Blogs by Bill Johnson
Quick Cuts - Capsule Reviews of Current Movies
5/30/2012 12:58:57 AM
Quick Cuts
These capsule reviews of current movies offer a basic overview of what these stories did (or didn't do) to engage an audience. They are not meant to convey a full review of the movie, or a scene by scene breakdown. All reviews by Bill Johnson, copyright 1999-2012.
Men in Black 3
posted 5/29/2012
This is fun, and, by the end, heartfelt. It doestn't hit all the high notes of the first film, but the film is consistently fun.
Josh Brolin does a great imitation of a young Tommy Lee Jones.
The central question of the story, how did Tommy Lee Jones become the emotionally shut down person Will Smith is partnered with?
Jeff, Who Lives at Home
posted 5/25/2012
The title character is a 30 year old adolencent who lives in his mother's home, smoking dope, and thinking about fate. When he gets a wrong number about someone named Kevin, he considers it a sign to follow.
He comes across his brother, who's befuddled about why his wife would want to have an affair.
The movie does a good job of moving the two brothers to a deeper understanding of themselves and transformations (of a kind). After a meandering quality, the film also has an active ending.
Directed by Jay and Mark Duplass, who also worked together on the Puffy Chair.
The Raid
posted 4/30/2012
This is a wonderful martial arts film that also takes the time to develop the relationships between the characters. Some great action scenes, although one goes on so long, it calls into question how someone could still be conscious after so many blows.
John Carter
posted 3/21/2012
250 million dollars and no one thought to answer the question, what does the main character want? What he doesn't want is conveyed clearly and repeatedly: to not fight in anyone else's cause.
Another demonstration that money and special effects aren't a replacement for telling a good story.
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More Blogs by Bill Johnson
• Notes on The Hunger Games Movie & Other Recent Movies - Monday, June 25, 2012
• Quick Cuts - Capsule Reviews of Current Movies - Wednesday, May 30, 2012
• Quick Cuts - Capsule Movie Reviews - Tuesday, January 10, 2012
• Capsule Movie Reviews of The Skin I Live In, Submarine, Finding Joe - Wednesday, December 14, 2011
• Notes on Splice, How to Train Your Dragon, Ironman 2 - Saturday, June 12, 2010
• When Minor Characters Take Over a Story - Tuesday, December 22, 2009
• Notes on Knowing, Star Trek, and Sunshine Cleaning - Monday, May 18, 2009
• Notes on Watchmen, Twilight, Revolutionary Road - Friday, March 13, 2009
• Notes on Changeling and Ghost Town - Friday, November 07, 2008
• Notes on Cthulhu, Righteous Kill, Burn After Reading - Monday, October 06, 2008
• Notes on Iron Man, Deception, The Ruins, Young at Heart - Sunday, May 04, 2008
• Notes on The Band's Visit, Spiderwick Chronicles, The Eye, The Golden Compass - Thursday, March 15, 2007
• Notes on The Guatemalan Handshake and The Bridge - Tuesday, February 20, 2007
• Notes on Pan's Labyrinth and The Good Shepard - Saturday, January 20, 2007
• Notes on Flags of Our Fathers, The Departed, Stranger Than Fiction - Sunday, December 24, 2006
• Notes on The Black Dahlia, The Illusionist, Pulse, The Descent - Wednesday, September 20, 2006
• Lady in the Water - Sunday, July 30, 2006
• The Da Vinci Code - Wednesday, May 24, 2006
• Notes on Underworld: Evolution, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Narnia, King Kong, Bee Season - Sunday, January 22, 2006
• Notes on A History of Violence, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Flightplan, and Hustle and Flow - Wednesday, October 05, 2005
• Notes on The Brothers Grimm, The Island, Four Brothers, Mr & Mrs Smith, and The Fantastic Four - Sunday, August 28, 2005
• Notes on Willy Wonka, Dark Water, The Snow Walker - Tuesday, August 09, 2005
• Notes on Land of the Dead and Oldboy - Friday, June 24, 2005
• Notes on Batman Begins - Wednesday, June 15, 2005
• Notes on Hitchhikers, Sin City - Saturday, April 30, 2005
• Notes on The Ring 2 - Sunday, March 20, 2005
• Notes on The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou - Monday, March 14, 2005
• Hitch - Sunday, March 13, 2005
• The Pacifier - Monday, March 07, 2005
• Quick Cuts - Saturday, March 05, 2005
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