Movie Review – John Carter (2012)
by NIR SHALEV
John Carter is based on the 100 years old, Edgar Rice Burroughs novel titled A Princess of Mars and it tells the story of an Earthling who inadvertently travels to Mars and must choose sides in a years-long war between two alien races. The story may seem complicated because the source material is a science fictional novel, in which even the name of the planet Mars was changed to Barsoom. But I’ll try my best to not sound confusing. Read more 
Capsule Movie Review – Thin Ice (2012)
by HELEN GEIB
SPOILER WARNING It’s impossible to explain why Thin Ice is a bad movie without revealing the ending. Fair warning. END SPOILER WARNING
Jill and Karen Sprecher’s Thin Ice starts off as a black comedy about an insurance salesman (Greg Kinnear) who sees easy money in stealing an antique violin from an old man (Alan Arkin) living in an isolated farmhouse. Read more
Movie Review – Starship Troopers (1997)
by NIR SHALEV
In 1959, Robert Heinlein published a book titled Starship Troopers which contained a futuristic militaristic society with a protagonist who’s a soldier from the Philippines. Juan “Johnnie” Rico joined the Mobile Infantry Division and went to war with hundreds of thousands of other soldiers against an alien insect race. The book induced a state of boredom in most of its readers, is excessively self-centered, and contains a positive view of a militaristic regime. Read more
Movie Review – Chronicle (2012)
by NIR SHALEV
Chronicle, although shot entirely in Cape Town, South Africa is set in Seattle (it’s a mystery to me) and follows the daily lives of three teenage boys: Steve (Michael B. Jordan), the most popular guy in school who’s also running for school president; Matt (Alex Russell), a very friendly and likable jock; and Andrew (Dane DeHann), Matt’s cousin and a lonely teenager who’s periodically beaten by his alcoholic father and whose mother lies sick in bed all day. Read more
Capsule Movie Review – Safe House (2012)
by HELEN GEIB
The Cape Town, South Africa setting vies with the lead performances as best thing about the Denzel Washington-Ryan Reynolds spy thriller Safe House. Part spy thriller, part action movie; there are foot chases and car chases interspersed with gun fights and anything goes brawling. The action starts in the bustling city center and works its way through streets, apartment buildings, the stadium, a township slum, and an isolated farmhouse. As the heroes’ situation becomes increasingly desperate, the locations turn poorer, seedier, and ultimately, desolate. Read more
Movie Review – Coriolanus (2011)
by NIR SHALEV
Coriolanus exists in our contemporary society and was shot entirely in Belgrade, Serbia. It takes place in “a city that calls itself Rome,” taken directly from Shakespeare’s play and it depicts the tragic tale of General Caius Martius (Ralph Fiennes). Read more
Movie Review – The Far Country (1954)
by NIR SHALEV
Anthony Mann is my favorite Western director. All of his Westerns, or at least most of them depict anti-heroes and bad-guys-turned-good, but The Far Country is quite remarkably different. Read more
Capsule Movie Review – Man on a Ledge (2012)
by HELEN GEIB
Man on a Ledge is a tough nut to review because the less you know going in, the more fun it is to watch it unfold- or rather, hurtle along to its destination. It starts with a man climbing out the window of an old New York City skyscraper hotel. To give you a sense of the kind of movie it is, I’ll go one step further and reveal that he’s not suicidal. Read more
Capsule Movie Review – Underworld: Awakening (2012)
by HELEN GEIB
The vampires and werewolves are at each others’ throats again in Underworld: Awakening. Two things must be understood: 1) this is the fourth installment in a monster movie series and 2) the story is at the service of the supernatural fantasy action, not the other way around. Taken on those terms it works rather well. Read more
Capsule Movie Review – Haywire (2012)
by HELEN GEIB
Haywire is a stylish action thriller directed by Steven Soderbergh. It works just fine as a straight-up action movie, a streamlined 90 minutes of car chases, foot chases with a touch of free-running, gunfights, and mixed martial arts hand-to-hand fighting carried by a “who set me up and why?” plot. For viewers ready to play along, it works even better as a sophisticated cinematic game. Read more
