How does one escape poverty? What opportunities are presented to those impoverished to improve their material well-being? What is poverty in general? Gomorrah answers all three questions.   The solutions to the questions are not idyllic. They all involve gang-violence, Italian style. Or, Mafioso. The film does not center itself on anyone character in this […]

Despite having a great (albeit mostly notable) cast, the premise of the plot is incredibly difficult to orchestrate, and we are left with hallow characters that distract from the short sequences of Napa panoramics. “The Judgment in Paris” as it is called, shook the wine world. In a blind taste testing, Napa wines outdid French […]

The Goonies this isn’t. Though there is a semblance of that famed pre-adolescent (or “tween”) adventure film, Super 8 has a more transparent morale about overcoming adversity in life. this morale is masked in summer blockbuster antics. And indeed, this has the feel of appeasement to the summer movie-goer. While this is disappointing in some […]

The significance of popularity during adolescence is something that is a permanent topic in film. This is primarily because with the arrival of sexual maturation, and hence forth sexual selective pressures, the natural disposition toward hierarchy is felt for the first time amongst individuals. And in an environment laden and saturated with first-timers, there ostensibly […]

What a horrible idea. I heard from a blog I frequent much less after the egregious 2012 presidential elections that this was a patriotic film. Pardon me? Explosions are American now?   I decided to dip my toes in the mainstream movie stream just to keep tabs on what teenage boys think is good entertainment. […]

Julia Roberts plays Katherine, a naïve graduate student who thinks she can change the world by teaching affluent young girls about canonical Western art, such as (shockingly) Mona Lisa. The logline is that her “progressive” ideals clash with the obstinate Wellesley College ways, which has inherited a certain rigid decorum to pass on to their […]

  Disclaimer: this movie is as Hollywood manufactured as they come. What do I mean? I do not, fortunately, suggest that it is over-indulgent in melodrama, begging to be nominated for best motion picture. But it is incredibly formulaic.   Even after viewing it for the first time, I am quite surprised the screenplay and […]

This is a film with incredibly Sharon wit, yet an unpronounceable, prematurely delivered script. The plot is difficult to appreciate, as it is inconsistently whimsy, plodding into the enigmatic of its characters without developing themselves any further than bystanders for comedy.   And it is exceptional comedy from Kevin Kline, n a resoundingly hilarious character, […]

A witty challenge to the coming-of-age genre, Submarine seeks to create an adolescent world that influences the real world. This is to say the protagonist is given the illusion that he has the ability to change the course of his family’s history.   His tactics are harmless espionage conducted routinely in his life. He is […]

Like Eat This New York, A Man of Taste concentrates itself on the New York food scene. But unlike the former film, the latter shifts its lens on the theatre of the food itself, versus the construction of the stage.   Paul Liebrandt is the chef in particular. The film follows a 6 year arc […]