April 2012
All the feature-length films I've seen in April.
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26 titles
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsVan JohnsonJohn HodiakRicardo MontalbanTrue tale about a squad of the 101st Airborne Division coping with being trapped by the Germans in the besieged city of Bastogne, Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge in December of 1944.A workmanlike picture, too mediocre to be called incompetent, but too conservative in style and ideology to be called remarkable. [C]
- DirectorOlivier MegatonStarsZoe SaldanaMichael VartanCallum BlueA young girl in Bogotá witnesses her parents' murder and grows up to be a stone-cold assassin.It's a straight-faced, PG-13 take on the femme fatale flick, and nothing short of unwatchable. [F]
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneJoanne DruJohn AgarCaptain Nathan Brittles, on the eve of retirement, takes out a last patrol to stop an impending massive Indian attack. Encumbered by women who must be evacuated, Brittles finds his mission imperiled.Picturesque in a deliberate, Arizona-postcard kind of way, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon is Ford at his most overbearingly sentimental. [C]
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsBette DavisJoan CrawfordVictor BuonoA former child star torments her paraplegic sister in their decaying Hollywood mansion.What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? never really lives up to its promise and it ends up a mean, nasty, and ultimately dull pulp-infused tale of fame lost. [C]
- DirectorRuben FleischerStarsJesse EisenbergDanny McBrideNick SwardsonTwo fledgling criminals kidnap a pizza delivery guy, strap a bomb to his chest, and inform him that he has mere hours to rob a bank or else...Not all of the jokes work, and Eisenberg feels a bit out of place, but it's funny in a completely disposable way. [C+]
- DirectorGavin O'ConnorStarsTom HardyNick NolteJoel EdgertonThe youngest son of an alcoholic former boxer returns home, where he's trained by his father for competition in a mixed martial arts tournament - a path that puts the fighter on a collision course with his estranged, older brother.The sort of film that tips its hat to subtlety, then punches it in the face. It's one of the most moving studio pictures in recent memory, and Edgerton is nothing short of a revelation. [B+]
- DirectorParis LeontiStarsRobert FucillaKirsty MitchellRobert James-CollierAndy Marlow, an ex British S.A.S serviceman turned mercenary, is sent into the Balkans after a military coup has arisen to rescue a U.S ambassador and his aide.Even as far as direct-to-DVD actioners go, this one's pretty dull. [F]
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanHarry d'Abbadie d'ArrastStarsClara BowCharles 'Buddy' RogersRichard ArlenTwo young men, one rich, one middle class, who are in love with the same woman, become fighter pilots in World War I.Wings is the kind of epic no one wants to make anymore. Despite a charisma-free leading man (Gary Cooper is more memorable in five minutes of screentime than Buddy Rogers is in two hours plus), it's a mostly exhilarating, fantastically staged production. [A-]
- DirectorIan PalmerStarsJames Quinn McDonaghPaddy Quinn McDonaghMichael Quinn McDonaghAn epic 12-year journey into the brutal and secretive world of Irish Traveler bare-knuckle fighting. This film follows a history of violent feuding between rival clans.Well, if Warrior was too gentle, I suppose this is the film for you. Like its subjects, Knuckle is a bit rough around the edges and a bit misguided at times. However, it is an intricate and complex look at an escpecially violent tradition.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsHenry FondaCharles BronsonClaudia CardinaleA mysterious stranger with a harmonica joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad.I've never been a big fan of Leone's, but this is less a film and more an endurance test. Leone, as usual, falls head over heels imitating the Western heroes of yore, but the result of such labor is a hollow and heavy-handed picture. [D]
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCary GrantGrace KellyJessie Royce LandisA retired jewel thief sets out to prove his innocence after being suspected of returning to his former occupation.Middling Hitchcock. It's, frankly, one of his most unambitious films, an inconsequential yarn that captivates the audience but doesn't leave a lasting impression. [C+]
- DirectorLuc BessonStarsBruce WillisMilla JovovichGary OldmanIn the colorful future, a cab driver unwittingly becomes the central figure in the search for a legendary cosmic weapon to keep Evil and Mr. Zorg at bay.Silly to no end, The Fifth Element blends the action picture and the sci-fi picture while adding nothing to either. [C]
- DirectorGerardo NaranjoStarsStephanie SigmanNoé HernándezIrene AzuelaAfter entering a beauty contest in Tijuana, a young woman witnesses drug-related murders and is forced to do the gang's bidding.A stunning neorealist take on the Mexican drug war, Miss Bala is one of the finest and most important films of the 2010's. [A+]
- DirectorJohn MiliusStarsWarren OatesBen JohnsonMichelle PhillipsJohn Dillinger and his gang go on a bank robbing spree across the midwest, but one G-Man is determined to bring him down.In the era of Bonnie and Clyde, this kind of brawny violence-for-the-sake-of-violence picture seems a bit outdated. [D]
- DirectorSteve McQueenStarsMichael FassbenderCarey MulliganJames Badge DaleA sex addict's carefully cultivated private life falls apart after his sister arrives for an indefinite stay.A gripping, elegaic look at a debilitating addiction. McQueen is an extraordinary director, but at times the production seems too sleek, and the pacing too conventional to tread in the realm of greatness. [A-]
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsGene HackmanWillem DafoeFrances McDormandTwo F.B.I. Agents with wildly different styles arrive in Mississippi to investigate the disappearance of some civil rights activists.As far as studio Issue Films go, you could do a lot worse. Mississippi Burning manages to capture the spirit of the South, but more importantly, recognizes that nothing about racism or the act of fighting it is easy or clean cut. That being said, it has an incredibly conventional narrative arc, and towards the end, the characters seem only capable of speaking in platitudes.
- DirectorLouis MalleStarsJeanne MoreauMaurice RonetGeorges PoujoulyA self-assured businessman murders his employer, the husband of his mistress, which unintentionally provokes an ill-fated chain of events.A terrific blend of many different genres and themes, Elevator to the Gallows ranks as one of Malle's finest films, alongside The Lovers and Murmur of the Heart. [A]
- DirectorMichael MannStarsJames CaanTuesday WeldWillie NelsonAn ace safe cracker wants to do one last big heist for the mob before going straight.Laced with unfortunate late-era Melville sensibilities, Thief is an unmercifully slow and derivative picture. [D-]
- DirectorHoward HughesEdmund GouldingJames WhaleStarsBen LyonJames HallJean HarlowBrothers Monte and Ray leave Oxford to join the Royal Flying Corps. Ray loves Helen; Helen enjoys an affair with Monte; before they leave on their mission over Germany they find her in still another man's arms.While some of the aerial battles are filmed spectacularly, the scenes that involve people and not planes are laughably overwrought. [C]
- DirectorDavid MoreauXavier PaludStarsOlivia BonamyMichaël CohenAdriana MoccaLucas and Clementine live peacefully in their isolated country house, but one night they wake up to strange noise... they're not alone... and a group of hooded assailants begin to terrorize them throughout the night.An engaging little (it runs a little under 80 minutes) horror film, Them is admirably stripped down, there are no frivolous displays of gore or reflexive humor. [C+]
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsSissy SpacekPiper LaurieAmy IrvingCarrie White, a shy, friendless teenage girl who is sheltered by her domineering, religious mother, unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated by her classmates at her senior prom.Gleefully provocative (or indulgent; it's all the same to Brian De Palma), Carrie is remarkable for the impending sense of disaster De Palma creates. [C]
- DirectorMike McCoyScott WaughStarsAlex VeadovRoselyn SanchezNestor SerranoAn elite team of Navy SEALs embark on a covert mission to recover a kidnapped CIA agent.The worst new release I've seen this year by a country mile. The action scenes are well filmed, but they mean nothing if the characters are completely indistinguishable. [F]
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartMary AstorGladys GeorgeSan Francisco private detective Sam Spade takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar and their quest for a priceless statuette, with the stakes rising after his partner is murdered.The first ever film noir is also one of the best. It's also one of the best cast, with set of players that includes Bogie himself, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Mary Astor, and Elisha Cook, Jr. [A]
- DirectorKarel ReiszStarsAlbert FinneyShirley Anne FieldRachel RobertsA rebellious, hard-living factory worker juggles relationships with two women, one of whom is married to another man but pregnant with his child.One of my favorite examples of British "kitchen sink realism", Saturday Night and Sunday Morning compassionately and poetically captures the life of a young man trapped by his society. [A]
- DirectorJon FavreauStarsDaniel CraigHarrison FordOlivia WildeA spaceship arrives in 1873 Arizona to take over the Earth, starting with the Wild West region. All that stands in their way: a posse of cowboys and natives.Rivaling Act of Valor in terms of sheer stupidity, Cowboys and Aliens proves that a film called Cowboys and Aliens can be no fun at all. [D-]