Recent Articles from Dave Taylor
Dave on film: “Breathless” leaves you gasping
An amazing film that defines the 60’s French New Wave movement in cinema, Breathless tells the story of Patricia Franchini (Jean Seberg), a beautiful, naive American girl sent to Paris to study journalism who falls for the thuggish, cynical Michel Poiccard (Jean-Paul Belmondo). This film, directed by the great Jean-Luc Goddard, is about style, about […]
Dave on film: a daft “Mechanic”
Review: The Mechanic There’s a certain suspension of disbelief required for all cinema, an acceptance that what we’re seeing on screen is “reality” rather than a bunch of actors, lighting specialists, sound techs, set builders, cinematographers and a director all collaborating to tell a compelling story. With some genres of film, there’s a second level […]
Dave on film: the year’s best and worst
It’s inevitable that we’re not going to agree on which films were the best and which were the worst of the year. As a critic, I’m used to it, used to walking out of a theater shaking my head at what a banal, insipid film I just wasted two hours of my life watching, while […]
Dave on film: Look for Jolie and Johnny on DVD
It’s a Hollywood adage that star power isn’t enough to rescue a daft film, but The Tourist almost proves it wrong, with a beautiful Angelina Jolie outshining a dull, humorless Johnny Depp… Review: The Tourist Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie! Is there anything else people needed to know about this movie to make The Tourist […]
Dave on film: “Black Swan” soars
Review: Black Swan Black Swan is a breathtaking, intense, horrifying and beautiful cinematic essay on obsession, maturity and the fine line between reality and fantasy, and it’s well worth seeing, regardless ofwhether you’re interested in ballet. Natalie Portman plays Nina Sayers, a dancer in a Manhattan-based ballet troupe who has mastered the technical requirements of ballet [&helli[...]
Dave on film: Harry Potter—the plot that plods
Prior to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt 1, one of the best things about the Harry Potter films was that they worked as standalone movies, entertaining, exciting and with stories that let Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) overcome challenges and mature as a courageous young man with a destiny. If you’d seen the previous films […]
Dave on film: “The Next Three Days” is one wild ride
Despite advertising to the contrary, The Next Three Days isn’t anywhere near as much about convicted murderer Lara Brennan (Elizabeth Banks) as it is about her obsessed husband John (Russell Crowe), who is convinced of her innocence and is willing to do anything – including break her out of jail – to restore their idyllic […]
Dave on film: a man trapped between a rock and a hard place
Colorado resident Aron Ralson is easily recognizable when you bump into him: he’s missing an arm that he had to sever after being trapped by a boulder during a mountaineering accident a few years ago. Astonishing, but is it the stuff of a great movie? In the hands of director Danny Boyle, 127 Hours certainly […]
Dave on film: “Unstoppable”—this film got derailed
A train going 70mph, full of dangerous chemicals, with no one driving? Exciting! Or is it? Read on for my lukewarm review of this new box-office hit starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine… Review: Unstoppable After directing films like Deja Vu, Spy Game, Enemy of the State and Crimson Tide, it’s clear that Tony Scott […]
Dave on film: “Conviction” is a crime
Review: Conviction Conviction should have been a good film: after her beloved ne’er-do-well brother is convicted of murder in a tiny hick town, it’s up to his devoted sister to exonerate him, first through the system and then by going to law school and becoming a one-client attorney. Better yet, it’s “based on a true […]
Dave on film: “The American” is like Clooney
Review: The American Clooney as an assassin? Sounds like the recipe for a slam-bang action film with a dollop of cool, but that’s not what director Anton Corbijn has created with the very European The American. With the plethora of mindless action films in the last few months, however, I really liked the slow, thoughtful […]
Dave on film: “The Town” worth a visit
Review: The Town The Town is built upon a cinematic cliché, the repentant criminal who finds it almost impossible to escape his surroundings, environment and peers. Fortunately, director Ben Affleck does a terrific job with the source material and has produced a gritty, exciting and satisfying crime film that ranks with the best of its […]