Unlike most “evil robot” stories about mankind’s hubris in creating artificial intelligence, Ex Machina isn’t just concerned with the notion of building sentient robots—it also warns us about how we should interact with said robots once they inevitably arrive. (Apparently, dating them isn’t the best idea. Sorry, Japan.) Warning: there are spoilers in this review.
In Noah Baumbach’s last film, 2012’s Frances Ha, a mediocre modern dancer has to accept adulthood by giving up her warped sense of self. In While We’re Young, a middle-aged and mediocre documentarian has to accept adulthood by giving up his warped sense of self. At least Baumbach’s consistent.
So what if Furious 7 is a ridiculous movie? Furious 7 doesn’t care about what you think—it’s too busy jettisoning hundred-thousand-dollar cars through skyscrapers with zero casualties and zero respect for the basic laws of physics. You do you, Furious 7.
Another day, another remake. Should you jump in your giant pumpkin and head to the theater to check out Cinderella? Of course not—giant pumpkins are not a viable means of transportation.
After a foray into action/adventure territory with a Pirates of the Caribbean sequel, director Rob Marshall (Chicago, Nine) has now returned to the musical genre to adapt into film Into the Woods, a beloved Broadway production in which classic fairy tales, including Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Rapunzel and Jack and the Bean Stalk, are woven together into one narrative and lampooned before being subverted in the musical’s dark second act. Woods features a top-notch ensemble, […]
In the last of Peter Jackson’s J.R.R. Tolkien adaptations—we hope, anyway!—erstwhile Shire-dweller Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) and his dwarven allies (Richard Armitage and a bunch of guys who don’t get any lines) defend the Lonely Mountain from elves, orcs and hungry fishermen. Ryan: When we reviewed last year’s The Desolation of Smaug—the predecessor to The Battle of the Five Armies—I mentioned how difficult it was to give it a full appraisal until we had a […]
Kicking off the unnecessarily slow march to the series’ conclusion, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 begins to conclude the story of child-gladiator-turned-reluctant-insurgent-figurehead Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence. In this, the first of two installments adapting the novel of the same name, Katniss learns how propaganda is made, navel gazes a whole hell of a lot and has the lamest nightmares ever.
In Alejandro Gonzales Innaritu’s Birdman, Michael Keaton plays a washed-up movie star known for his portrayal decades ago of a caped crusader known as … Birdman. He’s attempting this creative comeback on the Broadway stage, a notoriously unwelcoming venue for non-serious actors. It’s a meta hook in of itself, what with Keaton famously playing Batman in Tim Burton’s two directorial efforts in the early ’90s, but Birdman has more to offer than this wink of […]
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