2010s / Comedy / Family / Fantasy
by Vincent Leo · Published December 24, 2014 · Last modified July 13, 2018
From the appearance of the terrible pratfall-filled trailer, Paddington would appear like one of those anthropomorphic misfires in the vein of Kangaroo Jack or Yogi Bear. The film had some dubious press in the late days of its production...
2000s / Action / Adventure / Science Fiction
by Vincent Leo · Published May 24, 2008 · Last modified February 3, 2019
Almost a relic worthy of putting into a museum himself, Indiana Jones (Ford, Firewall) comes back after nearly 20 years to the big screen in this just-for-fun adventure to please the fans and, of course, score...
by Vincent Leo · Published July 26, 2007 · Last modified February 12, 2019
It’s the 1920s, the Jazz Age in New York. Struggling intellectual playwright David Shayne (Cusack, The Grifters) finally has the chance to earn his first Broadway production, but to have the finances to see his dream...
Writer-director Christopher Nielsen must think that the three “D”s in “3D animation” must stand for Dreary, Disenchanting and Disgusting. The first Norwegian film to be completely animated by computer graphics, and one of their...
by Vincent Leo · Published February 24, 2007 · Last modified August 24, 2018
A distinctly British rural murder mystery flick if injected with a Hollywood action extravaganza mentality, this is one semi-parody of bad thrillers that takes its main joke too far. Hot Fuzz might meet the entertainment quotient...
2000s / Adventure / Family / Fantasy
by Vincent Leo · Published December 11, 2005 · Last modified June 12, 2019
Sometimes gorgeously realized, this first chapter in a proposed seven-film series, based on their appropriate counterparts in novel form by C.S. Lewis, still falls short in the narrative and dialogue. With fantasy films raking...
There is a reason why romantic comedies, even the most successful ones, don’t usually have sequels. Usually, this is because it’s hard to recreate magic twice, particularly when the culmination of a man and...
2000s / Action / Adventure / Comedy
by Vincent Leo · Published June 18, 2004 · Last modified May 10, 2019
Very loosely based on the classic Jules Verne novel, and made into a movie more than once already (most notably in 1956 with David Niven), Around the World in 80 Days is an old-fashioned adventure in...
Although Scorsese’s epic is full of symbolism and artistic flourishes which give the overall production an artificial feel, I suspect his vision of the America of yesteryear is perhaps a more accurate representation of...
by Vincent Leo · Published February 18, 2002 · Last modified March 20, 2019
Sometimes it takes a first-time director to breathe new life into what might otherwise be a run-of-the-mill romantic comedy. Such is the case with the refreshing comedy Bridget Jones’s Diary, thanks in large part to...
Reviews from film writer Vince Leo, covering all eras and genres of films from classics to the latest releases.
Film reviews from Vince Leo, from classics to new releases, since 1996.
