Every Christmas week, Hollywood throws their last hurrah. Usually you get a ton of Oscar-caliber films in limited release, one or two on-the-fence movies in wider release, and then a big, dumb film for everyone else.
Every Christmas week, Hollywood throws their last hurrah. Usually you get a ton of Oscar-caliber films in limited release, one or two on-the-fence movies in wider release, and then a big, dumb film for everyone else.
American Hustle is one of those movies where you walk out of the theater unsure as to whether or not you really, truly liked what you just saw. You need time to digest it, to sift through what just happened. I’m not saying it’s a thinking man’s movie (which is a stupid phrase anyways), but it is a movie that makes you think.
I've written before about the 2013 summer movie season as being a bit on the unremarkable side for me. As I think about the past twelve months strictly in terms of the movies that were released in that period, a general feeling of disappointment can be pretty easily applied to all 12 months. That’s not to say the 2013 summer movie season was a letdown from bell to bell. Nor would I say that about the overall year. It’s just that as I think about the movies that came out this year, it feels as though coming up with even ten truly great films is a little too much of a stretch.
Tom Laughlin, Joan Fontaine, and Peter O’Toole have all died recently. Of all of them (and Joan Fontaine’s Oscar-winning performance in Suspicion is a must-see), O’Toole is the one that hits my attention the hardest.
Ladies and gentlemen, empty your bladders before seeing The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug for it is a daunting 161 minutes. Almost a perfect 3 hours with previews.