‘Star Trek Into Darkness’: Adrenaline-infused trip through a convoluted tale
At the core of J.J. Abrams’ brilliant rebranding, beyond the astute and well-measured use of high-powered special FX, is the inspired casting of Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto as the younger Kirk and Spock. The tale of this sequel is ambitious, crisp, filled with action and subplots – and yet possibly a bit too familiar.
‘The Iceman’: Potentially titillating, but tale of suburban killer for hire leaves you cold
What makes Richard Kuklinski intriguing is that he did it while married and living a suburban existence, replete with two teenage daughters. But writer/director Ariel Vromen plays the tale a little too straight.
‘The Great Gatsby’: Fitzgerald classic remixed with lots of spectacle, but no soul
Leonardo DiCaprio gives a thoughtful and nuanced performance lost alongside a miscast Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan and amid a swirl of 3-D spectacle.
‘Iron Man 3′: Director of excess brings some kid, kiss, bang bang
“Iron Man 3” finds itself somewhat hampered by the mandate to feed back into a stream of other Marvel superhero flicks, but if you’re a fan of big special FX-fueled slugfests, you’ll be thrilled anyway.
‘Mud’: Pulpy crime noir, love story and coming of age, all found along a river
Mud is the name of the arcane protagonist played by Matthew McConaughey, a metaphor for the sticky situation he’s in and is everywhere in this steaming Arkansas Delta that mixes genres like the olio found at the bottom of the Mississippi.
‘Pain & Gain’: Michael Bay gets you rethinking a rep as studio-incubated hack
It begins as a dark comedy, something screwball yet macabre, with Mark Wahlberg as an ex-con with jacked pecs, silvery tongue and tank full of big ideas. No matter how it winds up, its an amazing change of pace for director Bay.
Thirteen films to see starting Wednesday at the Independent Film Festival Boston
The Independent Film Festival Boston sails into its second decade already the area’s premier film event – the closest thing this city has had to a world-class film fest like Sundance, Cannes or Toronto.
‘Oblivion’: Where the clichés go when Earth dies
It’s some 70 years in the future and Earth is a wasteland, barren and plucked clean by nukes. Pretty much the only thing there is Tom Cruise – a Cruise you’ll remember from nearly all his other movies, in a world made up of those you’ve seen before.
‘To the Wonder’: Malick makes us wonder a little too much
The title says it all, and questions permeate. What’s it all about? Is Ben Affleck that wooden? Why is everyone so adrift and unexcited? Has the enigmatic Terrence Malick finally hit the skids?
’42′: Jackie Robinson wins again
Even when Brian Helgeland pushes too hard to make a political point or gets dangerously close to oversentimentalizing, “42” gets occasional help from a muscular score, great help a strong ensemble cast and tremendous help from history itself.
