Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Crisp Criticism - "Self/Less", "Mr Holmes", "The Gallows", "Ruben Guthrie"

by
Julien Faddoul














Self/Less

A dying real estate mogul transfers his consciousness into a healthy young body, but soon finds that neither the procedure nor the company that performed it are quite what they seem.
A surprising outcome from this director, who took a peculiarly tasteless, dreary approach to this sci-fi yarn. It’s stale from the word go.

d – Tarsem Singh
w – David Pastor, Alex Pastor
ph – Brendan Galvin
pd – Tom Foden
m – Dudu Aram, Antonio Pinto
ed – Robert Duffy
cos – Shay Cunliffe

p – Ram Bergman, Peter Schlessel, James D. Stern

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Ben Kingsley, Natalie Martinez Matthew Goode, Michelle Dockery, Melora Hardin, Victor Garber, Sam Page, Derek Luke, Mariana Paola Vicente

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Crisp Criticism - "Ant-Man", "Paper Towns", "True Story"

by
Julien Faddoul













Ant-Man *

Armed with the ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, a con-man must embrace his inner-hero and protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats.
The leanest of the Marvel films so far, which doesn’t expunge any feeling of gross overfamiliarity. It is lighter in tone, but just as smug and cinematically pedestrian as one might expect.

d – Peyton Reed
w – Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish, Adam McKay, Paul Rudd   (Based on the Comic Book by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby)
ph – Russell Carpenter
pd – Shepherd Frankel, Marcus Rowland
m – Christophe Beck
ed – Dan Lebental, Colby Parker Jr.  
cos – Sammy Sheldon

p – Kevin Feige

Cast: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer, Michael Peña, Anthony Mackie, Wood Harris

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Crisp Criticism - "Magic Mike XXL", "Love & Mercy", "Madame Bovary"

by
Julien Faddoul














Magic Mike XXL **

Three years after Mike bowed out of the stripper life at the top of his game, he and the remaining Kings of Tampa hit the road to Myrtle Beach to put on one last blow-out performance.
A fascinating film: Directed by the first film’s Assistant Director, with Soderbergh both shooting and editing (under his usual pseudonyms). It breathlessly glides from one immaculate set-piece to another while offering really no commentary or even elementary observation to the goings-on, ending in what is essentially a 20-minute filmed stage show. Ultimately, it rides mostly on the charisma of its lead performer.

d – Gregory Jacobs
w – Reid Carolin
ph – Peter Andrews
pd – Howard Cummings
ed – Mary Ann Bernard
cos – Christopher Peterson

p – Nick Wechsler, Channing Tatum, Gregory Jacobs, Reid Carolin

Cast: Channing Tatum, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Adam Rodríguez, Kevin Nash, Gabriel Iglesias, Jada Pinkett Smith, Donald Glover, Andie MacDowell, Amber Heard, Elizabeth Banks

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Crisp Criticism - "Terminator Genisys", "Max", "A Little Chaos", "Awake: The Life of Yogananda"

by
Julien Faddoul













Terminator Genisys

John Connor sends Kyle Reese back in time to protect Sarah Connor, but when he arrives in 1984, nothing is as he expected it to be.
Obnoxious fan-fiction, totally stagnant and bedeviled by the clichés of older movies.

d – Alan Taylor
w – Laeta Kalogridis, Patrick Lussier   (Based on the Characters Created by James Cameron, Gale Anne Hurd)
ph – Kramer Morgenthau
pd – Neil Spisak
m – Lorne Balfe
ed – Roger Barton
cos – Susan Matheson

p – David Ellison, Dana Goldenberg

Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke, Jason Clarke, Jai Courtney, J.K. Simmons, Dayo Okeniyi, Lee Byung-hun