Wikipedia describes Dark Shadows as a “Gothic horror comedy-drama film.” If I could only meet Tim Burton once, I’d love to ask him which one (or two) of those words did he really want this film to be. I am trying, but I can’t recall any film in recent memory that is as much of an atonal nightmare as the latest collaboration between Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. Dark Shadows is their 8th film together (feels like a...

I’ve seen The Raid (*) twice now. It’s the best action film I’ve seen in years and years. I tried to write a conventional review for The Raid. I really did. But, after staring at a blank screen for more minutes than I’d like to admit, I realized that trying something different for this particular piece would be better. So, here we are. In five points, I’m going to tell you why it would be a really bad idea to...

It’s nearly a year since The Artist first screened to audiences. And it’s nearly a year now people have been calling it a love letter to just about everything under the Sun. While I completely understand if someone likes the film, the reasons they give for liking the film often leave me nonplussed. I saw the film for the first (and only) time in October, and this has been bothering me since then. It has been said that The Artist...

I find it hard to review a film like Safe. If it’s a movie I love, I can’t wait to sit in front of the screen and fashion a paean. If it’s a movie I dislike, then I like to write out my gripes with it and, often enough, they come easily too. If it’s a movie I have conflicted feelings about, then I find it an extremely rewarding exercise to articulate my thoughts as they help me come to terms with my stance. However,...

Film is a manipulative art form. The reason a director positions his actors in a frame in a particular way, makes them say some lines with a certain inflection and later has the scene scored to one specific piece of music is so that she can manipulate you to achieve her intended effect. And that’s okay. As an audience member, when I walk into any film I’m looking to be manipulated. Laughing, crying and being entertained are all...

The following article has NO spoilers for the movie in question. You may proceed without any caution whatsoever.   As evidenced by this interview (excerpts from which I’m going to quote in the review), Joss Whedon gets it. How do you take a green monster prone to rampage, a billionaire playboy with an overwhelming suit of armor, a serum-enhanced soldier who’s the epitome of earnestness and the Norse God of Thunder and cram...