2013 was such an amazing year for movies that 2014 felt anticlimactic by comparison before it even started. Back in the spring, I kept looking at calendars of upcoming releases and noting, “This is an unusually front-loaded summer. Everything I’ve been waiting for is coming out in May. Hardly any …
Runtime: 2 hours, 46 minutes Rating: R Director: Richard Linklater Quick Impressions: Boyhood is generating a lot of buzz, and of course, the biggest talking point is that Richard Linklater filmed it using the same cast over a period of almost twelve years. Such a huge risk seems destined to end …
Runtime: 2 hours, 7 minutes Rating: R Director: Joon-Ho Bong Quick Impressions: I’ve been hearing good things about Snowpiercer for months and planned to see it back in July, but then my own life got unexpectedly derailed. (See what I did there? That’s a little train humor for you. Not very funny, …
Runtime: 1 hour, 41 minutes Rating: PG-13 Director: Jonathan Liebesman Quick Impressions: I grew up watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I remember when the first movie came out, the excitement over Corey Feldman voicing Donatello, and the popularity of the infectious “Turtle Power” rap. (Random snatches of it still pop into …
Runtime: 1 hour, 28 minutes Rating: R Director: Luc Besson Quick Impressions: Luc Besson really loves magical women in peril—and who can blame him? At this point in my life, I know exactly what to expect from Luc Besson, and he always delivers it, so I have no complaints. I’ve …
Runtime: 1 hour, 23 minutes Rating: PG Director: Roberts Gannaway Quick Impressions: I’m not a huge fan of Cars (though I liked it way better than Happy Feet, and I’m always up for a spin around Cars Land). I never even made an attempt to see the first Planes. And I’m sure I could …
Runtime: 2 hours, 1 minute Rating: PG-13 Director: James Gunn Quick Impressions: At our house, July brought stress galore and constant adjusting and readjusting of expectations. My husband, kids, and I are now looking forward to taking our postponed trip to Disneyland at last, but to be honest, I feel …
Runtime: 2 hours, 10 minutes Rating: PG-13 Director: Matt Reeves Quick Impressions: This has been a crazy week for us. My father’s in the hospital awaiting a liver transplant and has been at the brink of death several times since last Thursday, and my husband just had his wisdom teeth …
Runtime: 1 hour, 29 minutes Rating: PG Director: Dave Green Quick Impressions: Originally, we’d planned to skip Earth to Echo because we were supposed to be driving to California this weekend. My husband and I celebrate our seventh anniversary Monday, the day we were supposed to arrive in Disneyland. But then his …
Runtime: 2 hours, 45 minutes Rating: PG-13 Director: Michael Bay Quick Impressions: At the very end of the movie, Optimus Prime intones sonorously, “I’m coming for you.” Immediately my daughter turned to me and asked, “Yes, but who is you?” “That’s a very good question,” I said. Shaking her head, she …
