Friday, June 22, 2012

Read This Week's New Movie Reviews - "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," "Lola Versus," and "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World"


It's time for the weekend, and as such, I have a whole slew of new movie reviews for your reading pleasure over at We Got This Covered, and a handy set of links to help you find them:

First is Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World, "an apocalyptic character study framed through the philosophical lens of absurdism." This is a movie I really and truly love. It features tremendous performances by Steve Carell and Keira Knightley, one of the best scripts of the year, and major emotional moments to spare. As I say in the review: "I love this film, and I do not use the word 'love' lightly. As someone who watches countless movies each year, it is a rare critical emotion I only sense when I truly feel it, and I am ecstatic when I do. 2012 has been a wonderful year for movies, but "Seeking ... " stands at the top as one of my favorite films of the year." Check out the full review at We Got This Covered.

Next is Lola Versus, a quirky indie comedy about a bunch of incredibly, insufferably, unbelievably dumb characters. As I say in the review: "The fragmented title "Lola Versus" practically invites snarky writers like me to complete the phrase with a summation of our criticisms. Indeed, the longer title "Lola Versus the Writing" popped into my head about halfway through the film, because while the main character struggles with love, sex, friendship, herself, and more, her fiercest antagonist is undoubtedly the horrendous script she’s been saddled with. A script that, by the end of the film, made me loath Lola and every single person in her frustrating mess of a life." Check out the full review at We Got This Covered.

Finally, there's Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, a film that quickly squanders its promisingly silly premise with an incredibly dark and serious tone. The problem? "...It simply isn’t possible to take this story seriously, and as a result, the entire movie comes across as awkwardly self-important and, at times, tone-deaf. It’s the film simplest and most obvious mistake, but it’s such an overarching, omnipresent one that it brings down every other aspect of the film." Check out the full review at We Got This Covered.

That's it this week! Check back to www.jonathanlack.com tomorrow for my official review of Pixar's Brave, and kill some time listening to the second episode of WGTC Radio while you're at it! Good times will be had by all! 

2 comments:

  1. Okay, Jonathon, where did "Springsteen Sundays" go? About a week ago I was googling something about "Wrecking Ball" and it lead me to your site and your beautiful song by song analysis. I was blown away and have now poured through (almost) everything under the Springsteen label on your blog. [I still have the most recent couple of posts to read.]

    I have loved every minute of it. Maybe it's partly because I know very few people close to my age (I'm in my mid twenties) besides my husband that adore The Boss the way I do. Or maybe it's just that your analysis was so well thought and, in my opinion, spot on.

    All that to say, I want MORE. Please don't stop with the SS feature indefinitely.

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  2. Thanks Sarah! I love writing Springsteen Sundays, and I do plan on bringing it back. I had to put it on hold because I was recently hired as Associate Editor of a large entertainment website, "We Got This Covered." the transition has made me very busy, and I had to put the column on hold. But I think it will be back, and maybe at the new website. Just keep posted to jonathanlack.com or follow me on Twitter @JonathanLack, and I'll announce when the column is returning in the coming weeks.

    Thanks again!

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