Clik here to view.
Douglas Fairbanks special - Reviews #135
I've been steadily working my way through this year's largest extravagance, Flicker Alley's monumental box-set: Douglas Fairbanks - A Modern Musketeer, a purchase I could only justify by working both...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lincoln on film: 1915-2012
"I... emancipate... your... milk-slave!"To shamelessly piggy-back on – sorry, "celebrate" – the release of Spielberg's Lincoln, I've compiled a maddeningly incomplete round-up of big-screen appearances...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Noir, nosh and Nelson Eddy - Reviews #136
Plus: POLITICS! DINOSAURS! OLDSTERS! Yes, you read that right. Oldsters. Coming right up.Raw Deal (Anthony Mann, 1948) - An escaped convict (Dennis O'Keefe) heads for a confrontation with his...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Jagger, Judy and Jonah Hill - Reviews #137
Also, in this latest reviews update: Dragnet, drugs and lots of people in blackface. Just a short one this time.Crossfire Hurricane (Brett Morgen, 1972)– Very watchable but shallow documentary about...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Silver Linings Playbook, Paul Rudd, and the beta Zeta - Reviews #138
The best film I've seen at the cinema this year! My favourite sitcom! A really underwhelming, disappointing David Wain comedy that lacks a coherent structure or characters you can truly root for! All...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Take This Waltz, and Flint Lockwood revisited - Reviews #139
Lately, I've been really spoilt in my movie-watching - different to having my movie-watching spoilt, as has happened at times this year - and this new, indescribably tiny batch of films is no...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Seven Psychopaths, Ricky Gervais and waterfalls - Reviews #140
Apparently life begins at Reviews Update #140, so bring it on. Just the three films this time, as I've been busy making Christmas cards. And writing a lengthy diatribe about that abysmal Ricky Gervais...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Hobbit: There and Back There Again - Reviews #141
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Peter Jackson, 2012)First impressions: Thursday, December 13 (3D and 48fps). Bilbo, Bilbo, Bilbo Baggins (the bravest little Hobbit of them all), gets a third of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Review of 2012
Woman of the Year: Janet GaynorIf you would have told me this time last year that by now I would have finished directing my first movie, skydived from 3,000ft and become a father, I wouldn't have...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Holidays, Hawks and De Havilland - Reviews #142
I've actually resolved to watch fewer films this year, but I saw a fair number last month. This is the first of two reviews updates; the second should be up on Friday. Ratings, as ever, are out of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Cool Runnings, Audrey Tautou and one of the worst rom-coms ever made -...
Here are the latest reviews. Comments are welcome below or on Twitter @rickburin.A Very Long Engagement (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2004)– Jeunet’s follow-up to the incomparable Amélie is a transcendent...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Jeff, jail and Judith Hearne - Reviews #144
*MINOR SPOILERS*The Kid with a Bike (Dardenne brothers, 2011) - A young boy (Thomas Doret) with behavioural issues tries to reconnect with his absent father (Jeremie Renier), is fostered by a selfless...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Imposter, Lon Chaney and the impossible job - Reviews #145
In this latest reviews update: four documentaries, two silents, Mandy Moore, Ken Loach and Mack Sennett. Join me (please)...The Imposter (Bart Layton, 2012) - Like Man on Wire, The Imposter features a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Breakfast Club, Rocky VI and my concerns about your heart - Reviews #146
After an explosive start to the year, brimming over with four-star films (four being the highest star rating known to (Leonard )Ma(lti)n), this latest bunch of movies rather brought me back down to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Wreck-It Ralph, Kathleen Turner and the Great Depression - Reviews #147
We went to Wreck-It Ralph (and Paperman) for Valentine's, and I managed to fit in a few other things during the week as well. Tonight I'm planning to catch a Lon Chaney movie, Laugh, Clown, Laugh -...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Star Is Born revisited, Jennifer Lawrence and how to start an argument -...
Hello, and welcome to a special Oscars-themed update, as the Oscars happened yesterday and it would be negligent of me not to piggy-back pointlessly on that kind of publicity. To celebrate, I've...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Beasts of the Southern Wild, Ann Sothern's daughter and Clintfest '13 -...
Beasts of the Southern Wild (Benh Zeitlin, 2012) - A young girl named Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis) - living in a slum area called The Bathtub - faces down flooding, her father's ill-health, and six...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Prison, presidents and plains, as Clintfest continues - Reviews #150
Coming up in this very special* 150th reviews collection: all the latest from behind the scenes at Clintfest '13 - a private film festival held in my room during which I watch some Clint Eastwood films...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Clint, more Clint and back to the Southern Wild - Reviews #151
Dearest reader, I haven't got around to that other Dardenne brothers film just yet, but I have watched a documentary about a chimp, a horror-mystery starring Joan Blondell and a lot of movies featuring...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Crouching Tiger, Thora Birch in a hole, and still more from ClintFest '13 -...
I watched a few movies over the Easter break. Now I'm going to tell you about them.A couple of rewatches:Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, 2000) - I hadn't seen Ang Lee's metaphysical,...
View Article