http://calitreview.com An arts and culture magazine. Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:12:32 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://calitreview.com/23824 http://calitreview.com/23824#comments Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:12:32 +0000 Brett Harrison Davinger http://calitreview.com/?p=23824 The Vow primarily through Leo's eyes is probably the film's biggest problem. Paige just had the last five years of her life wiped out and that is inherently more fascinating than a man who wants to win back his wife. The fear, the confusion, the distrust that Paige experiences on a daily basis is a superior story to one man's quest to prove his love.]]> http://calitreview.com/23824/feed 0 http://calitreview.com/23820 http://calitreview.com/23820#comments Sat, 11 Feb 2012 17:35:43 +0000 Matthew Newlin http://calitreview.com/?p=23820 Safe House is the latest CIA shoot ‘em up to come out of Hollywood and although it falls back on very generic action pic conventions, it still manages to fit in a few exciting moments in an overall decent movie. ]]> http://calitreview.com/23820/feed 0 http://calitreview.com/23630 http://calitreview.com/23630#comments Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:14:42 +0000 Adam Robert Thomas http://calitreview.com/?p=23630 Chronicle. It may be a bit predictable and a bit clichéd, but so is Oedipus, that doesn’t make either any less engaging or heart rending by the end. ]]> http://calitreview.com/23630/feed 4 http://calitreview.com/23641 http://calitreview.com/23641#comments Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:35:57 +0000 Dan Fields http://calitreview.com/?p=23641 http://calitreview.com/23641/feed 0 http://calitreview.com/23447 http://calitreview.com/23447#comments Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:08:11 +0000 Julia Rhodes http://calitreview.com/?p=23447 http://calitreview.com/23447/feed 0 http://calitreview.com/23439 http://calitreview.com/23439#comments Sat, 28 Jan 2012 17:35:12 +0000 Matthew Newlin http://calitreview.com/?p=23439 Man on a Ledge.]]> http://calitreview.com/23439/feed 6 http://calitreview.com/23225 http://calitreview.com/23225#comments Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:10:48 +0000 Brett Harrison Davinger http://calitreview.com/?p=23225 Loud goes so far in the wrong direction that it almost becomes a comedy. By the halfway point, you're no longer watching the magic act, you're enjoying the magician fumbling with the deck of cards.]]> http://calitreview.com/23225/feed 7 http://calitreview.com/23215 http://calitreview.com/23215#comments Sat, 21 Jan 2012 17:39:48 +0000 Matthew Newlin http://calitreview.com/?p=23215 http://calitreview.com/23215/feed 0 http://calitreview.com/22966 http://calitreview.com/22966#comments Sat, 07 Jan 2012 20:09:00 +0000 Julia Rhodes http://calitreview.com/?p=22966 http://calitreview.com/22966/feed 7 http://calitreview.com/22955 http://calitreview.com/22955#comments Sat, 07 Jan 2012 18:27:21 +0000 Dan Fields http://calitreview.com/?p=22955 http://calitreview.com/22955/feed 7 http://calitreview.com/22552 http://calitreview.com/22552#comments Sat, 17 Dec 2011 22:55:18 +0000 Brett Harrison Davinger http://calitreview.com/?p=22552 http://calitreview.com/22552/feed 0 http://calitreview.com/22292 http://calitreview.com/22292#comments Sat, 10 Dec 2011 20:49:25 +0000 Dan Fields http://calitreview.com/?p=22292 It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World succeeded not simply because it featured virtually every comedian working in Hollywood at the time, but because each one of them was working slapstick overtime. We need to get back to the days of actors who are entertaining because they actively entertain us, not simply because we are clever enough to recognize them.]]> http://calitreview.com/22292/feed 2 http://calitreview.com/22140 http://calitreview.com/22140#comments Sat, 03 Dec 2011 23:56:25 +0000 Brett Harrison Davinger http://calitreview.com/?p=22140 http://calitreview.com/22140/feed 0 http://calitreview.com/21874 http://calitreview.com/21874#comments Thu, 24 Nov 2011 00:46:45 +0000 Brett Harrison Davinger http://calitreview.com/?p=21874 Hugo is a love letter to imagination and invention, the thrill of books and movies, of discovering things for yourself and the freedom to do so. Cogs of various sizes occupy many scenes, and seeing Hugo hammer a shell into shape or figuring out how one piece of the automaton fits into another shows off the pleasure of actual creation.]]> http://calitreview.com/21874/feed 0 http://calitreview.com/21791 http://calitreview.com/21791#comments Sat, 19 Nov 2011 18:40:14 +0000 Julia Rhodes http://calitreview.com/?p=21791 The Squid and the Whale’s Noah Baumbach, Payne chooses topics that are grotesque, darkly comic. You laugh because you can’t figure out what else to do with yourself.]]> http://calitreview.com/21791/feed 0 http://calitreview.com/21781 http://calitreview.com/21781#comments Sat, 19 Nov 2011 17:37:19 +0000 Julia Rhodes http://calitreview.com/?p=21781 http://calitreview.com/21781/feed 1 http://calitreview.com/21540 http://calitreview.com/21540#comments Sat, 12 Nov 2011 18:50:11 +0000 Dan Fields http://calitreview.com/?p=21540 J. Edgar affords its audience the dignity of drawing their own conclusions.]]> http://calitreview.com/21540/feed 0 http://calitreview.com/21333 http://calitreview.com/21333#comments Sat, 05 Nov 2011 21:49:04 +0000 Brett Harrison Davinger http://calitreview.com/?p=21333 VHK3C understands that paying extra for the 3D ticket should offer something unique to the theatergoing experience. It's not just about making backgrounds looking further away (that, from my experience, only Avatar pulled off successfully), but also about expanding the foreground. In this film, smoke, car parts, and eggshells go into the audience while stylized flashback sequences actually do gain more depth because of the glasses.]]> http://calitreview.com/21333/feed 0 http://calitreview.com/21208 http://calitreview.com/21208#comments Sun, 30 Oct 2011 01:31:27 +0000 Dan Fields http://calitreview.com/?p=21208 The Rum Diary stars Johnny Depp as Paul Kemp, a struggling novelist at the end of his rope, who sees journalism in Puerto Rico as a chance to lie low, regroup, and hopefully make a few dollars. The island seems like a broken-down but perfectly serviceable paradise, where he can indulge his penchant for excessive drinking and not be judged too harshly by his fellow man.]]> http://calitreview.com/21208/feed 0 http://calitreview.com/21110 http://calitreview.com/21110#comments Sat, 22 Oct 2011 17:49:38 +0000 Dan Fields http://calitreview.com/?p=21110 Paranormal Activity 3 was inevitable. This is the horror franchise that people love to hate, but still keep paying to see. Rather than introduce another parallel timeline to the first two chapters, this movie serves as a full-blown prequel. We will now witness the harrowing events of 1988, when protagonists Kristi and Katie were little girls together. As it turns out, they have already been through the familiar regimen of being taped while they sleep.]]> http://calitreview.com/21110/feed 10 http://calitreview.com/20856 http://calitreview.com/20856#comments Sat, 15 Oct 2011 16:40:30 +0000 Julia Rhodes http://calitreview.com/?p=20856 Halloween know that the cardinal rule of a classic monster is this: don’t reveal too much. In the same way Michael Myers was a far spookier fiend when he hid behind the impassive mask, tilting his head in fascination at his kills, the alien in The Thing was wholly horrifying when it was an unknown life form. When Zombie strove to tell us the story of how Michael Myers became a monster, we quit listening. Unfortunately, van Heijningen falls into the same trap with his prequel.]]> http://calitreview.com/20856/feed 3 http://calitreview.com/20772 http://calitreview.com/20772#comments Thu, 13 Oct 2011 21:08:50 +0000 Dan Fields http://calitreview.com/?p=20772 http://calitreview.com/20772/feed 0 http://calitreview.com/20692 http://calitreview.com/20692#comments Mon, 10 Oct 2011 14:47:36 +0000 Brett Harrison Davinger http://calitreview.com/?p=20692 Centipede II in black-and-white rather than color definitely adds to this ambiance. Martin sleeps on a soiled mattress, walks around in stained underwear, and lives with his comparably disturbed mother.]]> http://calitreview.com/20692/feed 0 http://calitreview.com/20663 http://calitreview.com/20663#comments Sat, 08 Oct 2011 22:13:21 +0000 Brett Harrison Davinger http://calitreview.com/?p=20663 The Tree of Life, turns in another remarkable performance here. As lost and as frightened as her husband but without the “solace” of the visions, Samantha sees how much he believes and is similarly desperate to preserve her family. Though she doesn't wholly discount what he is dealing with, she doesn't treat him with kid gloves either. Chastain shows how someone can hit various breaking points, but without any of them being the proverbial “straw.” ]]> http://calitreview.com/20663/feed 0 http://calitreview.com/20468 http://calitreview.com/20468#comments Sat, 01 Oct 2011 16:38:33 +0000 Dan Fields http://calitreview.com/?p=20468 The Blind Side. This year, you may call it Machine Gun Preacher.]]> http://calitreview.com/20468/feed 0 http://calitreview.com/20193 http://calitreview.com/20193#comments Sat, 24 Sep 2011 21:45:44 +0000 Brett Harrison Davinger http://calitreview.com/?p=20193 Moneyball utilizes his strengths without showing his weaknesses. The movie also wisely doesn't make this math genius some sort of Beautiful Mind-esque, socially incompetent robot. He's good at statistics, but he's still a human who gets caught up in the excitement of the game.]]> http://calitreview.com/20193/feed 0 http://calitreview.com/20071 http://calitreview.com/20071#comments Sat, 17 Sep 2011 17:36:10 +0000 Dan Fields http://calitreview.com/?p=20071 http://calitreview.com/20071/feed 3 http://calitreview.com/19868 http://calitreview.com/19868#comments Sat, 10 Sep 2011 22:40:13 +0000 Brett Harrison Davinger http://calitreview.com/?p=19868 http://calitreview.com/19868/feed 1 http://calitreview.com/19774 http://calitreview.com/19774#comments Mon, 05 Sep 2011 18:58:58 +0000 Brett Harrison Davinger http://calitreview.com/?p=19774 http://calitreview.com/19774/feed 2 http://calitreview.com/19634 http://calitreview.com/19634#comments Sat, 27 Aug 2011 16:37:31 +0000 Dan Fields http://calitreview.com/?p=19634 http://calitreview.com/19634/feed 0