ireland seem to have really figured out how to use this actor. His hulking frame, bulbous nose, and adenoidal bark of a voice...