Leap Year
Rental and Snacks
Let’s face it. When the poster of a the movie gives away the ending, you know that romantic comedies have utterly given up even pretending that there is any suspense as to whether our heroes will find love together. Most aficionados of the genre of course could care less, since [...]

Cinerina’s Best 50 Of The Decade: The 2000’s
Last turn of the decade I had only been writing for three years, so I didn’t think I could really support a Decade list.  Heavens to betsy how the years do add up!  I will definitely forget your favorite film, or some ridiculously obvious classic that I didn’t [...]

Cinerina’s 2009 Extremes
Some truly terrible movies came out in 2009, so terrible that I refused to see them. This may be the first year in recent memory where I have not rated a film “Avoid At All Costs.” This could mean that I just was less willing to plunk down my hard-earned money for [...]

Young Victoria, The
Matinee with Snacks
Many films and novels have examined the political maelstrom and religious upheaval that attended the life of Queen Elizabeth I, but Queen Victoria is not as well-known, it seems. As a female ascendant to the throne, naturally Victoria is surrounded by men eager to manage her and further themselves with [...]

Taiji, Japan has had a terrible secret for years. If you have heard of this movie, you probably have an inkling as to what that secret is: dolphin slaughter. While Japanese whalers have gained notoriety in recent decades for refusing to stop killing dozens of animals a year, the dolphin trade goes on [...]

Matinee
I didn’t really know what to expect, walking into Nine. Well, I kind of knew what to expect from director Rob Marshall (Chicago), and I knew Nine was sexy and kind of based on someone’s mental state, so I probably expected a little Chicago magic again. For those confused by my review of [...]

How lovely to see a romance and flirtation and obstacles in a comedy based on history and life connections rather than lumbar tattoos and skateboarding talent. Even lovelier is getting to see the funny and playful Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin emobdy a divorced couple circling each other, drawn by the heady scent of [...]

You may have watched the preview for Sherlock Holmes and thought, “This looks like Long Raging Bull Goodnight: Die Harder.” I suppose we have Hollywood to blame for that. Over the years they took Arthur Conan Doyle’s brilliant deductionist who had training in fisticuffs and made him an effete snooty cartoon – more [...]

Terry Gilliam is an artist and filmmaker whose travails in Hollywood are well-known.  His visual aesthetic always treads a fine line between beautiful and grungy, fantastical and earthy, and this film is a perfect vehicle for his sensibility.  In fact, one could even say it is almost about himself.  The Imaginarium is a place you [...]

I am loath to confess this, but I really did not like this movie. On the one hand, the time seemed to fly by in that I was waiting for the actual story to begin and then what? 40 minutes already? On the other hand, I found everything so melodramatic and capricious that [...]