http://www.filmequals.com Every Opinion Matters Fri, 25 May 2012 20:27:55 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/25/moonrise-kingdom-movie-review-another-anderson-classic/ http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/25/moonrise-kingdom-movie-review-another-anderson-classic/#comments Fri, 25 May 2012 20:27:55 +0000 Jordan Magrath http://www.filmequals.com/?p=61794 It’s tough to find a middle ground between clever and overly artsy. Wes Anderson, for me, found this area in 2009′s Fantastic Mr. Fox. The animation was different and the writing was pretty much flawless. His newest feature, Moonrise Kingdom, isn’t as family friendly per se, but it is a great follow-up in terms of art, storytelling, and quirkiness. Doning a spectacular cast, Anderson delivers [...]]]> http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/25/moonrise-kingdom-movie-review-another-anderson-classic/feed/ 0 http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/25/men-in-black-iii-movie-review/ http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/25/men-in-black-iii-movie-review/#comments Fri, 25 May 2012 19:37:50 +0000 Jordan Magrath http://www.filmequals.com/?p=61798 There were plenty of things working against Men in Black III before its release. First, the original sequel, Men in Black II, was a critical flop. Second, almost ten years have elapsed between films. Lastly, and probably scariest, was the fact that Men in Black III started production and filming without a final script. Production was actually stopped at one point to finish the script. [...]]]> http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/25/men-in-black-iii-movie-review/feed/ 0 http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/25/mighty-fine-movie-review/ http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/25/mighty-fine-movie-review/#comments Fri, 25 May 2012 18:35:35 +0000 Kristen Elizabeth http://www.filmequals.com/?p=61453 Movies based on personal memoirs are nothing new. Depending on the story and the cast and the direction, they can either be wonderful or terrible. Mighty Fine falls somewhere in between with a lackluster script, yet several great performances. Told from the point of view of Natalie Fine (Jodelle Ferland), the movie tells the story of the Fine family whose patriarch, Joe (Chazz Palminteri), a [...]]]> http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/25/mighty-fine-movie-review/feed/ 0 http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/25/siff-2012-the-eye-of-the-storm-and-coming-home-reviews/ http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/25/siff-2012-the-eye-of-the-storm-and-coming-home-reviews/#comments Fri, 25 May 2012 16:41:38 +0000 Jordan Magrath http://www.filmequals.com/?p=61812 The Eye of the Storm The Australian drama The Eye of the Storm is playing this weekend at the 38th Seattle International Film Festival. Based on the novel of the same name, Fred Schepisi puts a lot of emphasis on family. We all like to think our families are perfect, but we also know this sadly isn’t true. The Eye of the Storm is a [...]]]> http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/25/siff-2012-the-eye-of-the-storm-and-coming-home-reviews/feed/ 0 http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/18/siff-2012-fat-kid-rules-the-world-review/ http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/18/siff-2012-fat-kid-rules-the-world-review/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 19:58:58 +0000 Jordan Magrath http://www.filmequals.com/?p=61683 Opening this weekend at the 38th Seattle International Film Festival is Matthew Lillard’s directorial debut, Fat Kid Rules The World. Based on the novel of the same name (by K.L. Going), the story uniquely focuses on male eating disorders. In this case, we get to see two extremes (the two brothers), while also presenting a story full of music, friendship, and hope. It certainly has [...]]]> http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/18/siff-2012-fat-kid-rules-the-world-review/feed/ 0 http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/18/hysteria-movie-review/ http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/18/hysteria-movie-review/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 17:27:49 +0000 Kristen Elizabeth http://www.filmequals.com/?p=61687 Most women have no idea how or when the vibrator was invented; they’re just glad that it was. But the origins of the world’s most popular sex toy are revealed in Tanya Wexler’s wonderfully funny new film, Hysteria. And although it’s set in the 1800′s, the story and the characters all seem very familiar. “While it might be a 19th century story, it’s a subject [...]]]> http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/18/hysteria-movie-review/feed/ 0 http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/18/siff-2012-elena-and-hemel-reviews/ http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/18/siff-2012-elena-and-hemel-reviews/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 14:14:41 +0000 Jordan Magrath http://www.filmequals.com/?p=61656 Elena Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Russian film Elena got significant recognition upon its Cannes release in 2011. Taking home the Special Jury Prize, the film was picked up by Zeitgeist Films, where it was released in the U.S. this week. Likewise, it plays during the first week of the Seattle International Film Festival (specific screenings below). Plot-wise, the film follows Elena (Nadezhda Markina), as she tries to [...]]]> http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/18/siff-2012-elena-and-hemel-reviews/feed/ 0 http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/16/the-dictator-movie-review/ http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/16/the-dictator-movie-review/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 19:24:36 +0000 Jordan Magrath http://www.filmequals.com/?p=61641 There’s one thing you can almost certainly count on when Sacha Baron Cohen is starring in a movie: outrageously offensive material. For some, this makes the film an instant “must-see,” but to others it serves as a warning. With many different forms of humor, Cohen’s Borat character will probably go down as the best. His more recent Brüno personality was met with a lot more [...]]]> http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/16/the-dictator-movie-review/feed/ 0 http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/12/dark-shadows-movie-review/ http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/12/dark-shadows-movie-review/#comments Sun, 13 May 2012 03:05:31 +0000 Jordan Magrath http://www.filmequals.com/?p=61469 Given the nature of Tim Burton’s movies, it’s hard to expect anything “normal” for his newest one, titled Dark Shadows. Not surprisingly, it stars Johnny Depp in a visually-stimulating, styled comedy, mixed with themes of horror and drama. However, Burton has proved himself to be hit-or-miss over the years. Although Dark Shadows looks the part, it doesn’t create characters or stories worth praising. Going for [...]]]> http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/12/dark-shadows-movie-review/feed/ 0 http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/11/tonight-youre-mine-movie-review/ http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/11/tonight-youre-mine-movie-review/#comments Fri, 11 May 2012 17:42:56 +0000 Kristen Elizabeth http://www.filmequals.com/?p=61457 Having never been one for outdoor concerts, public toilets, or mud, I found a lot of the new movie, Tonight You’re Mine, utterly foreign. At its core, the film is a love story between two feuding rockers who are handcuffed together by a wandering hippie and have only hours to figure out a solution before they’re due to perform, although at times it seems more [...]]]> http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/11/tonight-youre-mine-movie-review/feed/ 0 http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/11/where-do-we-go-now-movie-review/ http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/11/where-do-we-go-now-movie-review/#comments Fri, 11 May 2012 17:39:37 +0000 Kristen Elizabeth http://www.filmequals.com/?p=61450 If your town was split between two religions, and your fathers and sons, brothers and husbands were dying every day in petty squabbles fueled by hate from the outside world, to what lengths would you go for peace? In Nadine Labaki’s brilliant new film, Where Do We Go Now?, the Christian and Muslim women of an unnamed village in the Middle East employ every trick [...]]]> http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/11/where-do-we-go-now-movie-review/feed/ 0 http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/11/girl-in-progress-movie-review/ http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/11/girl-in-progress-movie-review/#comments Fri, 11 May 2012 17:36:47 +0000 Kristen Elizabeth http://www.filmequals.com/?p=61448 Kids are usually eager to grow up, but in the new film, Girl in Progress, one teenager who’s spent her entire life being a mother to her mother sees becoming an adult as her ticket to a life she believes will be better. But growing up is never as easy as it seems. Ansiedad (Cierra Ramirez) is a little bit too smart for her mother, [...]]]> http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/11/girl-in-progress-movie-review/feed/ 0 http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/05/the-best-exotic-marigold-hotel-movie-review/ http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/05/the-best-exotic-marigold-hotel-movie-review/#comments Sat, 05 May 2012 17:23:10 +0000 Sandrine Sahakians http://www.filmequals.com/?p=61384 The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is based on the novel These Foolish Things by Deborah Moggach and follows a group of British retirees, who decide to take their retirement in India, more specifically the newly restored Marigold Hotel. Seduced by the wonderful advertisements professing the luxury of the “Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” the retirees arrive to find the hotel only a shell of what it [...]]]> http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/05/the-best-exotic-marigold-hotel-movie-review/feed/ 1 http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/04/the-perfect-family-movie-review/ http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/04/the-perfect-family-movie-review/#comments Fri, 04 May 2012 14:00:41 +0000 Kristen Elizabeth http://www.filmequals.com/?p=61321 All that stands between Eileen Cleary (Kathleen Turner) and the coveted prize of Catholic Woman of the Year is her philandering son (Jason Ritter), her ex-alcoholic husband (Michael McGrady), and her gay daughter (Emily Deschanel) in The Perfect Family, a new movie by first-time director Anne Renton. This very timely film explores the ideology of a woman who is so desperate for absolution that she’s [...]]]> http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/04/the-perfect-family-movie-review/feed/ 0 http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/03/the-avengers-movie-review-one-massive-superhero-extravaganza/ http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/03/the-avengers-movie-review-one-massive-superhero-extravaganza/#comments Thu, 03 May 2012 19:19:34 +0000 Sandrine Sahakians http://www.filmequals.com/?p=61377 At this point you’ve probably already made your mind up about seeing The Avengers and all I can say is that it’s definitely worth the trip. The Avengers is not only one of the most anticipated movies of the summer, it’s also the biggest superhero movie ever made given the fact that it features so many of them. I should preface this review by saying [...]]]> http://www.filmequals.com/2012/05/03/the-avengers-movie-review-one-massive-superhero-extravaganza/feed/ 0 http://www.filmequals.com/2012/04/28/the-raven-movie-review-a-fictionalized-flop/ http://www.filmequals.com/2012/04/28/the-raven-movie-review-a-fictionalized-flop/#comments Sun, 29 Apr 2012 00:35:19 +0000 Jordan Magrath http://www.filmequals.com/?p=61263 It’s always a risky move to put your own fictionalized spin on something true. With every success there are bound to be failures. In the case of James McTeigue’s historical-fiction thriller The Raven, failure prevails over success. Yes, there are aspects of the film that work, but the whole is a sum of its parts. In this case, the parts are more contrived than well-conceived, [...]]]> http://www.filmequals.com/2012/04/28/the-raven-movie-review-a-fictionalized-flop/feed/ 0 http://www.filmequals.com/2012/04/28/the-five-year-engagement-movie-review-a-funny-but-messy-romance/ http://www.filmequals.com/2012/04/28/the-five-year-engagement-movie-review-a-funny-but-messy-romance/#comments Sat, 28 Apr 2012 21:35:57 +0000 Jordan Magrath http://www.filmequals.com/?p=61250 Once in awhile, the stars align – from production to casting to marketing – to make a comedy that appears to have everything. You don’t have to research modern comedy to know there is a man behind most of these films – Judd Apatow. However, The Five-Year Engagement is proof that a lovable cast and funny premise doesn’t automatically make a film anything special. There [...]]]> http://www.filmequals.com/2012/04/28/the-five-year-engagement-movie-review-a-funny-but-messy-romance/feed/ 0 http://www.filmequals.com/2012/04/27/headhunters-movie-review-a-thrilling-ride/ http://www.filmequals.com/2012/04/27/headhunters-movie-review-a-thrilling-ride/#comments Fri, 27 Apr 2012 21:14:22 +0000 Sandrine Sahakians http://www.filmequals.com/?p=61229 Headhunters is a Norwegian action thriller film that will leave you on the edge of your seat for most of its duration. The film tells the story of Roger (Aksel Hennie), Norway’s most successful corporate headhunter, who despite seemingly having everything, including a beautiful model-looking wife Diana and a spectacular villa, also happens to be a very skilled art thief. While Roger has never been [...]]]> http://www.filmequals.com/2012/04/27/headhunters-movie-review-a-thrilling-ride/feed/ 0 http://www.filmequals.com/2012/04/27/sound-of-my-voice-movie-review-who-is-maggie/ http://www.filmequals.com/2012/04/27/sound-of-my-voice-movie-review-who-is-maggie/#comments Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:27:46 +0000 Sandrine Sahakians http://www.filmequals.com/?p=61223 When I saw the first 12 minutes of Sound of My Voice (wisely released early on by FOX Searchlight) I couldn’t wait to see the whole film. And the fact that Brit Marling (who also wrote and starred in one of my all time favorite films, Another Earth) wrote and starred in the film didn’t hurt either. Sound of My Voice tells the story of [...]]]> http://www.filmequals.com/2012/04/27/sound-of-my-voice-movie-review-who-is-maggie/feed/ 0 http://www.filmequals.com/2012/04/27/heres-bernie-the-nicest-murderer-you-could-ever-hope-to-meet/ http://www.filmequals.com/2012/04/27/heres-bernie-the-nicest-murderer-you-could-ever-hope-to-meet/#comments Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:03:42 +0000 Kristen Elizabeth http://www.filmequals.com/?p=61117 Director Richard Linklater is well known for his dark comedies set in small, Texas towns (Dazed and Confused being the most famous so far), but in putting a spotlight on the true story of Bernie Tiede, the nicest murderer you could ever hope to meet, he didn’t just cast a lot of Hollywood talent to bring the small community of Carthage to life. He cast [...]]]> http://www.filmequals.com/2012/04/27/heres-bernie-the-nicest-murderer-you-could-ever-hope-to-meet/feed/ 0