Delivering American University's news and views since 1925 | Wednesday, March 3, 2021
Big guns, bigger explosions, crazy villains, fast-paced shootouts and a steamy love interest — it’s all an action fan can ask for. “The Losers” delivers even more.
Modern American society is a consumer culture where everything is bought and sold in a never entirely truthful relationship between buyer and seller. “The Joneses” takes that culture to the next logical conclusion in an emotional, funny and eye-opening movie about the blurred lines between customer and salesmen.
Simple can be grand and, in the case of “City Island,” it is spectacular. It is a film beautiful?in its simplicity and wonderful in its humanity, showcasing all the flaws and shortcomings and wonderful secrets that?constitute?what it means to be human — all for a raucous amount of?heartfelt?laughter.
Hercules, gyros and the Olympics: three Greek things that arguably don’t suck. Unfortunately, the latest Greek mythology movie, “Clash of the Titans” does not live up to those standards. One Scene writer tells readers why “Clash’s” good visuals cannot make up for the incoherent plot.
Audiences know exactly what is going to happen before they set foot in the theater and “The Crazies” plans for it. The film wastes no time setting the scene and commencing the mayhem. But it is a slow-moving mayhem that knows when to jump, when to edge in dreadful anticipation and even when to settle into a quiet moment that manages to build suspense for what isn’t going horribly wrong.
Far from his characters in “Moulin Rouge” or, more recently, “The Men Who Stare at Goats” Ewan McGregor plays a nameless spirit in Roman Polanski’s “The Ghost Rider.” The film won over Scene staff, but will critics and viewers see beyond Polanski’s controversial past and recognize his greatness?
Despite its lack of subtlety, Shutter Island will leave movie buffs both satisfied and searching for answers, according to the Scene. The latest Scorsese thriller brings viewers into a world of deception and madness accompanied by a haunting soundtrack. Scene gave this movie an A-. Click on to find out why.
"The Wolfman" is a remake of a classic, but it does not quite reach epic standards, according to Scene staff writer Bryan Koenig. Though some might expect the movie to leave them howling in terror, it actually uses modern computer imaging to create a period piece with a dark side. Koenig gave this fantasy flick a B.
His status as a human notwithstanding, a Mel Gibson-helmed thriller about a father seeking justice for the daughter who died in his arms sounds like an exciting idea. In practice, however, “Edge Of Darkness” is a middling and fruitless mystery that takes itself far too seriously.
George Clooney directed by Jason Reitman (the man who directed “Juno” and “Thank You for Smoking”) is a tough review to write, namely because such a film would, at face value, be superb. Luckily, the reality is that “Up in the Air” is all you could hope for.
