TV Review: Houdini (2014)

by Tony Dayoub

Houdini begins with master escape artist Harry Houdini (Adrien Brody) in chains, plunging into a frozen river from St. Louis's Eads Bridge. It's a representative flashpoint the miniseries will go back to at the end of its first half and at the start of its second. In between, Uli Edel's miniseries scrutinizes the enigmatic Houdini's personal life more than previous projects. Using the framework of a relatively obscure book, Houdini: A Mind in Chains - A Psychoanalytic Portrait, it tries to explain some of what actually motivated the man.

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Movie Review: The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

by Tony Dayoub

Unless you're one of the multitude of Wes Anderson detractors—I lump these in with critics of directors like Tim Burton, the Coens and other filmmakers who mistake their unique, oddball aesthetics, clarity of vision, and consistency for laziness and a failure to evolve—then you probably subscribe to the idea that there are no bad Anderson films, just lesser ones. (This was sort of my answer to a recent poll inquiring about the best/worst Anderson films.) In fact, though I'm partial to The Royal Tenenbaums myself, The Grand Budapest Hotel might possibly be even better than that. It will take some time to fully grasp whether that's really the case or not. But it's really an argument of degrees, isn't it? This is to say that The Grand Budapest Hotel is a refinement of what Wes Anderson has always focused on in his films.

Movie Review: Predators (2010)

by Tony Dayoub

Midway through the Robert Rodriguez-produced Predators, when we meet Laurence Fishburne's shell-shocked Noland, an Air Cav relic who's managed to survive through seven, no, make that ten hunting seasons in the alien game preserve Adrien Brody's group of cutthroats now find themselves in, that's when I knew I could trust director Nimrod Antal (Armored) to steer this popcorn movie to a satisfying conclusion. Looking as bloated and vacant as Colonel Kurtz did in his earlier film, Apocalypse Now (1979), Fishburne borrows some of Brando's emotional baggage to tell us volumes about Noland in the short space of time he is allowed to bring his pivotal cameo to life. Antal underscores the references in this scene as if to concede that yes, he could cite other, better-known movies with the proper potency if he chooses. But he lingers in this mode only long enough to prove it's not what he's after.

Movie Review: Splice

by Tony Dayoub

Colin (Adrien Brody) and Elsa (Sarah Polley) are new parents. Both workaholics run into the typical problems most couples do when first embarking on a trip into the world of child rearing: fatigue; frustration; ambivalence about whether they're equipped to handle the responsibility; emotional disruption of their own relationship. The unexpected conception of their baby only exarcebates these feelings, leading to tension since Colin has always been the one pushing Elsa to have a child. He later discovers Elsa's reluctance is reasonable, stemming from a fear she might follow in the footsteps of her own mentally unstable mother. Which explains why Elsa is prone not only to take refuge in their work together as superstars in the world of genetic engineering, but lapse into her 'all business' scientist persona at times of stress.

Oh, did I mention their "child," Dren (Delphine Chanéac), is a hybridized clone derived from animal and human genetic splicing?

Movie Trailer: The Brothers Bloom

by Tony Dayoub



Here's the trailer for a film from the director of Brick, Rian Johnson. The Brothers Bloom is scheduled to open on October 24th.


It stars Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener), Adrien Brody (The Pianist), Mark Ruffalo (Zodiac), and Rinko Kikuchi (Babel).

The story is about two brothers, con-men, who decide to bilk an heiress. But they didn't count on her addiction to the illicit thrills she witnesses, or the attraction developing between one brother and their mark.

Click on the picture below for a look at the trailer, and let me know what you think.