Dennis D. McDonald’s MOVIE REVIEWS
This section contains links to my occasional movie & DVD reviews. A complete index is here.
To my surprise, I really enjoyed many Men in Black III. What did I like about it?
Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at 01:58PM in Comedy, Science Fiction, Sweet, Time Travel I was really looking forward to seeing Iron Sky after all the online hype. Actually seeing it was a major disappointment. This movie is awful.
Thursday, January 17, 2013 at 09:07AM in Comedy, Disappointing, Science Fiction, Space Travel, Turkey A young man, depressed, tries to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge. Instead he washes up onto a small island in the middle of the river and is cut off from the city.
This is Miyazaki’s first feature films. It portends a lot of what’s to come in his career: dizzying action, vibrant color, clever stories, strong females, and humor.
As a parent of two twenty-somethings I watched this film with a growing sense of horror and wanted to reach out and slap some sense into the main character.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012 at 01:00PM in Comedy, Drama, One of a Kind Exuberant, charming, and immensely entertaining, THE ARTIST tells ths story of a silent movie star in Hollywood whose career topples when talkies come along.
Sunday, January 29, 2012 at 07:47AM in Comedy, Drama, One of a Kind, Silent I thoroughly enjoyed this film. The characters are engaging, the story is clever, and the animation is absolutely positively gorgeous, at times almost breathtaking in its use of glowing color.
Roger Ebert in his review of this movie says “There is nothing to dislike about it.” If you read his whole review there’s clearly much to like about it, despite a rocky start.
Thursday, August 4, 2011 at 11:21AM in Comedy What an extraordinary film this is. Visually it’s a feast; colors and clever framing delight the eye. The plot twists and turns. And Penélope Cruz positively glows in scene after scene.
Friday, January 21, 2011 at 05:02AM in Comedy, Drama, One of a Kind, Romantic In this 1969 film an ageing and bored successful artist leaves New York for a sun-filled respite on a beautiful but sparsely populated Australian island. There he runs into a teenager who serves as his model. In the process his creative juices start flowing again.
My biggest complaint about this feature length “adult” cartoon is not about gratuitous sex and violence — that’s Rob Zombie’s whole point — it’s one very simple but unmistakable fact:
“Oh yeah, this is what the credits for an Otto Preminger comedy would look like!”
Sunday, May 9, 2010 at 05:03AM in Comedy, Crime, Intelligent What a subversive little film this is. And sweet. And funny. And unexpected.
Monday, March 22, 2010 at 06:21AM in Comedy, Fantasy, Intelligent, One of a Kind, Quirky, Romantic, Sweet I was mesmerized and entertained by this animated film. Paley intertwines the classic Ramayana with a modern love story, old blues songs, and lively comments on Indian culture by talking shadow puppets.
Saturday, February 27, 2010 at 07:20AM in Animated, Comedy, Indian, One of a Kind Japanese school girl goes on rampage to wreak revenge on the murderers of her little brother, gets fitted with prosthetic arm/machine gun, ensuing action consumes more artificial blood and gore than any film in recent memory.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at 07:24AM in Action, Comedy, Japanese, One of a Kind, Revenge This is a very funny and beautifully prouduced piece of whimsy. The characters are interesting, the story is clever, the dialog is witty, and the voice performances are superb.
Monday, November 30, 2009 at 11:41PM in Animated, Comedy, Fantasy, One of a Kind I see elements from The Matrix, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and Resident Evil. And vampires, of course.
Thursday, November 5, 2009 at 07:24PM in Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, One of a Kind, Quirky, Science Fiction, Vampires Sam Raimi’s DRAG ME TO HELL is fitfully entertaining. But it commits what I consider the unpardonable sin for a horror movie: