After the massive success of “Home Alone” in 1990, every studio was searching for their own twist on the formula. “Don’t Tell Mom…” has the privilege of being held down mainly by its ridiculous title, and by the fact that it’s not really a “Home Alone” clone when all is said and done. Sure, the movie is about a group of suburban kids left to their own devices, and yes it shows kids wreaking havoc in their house, but it’s not really a clone of the Chris Columbus film. It’s nowhere near as funny or interesting, either. But you can sense the studio working for their own franchise.
Category Archives: Movie Reviews
Cujo (1983)
What I love about Lewis Teague’s “Cujo,” is that while it is a story about a rabid dog mercilessly ravaging a mother and son in their car, the movie seems to be more about karma gone awry. Dee Wallace as Donna Trenton is a woman who is devoted to her son, but is also very committed to the affairs she’s currently having on her husband. The first half of “Cujo” is spent on familial discord and how Donna’s misdeeds with a colleague seems to be rotting this unit from the inside out.
Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
I love the storytelling and directorial subtleties of Kathryn Bigelow in her concerted effort to explore the folly of war and violence in the name of patriotism. In the end of the film Maya stands in the belly of a massive jet that is ready to carry her home, and she’s lavished with praise by the pilot who insists she can sit anywhere. Maya sits at the very end of the massive passenger wagon out of ear shot from the soldier. When asked where Maya wants to go, we see the fallout from the raid on Bin Laden once and for all. What was it all for? And in the end, did we really manage to gain something of ourselves back when we finally eliminated Osama Bin Laden? Or did Osama really win when he brought down the towers, destroying our very identities? “Zero Dark Thirty” is a very thoughtful and objective look at the events that led to the death of Osama Bin Laden. And for folks convinced Bigelow would stage a rah rah America film are wrong in their assertions.
The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012)
Normally I love Aardman’s output. I think Wallace and Gromit are fantastic and I even enjoyed “Flushed Away” on some levels. “The Pirates!” is a kids film that doesn’t entirely play the film to their standards. Aardman has a talent for appealing to children without talking down to them, offering them the likes of Wallace and his put upon sidekick dog, but “The Pirates!” is so incredibly convoluted that it fails to deliver any essence of entertainment. The animation from Aardman is up to their usual quality with some wonderful stop motion scapes and hilarious characters, it just falls flat in terms of story.
Tag (2011)
This is a side of director Shane Ryan that I’ve never seen before. Intended to be in competition for the winning slot in the highly publicized 2013 horror film “The ABCs of Death,” Shane Ryan gives us “T for Tag.” Now known as “Tag,” Ryan’s short film is a spooky, unnerving, and gruesome bit of revenge cinema that channels the likes of Takashi Shimizu for a short that’s based heavily on violence, murders, and the ever merciless demon of guilt that plagues our young protagonist.
Les Misérables (2012)
Sadly, I’ve never been to the iconic musical of “Les Miserables,” nor have I ever seen any of the previous adaptations of the Victor Hugo novel. I’ve also never read the novel. In actuality the most I’ve ever seen or known about “Les Miserables” is through an episode of “Animaniacs” where a condensed version of the musical was adapted through animated cats and dogs. When you’re through laughing at me, I like to think that not being knowledgeable about the material gives me somewhat of a different perspective. I’ve seen fans of the musical bash the film for missing the point, and vice versa. As for my thoughts on Tom Hooper’s 2012 adaptation, director Tom Hooper’s adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel is an often breathtaking and compelling bit of epic musical that kept me considerably compelled and entertained from the moment it began.
Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
I don’t subscribe to the Hollywood notion that all you need to cure a crippling illness that affects the lives of your loved ones is a good girlfriend or boyfriend. In actuality, it takes almost a decade or two to cure a crippling mental illness. In that regard, “Silver Linings Playbook” fails. But as a film that seeks to be a unique and unusual romance comedy about two people that are anything but normal, director David O. Russell’s dramedy is pure excellence, and one that’s teeming with talent from minute one. “Silver Linings Playbook” doesn’t seem to rely on a strict formula per se, and that’s why it’s such an oddity in the realm of romance dramedies. Sure, in the end it’s about two people falling in love, but O. Russell spends time on focusing on their inadequacies and their malfunctions that make it impossible for the pair to function in reality, and then draw them closer and closer as the narrative unfolds.