Category Archives: Movies

Movie Review – “Amazing Spider-Man 2”

Spoiler free version: The strengths and weaknesses of this sequel are comparable to the original. We get more of Spider-Man’s humor, but the structure gets a bit sloppy for an important 20 minute sequence. Recommended, but not as strongly as Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Also, for the first time ever, I’m actually going to recommend consciously looking for the 3D version instead of the 2D. It really does make that much difference this time around.

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Movie Discussion: Divergent Noah

In a world where people are divided into distinct factions based on human virtues, Noah is given a divine mission: to build an Ark.

No, wait. In a world ravaged by human sin, Tris Prior is warned she is Divergent and will never fit into any one group.

Or something like that.

This would be the place to discuss Divergent or Noah.

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Weekend Review: Beasts of the Southern Wild

Some time has passed since we’ve reviewed an older film for Weekend Review, and Beasts of the Southern Wild, the magical realist drama that the Chicago Tribune‘s Michael Phillips called “the most divisive film of 2012,” seems a good choice, with its blend of drama and fantasy and its SF-seeming setting. The independent movie received the Camera D’Or at Cannes and the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, among numerous other awards. Its star became the youngest person ever to receive the Oscar nomination for best actress. Critics, overall, were positive, and American President Barack Obama called the film “spectacular.”

Others found Beasts offensively condescending and sentimental, or argue that the inhabitants of its off-grid community come too close to the Noble Savage stereotype. Academic/activist bell hooks, whose work I admire, is among those who consider elements of the movie racist and sexist. Cole Smithy awarded it zero stars– a rating it shares with Battlefield Earth!.

So, what do we think?

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