One of the people who accompanied me to see the latest Bond film, Skyfall, had the misfortune that it was the only Bond movie she had seen. This is a shame, because Skyfall is Bond at its worst: offensive, misogynist, uninspired, bloated, and even corny, with cringe-inducing writing, a couple poor performances, and lackluster direction. …
Category Archive: Film
Jun 14 2012
Something that confuses me about other people's viewing habits
Imagine that during the course of a conversation I ask you what your favorite song is, and suppose that you answer "Stairway to Heaven". Suppose that I am unfamiliar with that, and so I ask you who the artist is, and you answer that "I think John Paul Jones is playing bass on it." That …
Aug 13 2011
L.A. Noire is good. Really good.
Judging whether Rockstar's latest, LA Noire is artistically successful hinges on two things. The first is whether it fits into the genre its purports. The second is whether it does so well. The answers are yes, and hell yes. Film noir wasn't so much a genre as it was a movement, spanning the 1940s and …
Jul 28 2010
Rant: How did they fuck up the Silent Hill movie so bad?
My apologies to James Rolfe. Silent Hill is a good franchise, all said. The first two games are quite good, with the second being among many people's top 10 of all time (including my own. Actually, I would rank it number 2 or 3). Now, I'm not a fanboy; I really didn't expect the movie …
Mar 07 2010
One critic's feisty defense of Avatar
Airtalk had their annual roundup of critics at the Egyptian Theater to comment on the films nominated for the Academy Awards this year. I haven't yet seen Avatar, but I'm a pretty big admirer of James Cameron as a filmmaker. Most of the panel frankly hates Avatar, degrading it as a childish ripoff. This leads …
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