By not embracing the sheer insanity of the script, Besson has made a shallow, uninteresting slog even as Scarlett Johansson tries her best to save the film.
Although “About Alex” would have a better time proudly advertising itself as the blatant remake that it is, it’s as compulsively watchable as the film that inspired it, boasting a strong ensemble and a script that does it justice despite the occasional reliance on cliched plot developments.
Some films are technical marvels, drawing audiences not necessarily because of their story or characters, but simply because of the spectacle that they are. Films like “Avatar” or “Gravity” might fall into this category – story-wise, they are not terribly unique, but are still marvellous films for what they accomplish with technology and the art […]
Editor’s Note: Our “Upon Further Review” series charts the history of films that were released to critical or public disinterest or disdain, but have since been widely considered classics. Soon after the fall of the Mussolini government in 1943, Italy began its Golden Age of Cinema. As with many great artistic revolutions it was preceded by its […]
Can love and infidelity coexist? Philippe Garrel has been exploring messy romance in Paris since the 60s to varying degrees of success and pretension. This time, it’s the story of Louis (played by Garrel’s own son, Louis), who leaves his girlfriend (Rebecca Convenant) and their daughter (Olga Milshtein) for a sexy and mysterious out-of-work actress […]
“What If” is a fresh and funny romantic comedy until it isn’t, one that disregards two and a half acts of character development in favor of the schmaltzy resolution its creator apparently detests.
“The Expendables 3” is arguably the best film in the series despite its PG-13 rating, but it’s still too loud and too dumb to transcend the genre to which it pays homage.
