Film Review - Big Fan

Image courtesy of First Independent Pictures

As a lifelong Philadelphia Eagles fan, I have to admit, it's hard to objectively look at a story on a New York Giants die-hard. But Robert Siegel's Big Fan is great no matter who you root for -- and actually, I think it's the Eagles fans that'll have the most fun with this.

Regardless, here's my review from Suite101.com. Enjoy!

Film Review - Inglourious Basterds

Image courtesy of The Weinstein Co./Band Apart

Gotta say, I'm sort of shocked that I'm in the minority of opinion among critics (so far) in that I really didn't enjoy Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. Sure, it's got some train wreck appeal and may be the most interesting disaster I've seen on the big screen in ... well, maybe ever.

Not that it's completely without redeeming qualities, but - ah, hell, just read my full Inglourious Basterds review over at Suite101.com.

Film Review - Cold Souls

Image courtesy of The Samuel Goldwyn Co.

Yeah, yeah, yeah - there are quite a few similarities between Sophia Barthes's Cold Souls (her feature debut) and the works of Charlie Kaufman. And she doesn't quite have the emotional kick to match her intellectualism, but as far as clever exercises go, Cold Souls is pretty damn enjoyable.

For my full review of Cold Souls over at Suite101.com, please click here.

Enjoy and look out for a review of Inglourious Basterds.

DVD Review - Julia

Image courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

Julia is exactly the sort of indie film that is destined to get lost in the theatrical shuffle -- small, character-based, impeccably crafted. I don't even recall seeing this in theaters around Philadelphia/South Jersey, though it may have had a short run that I missed while blinking.

What a shame.

I was extremely pleased to be able to catch the film on DVD, so, without any further ado, here is the link for my Julia DVD review over at Suite101.com. Enjoy!

Film Review - District 9

Image courtesy of TriStar Pictures

And the best film I've seen so far this year goes to ... District 9. No disrespect to the likes of Julia (DVD review to come soon), Two Lovers or The Hurt Locker, but there's something about a great sci-fi flick that just totally does it for me.

Head over to Suite101.com for my review. And, if you're into the R-rated sci-fi thing even just a little bit, go see this film. It's clever and has more heart than almost anything else I've seen this year that didn't have aliens it.

Yes, films with aliens in it can be gory, thrilling AND have heart.

Suite101.com Review - Funny People

Image courtesy of Universal Pictures via movieweb.com

It'll be interesting to see how Judd Apatow's Funny People -- his follow up to the universally loved Knocked Up -- will fare at the box office. Because word of mouth may get out pretty quickly that:

a) Despite all the dick jokes (and there are MANY) and the title, Funny People actually gets pretty serious.

b) It's not your typical "Adam Sandler" movie, i.e. he gets to do a little more than flail around speaking in his famous Sandler jibberish speak.

c) The thing runs almost two-and-half-hours.

None of these are bad things (well, in regards to concern c), the film probably could've lost a few minutes) and on a whole, I was pretty impressed. It's a big leap forward for Apatow, even if the film can't go laugh-for-laugh with Knocked Up.

I have more opinions on this, so to catch my Funny People review in full, head over to Suite101.com

Suite101.com Review - Repulsion (DVD)

Image courtesy of Compton Films/Criterion Collection

Ah Catherine Deneuve in Roman Polanski's Repulsion - so beautiful, so dangerous. I've blogged and blabbered (albeit briefly) on this film before, so I'll just keep things simple.

The ever-reliable Criterion Collection is releasing (on DVD and Blu Ray) Repulsion on July 28. I wrote a review. Check it out at Suite101.com.

Side note: for any big fans of Criterion's prior home video work, Barnes & Noble.com is currently having a 50% off sale on all Criterion Collection home video, through Aug. 2.

Criterion's great work does tend to come at a price (to be fair, they have to purchase distribution rights, pay for the transfer and correction work and for the special features), so it's always great to catch their stuff on a big sale.

DeepDiscount.com also tends to have a Criterion sale around this time of the year, but nothing has gone up yet (just to prove I'm not a shill for any single outlet).

Suite101.com Review: (500) Days of Summer

Image courtesy of Fox Searchlight via movieweb.com

You know, I ended up liking this one more than I probably ever thought I would. After the trailers, I was a little worried -- the Joy Division t-shirt, record store diving -- it looked like it might stink of a bit of that pop culture pillaging, hipsterdom BS that Garden State dabbled in.

Not so. The flick gets a little too caught up in itself, but hey, ambition and over-cleverness are hardly the biggest sins. Lest I trample on my own feet, check out my full review at Suite101.com.