Posts Tagged ‘reviews’
Film 22

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...


Brendan Gleeson prepares to tend to his spiritual duties in Calvary.

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...



Jeff Bridges shows Brenton Thwaites a way out of their dystopia in The Giver.

Conceal, Don’t Feel

After 20 years, The Giver finally hits the big screen. Eh.
Kristian Lin
Lois Lowry’s novel The Giver famously took 20 years to come to the big screen, and when I caught up to it a few months ago, I could see why there might be problems in adapting it to film. Today’s science-fiction young-adult...


Part izakaya, part ramen house, Hanabi is all delicious.

Let’s Go Bowling

Tasty fare and great service make Hanabi Ramen and Izakaya a destination.
EDWARD BROWN W/ PHOTOS BY LEE CHASTAIN
Fans of Japanese cuisine may already be familiar with the term izakaya: a casual bar that also serves food. It’s the kind of place that might be popular after work. At Hanabi Ramen and Izakaya, though, the concept has been ex...



Calvary opens Friday.

Film Shorts

Kristian Lin
OPENING: Calvary (R) John Michael McDonagh (The Guard) writes and directs this thriller about an Irish Catholic priest (Brendan Gleeson) who hears in confession that one of his parishioners plans revenge for his sexual abuse at...


The presentation is as dazzling as (most of) the food here. Lee Chastain

Spinning 24 Plates

Though not everything is perfect, a lot is at this new Magnolia spot.
LAURIE JAMES
There are a lot of ways to describe 24 Plates Tapas Bar & Restaurant: chef-driven, independent, outstanding, trendy. The new eatery has blossomed in the corner space on West Magnolia Avenue that once housed W.F. Lawrence Fi...



Child of God opens Friday.

Film Shorts

Kristian Lin
OPENING: Child of God (R) James Franco directs, writes, and co-stars in this adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel about a man (Scott Haze) who tries to exist outside the social order. Also with Tim Blake Nelson, Jim Parrack,...


(Clockwise from top) Groot, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Rocket, and Chris Pratt are an unlikely bunch of Guardians of the Galaxy.

All You Need Is Quill

Guardians of the Galaxy is the funniest Marvel Comics movie yet.
KRISTIAN LIN
On the surface of a barren, hostile, alien planet, an Earthman named Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) boogies leisurely across the rocky terrain in his spacesuit, singing along to Redbone’s “Come and Get Your Love.” When a small...



Your first course, the salad bar, could be an entire gourmet meal on its own.

Rafain: Meat on Sticks

Come hungry and with lots of time to spare.
LAURIE JAMES W/ PHOTOS BY BRIAN HUTSON
In the words of Rafain Brazilian Steakhouse, lunch and dinner are “a three-course Brazilian feast.” Similar to other all-you-can-meat restaurants, the Dallas-based chain’s newest location, this one in the West 7th Street ...


And So It Goes opens Friday.

Film Shorts

KRISTIAN LIN
OPENING: And So It Goes (PG-13) Michael Douglas stars in this comedy as a self-centered man who enlists the help of his neighbor (Diane Keaton) when his estranged granddaughter (Sterling Jerins) is left on his doorstep. Also wi...