review

‘In the Heart of the Sea’ Review: Ron Howard’s Latest Is an Under-whale-ming Epic
‘In the Heart of the Sea’ Review: Ron Howard’s Latest Is an Under-whale-ming Epic
‘In the Heart of the Sea’ Review: Ron Howard’s Latest Is an Under-whale-ming Epic
There’s a gigantic sea monster! There’s Chris Hemsworth’s muscular and skeletal frame! There’s harpoons and storms and dolphins and waves and adventure! There’s even a British man (played by Ben Whishaw) narrating the story as told by another very talented actor (Brendan Gleeson). By the sounds of it, In the Heart of the Sea must be a whale of a tale. But sadly, Ron Howard’s latest falls very short of its epic endeavors.
‘Poltergeist’ Review: A Decent Remake Haunted By the Spirit of the Original
‘Poltergeist’ Review: A Decent Remake Haunted By the Spirit of the Original
‘Poltergeist’ Review: A Decent Remake Haunted By the Spirit of the Original
Everything that goes wrong in Poltergeist stems from an act of desecration; the building of a cookie-cutter housing development on top of an old cemetery. Some might find the sheer act of attempting a remake of Poltergeist similarly disrespectful; the 1982 original is something of a masterpiece of suburban terror. But if viewers can look past the sheer audacity of attempting another Poltergeist, they’ll find a solid modernization, the cinematic equivalent of a decent cover version of a great rock song. It’s totally superfluous, and not nearly as satisfying as the original, but well-performed and effective in its own way. It’s nice (or, in this case, deeply unsettling) to revisit an old classic in a new arrangement.
‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ Review
‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ Review
‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ Review
“This is a movie that strains at the leash of the possible, a movie of great visionary wonders.” That lovely sentence concluded Roger Ebert’s 1985 review of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Thirty years later, Mad Max is finally back in a new sequel, Mad Max: Fury Road, and Ebert’s words feel truer than ever. Fury Road is an incredible achievement, one that strains so hard at the leash of the possible that it eventually breaks free and barrels headlong into the realm of insane genius. Forget Max Rockatansky; director George Miller, the guy who co-conceived and shot this gorgeous, glorious lunacy, is the true madman here. And the true hero for having pulled it off.