Tag: Cate Blanchett

  • Ocean’s Eight is a pleasantly diverting trifle

    Ocean’s Eight is a pleasantly diverting trifle

    Gary Ross’ Ocean’s Eight is, like all Ocean’s films before it, a pleasantly diverting trifle. But its relative deficiency of zip and pizzazz makes me wonder if co-producer Steven Soderbergh positioned his own Logan Lucky as an act of sabotage. I found myself mentally compiling a wishlist while watching: Some praise: Anne Hathaway was totally…

  • Brad Pitt Lives Life in Reverse in David Fincher’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

    Brad Pitt Lives Life in Reverse in David Fincher’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

    This blogger is slowly cooling on former favorite David Fincher. His underrated first feature Alien3 is highly compromised, but easily the next most thematically interesting entry in the Alien franchise (after, of course, Ridley Scott’s rich original). Se7en is one of the most gut-wrenchingly disturbing movies ever made, notable for having virtually no violence appear…

  • Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is the second worst Indiana Jones movie

    Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is the second worst Indiana Jones movie

    Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is ultimately disappointing, especially if one reflects too much on its plot and basic plausibility, but it not totally without redeeming qualities. It is also far from the worst entry in the franchise (that would be Temple of Doom – blech! stay tuned for our forthcoming…

  • Todd Haynes deconstructs Bob Dylan in I’m Not There

    Todd Haynes deconstructs Bob Dylan in I’m Not There

    I always find it interesting to ponder my preconceived notions of a movie after I’ve actually seen it. The marketing and buzz on I’m Not There mostly centered on two talking points: the quirky device of multiple actors all playing incarnations of Bob Dylan, and Cate Blanchett being just plain amazing as usual (what else…

  • Cate is great in Elizabeth: The Golden Age

    Cate is great in Elizabeth: The Golden Age

    I’ll have to gang up with the general critical consensus around Elizabeth: The Golden Age, best summed up as: Cate Blanchett is astounding, as usual (yawn – the Academy Award nomination was virtually assured before the cameras rolled), but the movie is a disappointing sequel to a powerful original. Oh, and did I mention that…