Friday, September 17, 2010

EASY A (2010)


The Score: 9 out of 10

Emma Stone makes me laugh. She has a natural affability and charm that immediately endears me to all the characters she plays. But she also possesses a priceless sense of comedic timing that turns the most innocuous character moments into hilarious movie gold. And Emma has a lot of help in this film from a surprisingly strong list of supporting actors and from screenwriter Bert V. Royal, who pens a brilliant part for her in a great film opening today: Easy A.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

CATFISH (2010)


The Score: 5 out of 10

The marketing of Catfish (2010) is ridiculous: "Don't let anyone tell you what it is." You might be able to get away with that if you were Alfred Hitchcock at the height of his career when he released a similar marketing campaign for Psycho (1960). But the demand for complete secrecy for a documentary by unestablished filmmakers—regardless of its inventiveness—is simply hyperbolic marketing.