Thursday, March 15, 2012
Now a Dollar March 16
Posted By Scott Renshaw on March 15, 2012, 7:52 AM
2011 Oscar contenders mix with stuff guaranteed not to be among 2012s’s Oscar contenders—plus Liam Neeson in badass mode—lead this week’s new bargain-theater offerings. ---
Martin Scorsese’s Hugo captured several technical Oscars—including cinematography, visual effects and art direction—for his adaptation of Brian Selznick’s illustrated novel about a young orphan living in a Paris railway station, learning the connection between a strange mechanical man and the old gentleman (Ben Kingsley) who runs the station’s toy booth. The loving slice of film history charmed critics, and if you catch a 3-D show, you’ll be treated to a remarkable use of the technology. But it does seem to be trying a bit too hard to be magical—which the movies it’s celebrating achieved more effortlessly.
A more serious piece of history forms the centerpiece of Steven Spielberg’s War Horse, following a horse from an English farm through service in World War I. As technically accomplished as it is as a piece of filmmaking—and with some terrific battlefield sequences—there are inevitable challenges when your central character is a horse. It’s neither as innocent as its kid-lit source material or powerful enough as drama.
Other new arrivals were ones your humble narrator didn’t have an opportunity to see: Liam Neeson as the leader of a group of plane-crash survivors trying to outwit a wolf pack in The Grey; Katherine Heigl as a financially strapped woman who takes a job as a bounty hunter in One for the Money; and the exorcism faux-doc horror film The Devil Inside.
On Topic...
-
Film Reviews: New Releases for April 12
Civil War, Escape from Germany, Coup de Chance, Hundreds of Beavers, La Chimera, Sting
- Apr 11, 2024
-
Film Reviews: New Releases for April 5
Monkey Man, The First Omen, Wicked Little Letters, Girls State, Scoop, Exhuma
- Apr 4, 2024
-
Music Plus: March 29
Das Energi Festival headliners, Ogden Twilight lineup
- Mar 29, 2024
- More A&E » More Culture »
More by Scott Renshaw
-
Faces of Salt Lake County book and portrait reception
Images and personal stories in a new book reveal local demographic diversity
- Apr 17, 2024
-
Feature film review: THE BEAST
A filmmaker's compelling ideas get a bit tangled in references to his creative influences.
- Apr 17, 2024
-
Film Reviews: New Releases for April 12
Civil War, Escape from Germany, Coup de Chance, Hundreds of Beavers, La Chimera, Sting
- Apr 11, 2024
- More »
Latest in Buzz Blog
