About Ealasaid

Ealasaid is a technical writer, freelance movie reviewer, bookbinder, and geek-of-many-trades based in Portland, OR.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Peter Jackson continues his epic prequel trilogy with the new film “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.” As in the previous installment, “An Unexpected Journey,” the story found in the book “The Hobbit” is used as a framework, and events alluded to but not described there are filled in using the author’s other works. Unfortunately, as he did in his “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, Jackson has given us a second installment with a number of things he and his partners made up rather than sticking to the source material. There’s still a lot to love, but Tolkien purists may well be better off staying home.

Oldboy

Oldboy

Directed by: Spike Lee Starring: Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen, Sharlto Copley, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Imperioli Rated: R for strong brutal violence, disturbing images, some graphic sexuality and nudity, and language “Oldboy” is Spike Lee’s first major film in some time, and it’s an interesting choice. It’s a remake of a Korean thriller (“Oldboy,” starring Min-sik Choi), which was loosely based upon a Japanese comic book. It’s full of graphic violence but contains no guns. The story was already convoluted, and the changes Lee has made result is a film that which displays consummate craft and skill, but whose underpinnings are so inconsistent and surreal that it’s hard to say whether it’s good or bad. The story follows an ordinary fellow, Joe Doucette (Josh Brolin), who is kidnapped, held in a hotel room for twenty years, and then mysteriously released. The man who orchestrated the ordeal demands that Joe discover his captor’s identity and the

Read More

Thor: The Dark World

Thor: The Dark World

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (which is distinct from but resonates with the comics) finished its first phase with “The Avengers,” and phase two is on its way with “Iron Man 3” and now “Thor: The Dark World.” Marvel is crafting this franchise of films so that they all interlock with each other in various ways, and it works. You don’t have to have seen every single other Marvel film to enjoy them individually, but they are much richer when seen as a whole.

Last Vegas

Last Vegas

Movies about older people are becoming more and more common as a certain population segment finds themselves aging. “Last Vegas” is the latest of this genre, a blend of jokes about aging and mild introspection about how older people should live. Like others before it, it has a fabulous cast and some good dialog, and succeeds at what it sets out to do. It’s not “Citizen Kane,” but it’s not trying to be. This is a movie to see if you want some laughs and don’t mind if the comedy is a bit broad at times.

The Counselor

The Counselor

There is a very small group of films which I think are brilliant but never particularly want to see again. “The Counselor” is in that group. It’s not a flawless film, but the performances and dialog are incredible, and while it’s a cautionary tale at heart, it’s never preachy. It’s also one of the best portrayals of someone completely and utterly ruining his own and several other people’s lives I have ever seen.

Carrie

Carrie

The 1976 adaptation of Stephen King’s novel “Carrie” is well known enough that a remake seems unnecessary. Director Kimberly Peirce (“Boys Don’t Cry”) proves that wrong, modernizing the setting, highlighting the modern tropes in the story, and drawing fantastic performances out of her cast. She also drenches it with a bleak, heartbreaking horror. With the focus on bullying in recent years, “Carrie” is a very timely film, but also one not for the faint of heart.

Don Jon

Don Jon

Joseph Gordon-Levitt already has a well-earned reputation for being a top-notch actor. With this feature, he makes a strong directorial debut and proves he’s a top-notch writer as well. “Don Jon” is a coming-of-age story disguised as an unconventional romantic comedy heavily sprinkled with commentary on the attitudes our society has toward young women.

Riddick

Riddick

The “Chronicles of Riddick” franchise (which began with the fabulous B-movie scifi/horror flick “Pitch Black” in 2000) has grown to include two movies, a direct-to-DVD animated feature, and two video games. Now, another installment on film has come out, this time titled simply “Riddick.” Rather than following the previous film (“The Chronicles of Riddick”) and focusing on interstellar politics and opulence, series creator David Twohy has wisely returned to the formula that made the first film so good: a bunch of people who don’t necessarily get along forced to work together to survive a mass assault by freaky-looking monsters. In the vein of all great sequels, “Riddick” is more of the same, but different.

The World’s End

The World’s End

Directed by: Edgar Wright Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, Eddy Marsan, Rated: R for pervasive language including sexual references. Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright have brought us a pair of films that manage to be several things at once: “Shaun of the Dead” was a romantic comedy, a zombie movie, and a coming-of-age flick; “Hot Fuzz” was a buddy cop movie, a conspiracy thriller, and a tale about finding a place you belong where you least expect it. They continue this pattern with what they’re calling the third installment in “The Cornetto Trilogy,” “The World’s End.” It’s a sci-fi thriller, a story about the difficulty of becoming an adult, and a look at the importance of friendship. Back in high school, Gary King (Simon Pegg) and his friends were an inseparable group. After graduation, they attempted a legendary pub crawl in their tiny hometown, The Golden Mile: twelve pubs, have at

Read More

Kick-Ass 2

Kick-Ass 2

“Kick-Ass 2,” the follow up to 2010’s “Kick-Ass”, seems unsure of what exactly it wants to be. The first film was an (admittedly very, very violent) exploration of what happens when ordinary people try to be superheroes, and the psychological toll that takes on ordinary kids. The sequel seems to be trying to continue that theme (and the violence) but also examine identity, compare the trials of adolescence to the trials of fighting crooks, the importance of genuine friendship, and throw in a little slapstick, juvenile humor for good measure. It’s kind of a mess, and how much you like it (or indeed, whether you like it at all) will depend heavily on your tolerance for incoherence and whether any of the elements included are dealbreakers.