STL Film Critics

The Secret World of Arrietty – Reelworld (Kent Tentschert/Carol Hemphill)

kent — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 20:43:28 +0000

THE PLOT:
The Clock family, father, Pod (Will Arnett), mother, Homily (Amy Poehler) and daughter, Arrietty (Bridgit Mendler) are borrowers – tiny people who live in the walls and borrow items from their host family.
The borrowers have one rule, “Do not be seen by humans.” Arrietty breaks that rule with Shawn (David Henrie), a sick boy close to her age, who is visiting to rest and regain his strength.
As Arrietty begins to scavenge through the house with her father, her eyes are opened to the beauty and scope of the world around them. But when Shawn tries to help Arrietty, he inadvertently endangers the Clocks and their way of life.

Kent’s take:
“The Secret World of Arrietty” is an animé feature from the Japanese studio who brought us “Ponyo,” “Spirited Away,” and “Howl’s Moving Castle,” and is adapted from popular novels by Mary Norton.
Arrietty is a curious teenager, interested in the world around her exploring it fearlessly, but her father, a seasoned borrower, warns her that such curiosity has killed several relatives. What Arrietty longs for is freedom, something in short supply with borrowers.
To read Kent’s full review, visit: http://www.websterkirkwoodtimes.com/SiteElist-1924.113117-Reelworld.html

A Separation – Reelworld (Kent Tentschert/Carol Hemphill)

kent — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 20:38:44 +0000

Carol’s Take:
Nader (Payman Maadi) and Simin (Leila Hatami) have reached an impasse in their marriage.
She wants to leave Iran to live abroad where she believes their daughter will have better opportunities. He insists they stay so he can care for his father (Ali-Asghar Shahbazi) who suffers with Alzheimer’s.
Simin moves out, but young Termeh (Sarina Farhadi) stays in the home of her father and grandfather.
Razieh (Sareh Bayat) is hired to care for the grandfather and take care of the household. She is pregnant, and often brings her little girl along to work. She took the job without her unemployed husband’s knowledge, and fears discovery. She also worries that some physical aspects of the old man’s care may be sinful.
To read Carol’s full review, visit: http://www.websterkirkwoodtimes.com/SiteElist-1924.113117-Reelworld.html

St. Louis Film Critics to Host Oscars 2012 Event at Tivoli Theater Feb. 26

STLFilmCritics — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:45:00 +0000

February 14, 2012

PRESS RELEASE

Contact:
Cate Marquis, Director, St. Louis Film Critics
stlfilmcritics@gmail.com
www.stlfilmcritics.org

Will “The Artist” sweep the awards or will “The Descendants” or “The Help” take home the big prize, and what will be the most shocking upset at this year’s Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 26. Cheer on your favorite nominees and win movie-related prizes at an Oscar Night Party co- hosted by the St. Louis Film Critics Association and Landmark Theatres.

The live ABC Oscars telecast will be shown in the Tivoli Theatre’s 450-seat main auditorium beginning at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m., and seating is not reserved. Admission is free, but a canned goods donation, to be collected for Operation Foodsearch, is encouraged. Concessions will be available for purchase.

Participants will be given 2012 Academy Awards nomination ballots, courtesy of the Tivoli management.

The St. Louis Film Critics, a professional association of working film critics in the St. Louis-area, will award prizes for contests, including trivia questions before the show starts and during commercial breaks.

The mission of the St. Louis Film Critics association is to promote appreciation of great cinema in St. Louis and to promote St. Louis as an area that appreciates great cinema. The member film critics review films for a variety of media, including print, radio, television and Internet in the greater St. Louis Area. SLFC presents the year-end St. Louis Film Critics Awards to recognize the best in films shown in St. Louis that year. The association also presents awards at the St. Louis International Film Festival and St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase, both presented by Cinema St. Louis.

The Tivoli Theatre, restored to its original 1924 splendor in a 1995 renovation, is located at 6350 Delmar Blvd. in St. Louis. It is listed in the National Registry of Historic Places.

For more information on the St. Louis Film Critics association, visit the www.stlfilmcritics.org website. For information on the Tivoli, visit their website at www.landmarktheatres.com/Market/St.Louis/St.Louis_Frameset_Tivolibar.htm. The Tivoli phone number is (314)995-6270.

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Safe House – Reelworld (Kent Tentschert/Carol Hemphill)

kent — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:01:15 +0000

THE PLOT:
Fledgling CIA operative Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds) spends his days staring at empty rooms and empty computer video screens as the caretaker of a CIA safe house in South Africa.
When legendary rogue operative Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington) surrenders to authorities after nine years off the grid, Weston’s safe house is activated for Frost’s interrogation.
But soon after Frost’s arrival, the safe house is breached and Frost’s protective CIA team is killed, leaving Weston with one choice – flee with Tobin Frost.
Initially Weston and Frost struggle as adversaries, but soon they are forced together in a life and death struggle with international repercussion at stake.

Kent’s take:
“Safe House” is anything but safe. This thriller displays deadly accuracy in its violence, story and believability.
Tobin Frost has been off the grid for 9 years. He is a master interrogator re-writing the field manual for agents, and was highly skilled at turning agents.

To read Kent’s full review, visit: http://www.websterkirkwoodtimes.com/SiteElist-1924.113117-Reelworld.html

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island – Reelworld (Kent Tentschert/Carol Hemphill)

kent — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:54:15 +0000

The Plot:
After returning from his first adventure, Sean (Josh Hutcherson) has a rocky relationship with Hank (Dwayne Johnson), his mother’s boyfriend. Now an avid Vernian – a believer that Jules Verne’s books are based in truth – Sean has been attempting to decipher a looped recording he has been receiving from his grandfather.
Hank decides to help Sean decipher the code and soon they not only have the full map of the Mysterious Island, they have its coordinates.
Heading to the Caribbean, Sean and Hank hire Gabato (Luis Guzmàn) and his lovely daughter Kailani (Vanessa Hudgens) to fly them to the island. But Mysterious Island didn’t earn its name for its easy access – crash landing on the island, Sean finds his grandfather, adventure and understanding.

Kent’s Take:
“Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” is a rarity – a sequel better than the original. Its predecessor, “Journey to the Center of the Earth” found Sean and his uncle heading into the earth’s crust for adventure. In “Journey 2,” Sean uses “The Mysterious Island,” “Gulliver’s Travels” and “Treasure Island” to launch his next adventure – introducing and encouraging youngsters to read the classics.
It’s about time someone made a film series that had adventure, innocence, heart, and fun without bad language, without sex and without violence. Oriented for kids and their parents, this entertaining film has a few plot holes, is sometimes predictable, and definitely requires a suspension of reality, but for these simple requests, one is taken on a perfect family-friendly odyssey.

To read Kent’s full review, visit: http://www.websterkirkwoodtimes.com/SiteElist-1924.113117-Reelworld.html

Chronicle – Reelworld (Kent Tentschert/Carol Hemphill)

kent — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:59:43 +0000

The Plot:
When three high school friends discover a strange buried crystal, their exposure gives them strange powers. Yet, as their powers grow, so does the danger in using these powers.

Kent’s Take:
“Chronicle” is an unweildy hydra. It is a sci-fi film, a superhero film, a coming-of-age film and a teen angst film and each fights to lead this predictable film.
Andrew (Dane DeHaan), Matt (Alex Russell) and Steve (Michael B. Jordan) are exposed to a strange unexplained entity and begin to display telekinetic powers.
Touching on themes of bullying, abuse, adolescence, death and grief, this film displays a surprising depth within 90 minutes. Is it thought-provoking? Somewhat. What this film excels in is youthful exuberance. Perfectly capturing the teenage ethos of wanting to fit in, trying to find one’s place in the world and pure unthinking adolescent stupidity, these youths use their powers in mundane ways. They are so enamored of their powers, they rarely consider the consequences of their actions – until it’s too late.

To read Kent’s full review, visit: http://www.websterkirkwoodtimes.com/SiteElist-1924.113117-Reelworld.html

The Woman in Black – Reelworld (Kent Tentschert/Carol Hemphill)

kent — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:55:27 +0000

THE PLOT:
When widower Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe) visits a remote English village on business, he becomes embroiled in a mystery involving dying children and a vengeful ghost.

Kent’s take:
Frightening films are always more enjoyable when seen with those who don’t like to be scared. This was the case with “The Woman in Black.” Both my brother and Carol lamented their decision to accompany me to this screening. Is it curiosity? Is it the desire to face one’s fears? Or is it just entertainment value that goads reluctant viewers to chillers?
Regardless, this classic bone-chiller is written in the same vein as “The Orphanage” and “The Others.” With undercurrents of frustration, anger and fear, the true theme – a mother’s love – is masked by startling moments of Victorian dread.

Carol’s take:
I hate scary movies. They either terrify me – a fully undesirable sensation – or they insult me by failing to spook me. Either way, I avoid this genre like the coward I truly am.
“The Woman in Black” is a classic haunted house/ ghost story with all the expected bumps and starts. Part of the time I watched with one eye shut. At other times, I held a notebook in front of my face. I’m not sure what I missed, but I was willing to make the sacrifice.

To read Kent’s and Carol’s full reviews, visit: http://www.websterkirkwoodtimes.com/SiteElist-1924.113117-Reelworld.html

El Bulli: Cooking In Progress – Reelworld (Kent Tentschert/Carol Hemphill)

kent — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:47:08 +0000

The Plot:
Chef Ferran Adria, owner of El Bulli restaurant, closes his fully booked restaurant for six months each year to experiment with food in order to build a new menu for the coming six months.

Kent’s Take:
“El Bulli: Cooking in Progress” is a raw hi-definition film showing the outer limits of food as they are pushed and discovered by top chefs.
Much like scientific experimentation, these talented men prepose theories regarding food, run experiments, catalogue, discuss food combinations and, of course, use all five senses to monitor results.
These experiments are somewhat unstructured and have no end product in mind, for this is unrefined experimentation. Later, at El Bulli, the tasty end results will be converted into delicacies.

To read Kent’s full review, visit: http://www.websterkirkwoodtimes.com/SiteElist-1924.113117-Reelworld.html

Pariah – Reelworld (Kent Tentschert/Carol Hemphill)

kent — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:07:16 +0000

Carol’s take:
Alike [a-LEE-kay] (Adepero Oduye) is a high school honor student and gifted poet who is college-bound. The young African-American is also an emerging lesbian – without experience yet determined to embrace and explore her intrinsic sexual identity.
Alike lives in middle-class Brooklyn with her mom Audrey (Kim Wayans), dad Arthur (Charles Parnell), and sister Sharonda (Sahra Mellesse). Their reactions to her boyish postures and changing styles of dress differ distinctly.
Sharonda is accepting of Alike. Audrey is not; she becomes more and more caustic and controlling of her firstborn in an effort to fend off the inevitable. Arthur is blind to the changes in his daughter and to the related tensions in their household.
“Pariah” marks the feature film debut of two very bright talents – writer/director Dee Rees and actress Oduye. Each makes real, in her own way, how a young woman can become an outcast in her own family, and how the pain of that rejection threatens her ability to live her own true life.
Kudos, too, to Rees for creating a family that differs from so many fictional Black families we see on the screen. Thankfully, this unit is nothing like the smug, sanctimonious Huxtables on TV.
Neither is anyone on welfare or drugs or unemployed or dominated by a large, bossy woman who is really a male movie star raking in the dough. Alike, her family, and their trials have an authenticity that is welcome in cinema today.

Albert Nobbs – Reelworld (Kent Tentschert/Carol Hemphill)

kent — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:05:18 +0000

THE PLOT:
Albert Nobbs (Glenn Close) is a woman in 19th-century Ireland living as a man. Her ruse has put her in a self-made prison as she is unable to reveal her sex for she would lose all that she has built for the last 30 years.
When she meets painter Hubert Page (Janet McTeer), another woman posing as a man, she discovers a doorway out of her situation and an understanding that is missing in her life.
Pursuing the heart of coworker Helen (Mia Wasikowska), Albert’s dreams of a life of freedom and unbridled emotion soar, but the current life that Albert has created cannot and will not be fled so easily.

Kent’s take:
“Albert Nobbs” is truly a duck-billed platypus. This buttoned-up film reeks of depravity, but its undercurrent flows with liberation. Unfortunately, that liberation never really touches Albert.
Albert is the head waiter at an exclusive hotel and has earned her/his position. As this formal job keeps her at arm’s length from her customers, her room (in the upper stories of the hotel) becomes her only sanctuary where she can remove her facade. But she can only do this in solitude.

Carol’s Take:
At first, Albert Nobbs’ situation is presented as a social construct provoked by females’ financial limitations. The title character’s sexual identity is ignored.
Albert’s early life goes largely unaddressed. Did he, as a girl, consider marriage as the answer to monetary needs? Was a caring husband desired but not acquired? Was partnering with a man rejected out of hand?

To read Kent’s and Carol’s full review, please visit:

http://www.websterkirkwoodtimes.com/SiteElist-1924.113117-Reelworld.html