Christopher Llewellyn Reed's Blog, page 74
July 1, 2015
T1 + T2 = T5: “Terminator Genisys” Is Best Film in Franchise Since “Judgment Day”
Terminator Genisys (Alan Taylor, 2015) The Gubernator is back, and the good news is that he’s as watchable as ever. With his stock-in-trade mix of muscular swagger and tongue-in-cheek delivery, Arnold Schwarzenegger has always been a powerful (if often silly) screen presence, and his return to the Terminator series after a 12-year hiatus is a welcome one. Granted, […]
“Magic Mike XXL” Offers XXS Pleasures
Magic Mike XXL (Gregory Jacobs, 2015) The women loved it. That is, the largely female audience at the preview screening of Magic Mike XXL that I attended were a-whoopin’ and a-hollerin’ every time the men on screen took their clothes off. Which was often. To which I reply: if that’s what you want, watch porn. It’s […]
June 26, 2015
“Ted 2″ Is a Crass Act, but Not a Total Failure
Ted 2 (Seth MacFarlane, 2015) Did you see (and like) Ted, Seth MacFarlane’s 2012 box-office hit? If so, the sequel could go either way for you. I hated the original film, in large part because, to me, crudeness and vulgarity, on their own, are not funny. There must be something else, beyond the scatological and obscene, […]
Herzog’s Happy Homily: The Death-Defying Cinematic Stunt of “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl”
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, 2015) “Nature here is vile and base … there’s a lot of misery. But it is the same misery that is all around us. The trees here are in misery, and the birds are in misery. I don’t think they – they sing. They just screech […]
June 21, 2015
Midday on “Jaws” at 40: June 26 @ 1pm
On Friday, June 20, 1975, a then little-known director by the name of Steven Spielberg premiered his second theatrical feature, Jaws. Based on author Peter Benchley’s smash debut novel – a best-seller already a year before its adaptation came out – the film was a phenomenal box-office megahit (the first to make more than $100 million) that transformed how movies were marketed and […]
June 19, 2015
“Inside Out” Reminds Us of Why Both Pixar – and Being Human – Is Special
Inside Out (Pete Docter/Ronaldo Del Carmen, 2015) Inside Out may not quite rival the first 10 minutes of Up (co-director Pete Docter’s last film) – then again, for my money, nothing that Pixar has ever done, as good as their movies usually are, comes close to the sublime perfection of the opening of that movie – but […]
June 12, 2015
“Gemma Bovery” Is a Delightful, If Slight, Romp through Flaubert’s Tragedy
Gemma Bovery (Anne Fontaine, 2014) Are you familiar with a British graphic novel entitled Gemma Bovery? No? Neither was I. When I saw the name of this new film by French filmmaker Anne Fontaine (Coco Before Chanel), I automatically assumed it was an allusion to Gustave Flaubert’s great 19th-century novel of adultery and consequence, Emma Bovary (which it […]
In “Jurassic World,” 3D Dinosaurs Eat 2D Humans (and That’s a Good Thing)
Jurassic World (Colin Trevorrow, 2015) In Jurassic World, dinosaurs rule. Brought back from extinction by the machinations of mad scientists and businessmen, they are not only formidable enemies of the human race, but also much more interesting. As they chomp, stomp and eat their way through Isla Nubar – an island off the coast of Costa Rica that houses […]
June 5, 2015
In “Spy,” a Fine Supporting Team Propels Agent Melissa McCarthy to 00-Comedy
Spy (Paul Feig, 2015) How do you solve a problem like Melissa? She’s not exactly a conventional leading lady, and yet ever since Bridesmaids – for which she was nominated for an Oscar, after a long career in television on such shows as “Gilmore Girls” and “Mike & Molly” – she’s been on something of a roll. How long […]
June 3, 2015
For Better or for Worse, “Entourage” Is Loyal to Its Roots
Entourage (Doug Ellin, 2015) In Entourage, the boys are back in town (apologies to Thin Lizzy), and, as before, it’s bros before hoes all the way. Which should come as no surprise to anyone who watched even one episode of HBO’s long-running series (2004-2011) of the same name. I watched far more than that, making it all the […]
