Saturday, September 21, 2013
Friday, September 20, 2013
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First Lines: Louise Erdrich - The Round House
Small trees had attacked my parents' house at the foundation.
Do the Right Thing (1989)
On the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant
section of Brooklyn, everyone's hate and bigotry smolders and builds
until it explodes into violence.
Congenial study of racial tensions culminating myriad stories into one violent explosion.
Halliwell***: "Complex, witty, street-wise and passionate film about racism."
Maltin***: "Idealized, individualistic look at life in the black community of Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, ...Entertaining and provocative, with a much-discussed (and troubling) finale."
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
I Am Number Four (2011)
Aliens and their Guardians are hiding on Earth from intergalactic bounty hunters.
Sci-fi made for teens is as silly as it sounds and not at all exciting.
Maltin*1/2: "Another attempt to create a TWILIGHT-like series, only this is pseudo-science fiction rather than pseudo-horror. Despite the trappings, it's inferior and exploits its target audience. A waste of time, except for the alien beagle."
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
From my vaults: Lou Clayton
(with Jimmy Durante and Eddie Jackson)
Bio:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Clayton
R.I.P. Frederik Pohl
Eulogy:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/04/books/frederik-pohl-worldly-wise-master-of-science-fiction-dies-at-93.html?pagewanted=all
Sunday, September 15, 2013
13 Going on 30 (2004)
A 13 year old girl plays a game on her 13th birthday and wakes up the next day as a 30 year old woman.
Slight romantic comedy, quite likable, but utterly predictable as well.
Maltin**1/2: "Variation on (rip-off of?) BIG is plottier than it needs to be but is energized by the irresistable charm of Garner, in her first starring vehicle; Ruffalo is also good as her childhood pal grown up."