The moments designed solely to make you jump out of your seat basically point to the story and says “we got you!” Thus pulling us out of the movie, because we do feel got. Stripped of those things, you would actually have a stronger movie.

Whereas Django Unchained is a revenge fantasy in response to human tragedy, Fambul Tok is a documentary examining the repercussions of a more recent horror. Sara Terry brings her journalism experience to her directorial debut, slowing laying a story of what it looks like to do the work of forgiveness.

Do not delude yourself into thinking that the pain isn’t more fresh that you’d like to believe, no matter how post-racial the age you think we’re in. This is why Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, while every bit a spaghetti western, feels like an empowerment vehicle, capturing a zeitgeist people are too blind to acknowledge.

This is 40 is an anti-romance movie, deconstructing the “happily ever after” of many romance movies. It’s a keenly observed portrait of real life and the drift that comes with relationships, as people forget how to talk to one another. It’s uncomfortable, ribald, and hilarious all at the same time.

Hometown Prophet doesn’t plumb the depths of the character or the implications of having a prophetic gift, instead squandering a lot of energy on church politics, Christian pop culture critique, and other easy targets. For a 30 year old, our hero reads like a young post-teen who hasn’t found himself.

« Previous Entries