Blogcritics Author: Todd Ford

Movie Review: A Plumm Summer

Todd Ford — Mon, 5 May 2008 02:50:19 EDT

Okay, forget about the silly plot. Chris Kelly and Morgan Flynn are magically convincing together.
The making of films always intrigues me by its complexity. Many thousands of decisions have to be made and so many obstacles have to be overcome that I’m amazed so many films get finished at all. The makers of A Plumm Summer take quite a few missteps. But, when the credits started rolling, I was overcome by a feeling of satisfaction. What it...

DVD Review: By Brakhage - An Anthology

Todd Ford — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:31:06 EDT

...we�re born, we have sex, we have children, we die...
If you search Google on the terms “birth sex death god,” you get 363,000 hits (as of my latest attempt) and adding the unlikely term “Brakhage” to that list returns a still whopping 1,030. Stan Brakhage made 373 films during his life, most very short, all very experimental, and one can certainly describe his body of work as...

Movie Review: To Kill a Mockingbird

Todd Ford — Mon, 7 Apr 2008 09:37:11 EDT

Children have a way of seeing the horrors of the world through both ends of a telescope...
Three children approach a dark, shadowy, mysterious house. It is encased as if by fog in the legend of Boo Radley, the son of the meanest man ever to draw a breath, a young man who spends his days chained to his bed only to venture out at night to spy upon children as they sleep. The three children sneak around back. They slip under a wire fence...

Movie Review: Southland Tales

Todd Ford — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 13:54:33 EDT

The world won�t end with a whimper, it will end with a bang.
“I'm a pimp... and pimps don't commit suicide.” – Boxer SantarosRichard Kelly’s Southland Tales messes with your mind – I’m sad to say. I love a movie that puzzles and baffles like when David Lynch pulls the rug out from beneath your feet (Lost Highway) or from beneath the entire living room (Mulholland...

Movie Review: Fido

Todd Ford — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 17:11:23 EDT

...a story about people developing loving, caring relationships � never mind that in each case one person is no longer living...
I’ve always thought the ideal zombie movie would depict a world where zombies had found their natural place and things had returned to normal. I always pictured this as a world where all that remains is zombies, hard at work – or more likely staggering about – trying to build a new post-human society. You know, something like we...

Movie Review: Enchanted

Todd Ford — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 19:16:45 EDT

Can a storybook view of romance survive in the real world?
Disney’s Enchanted goes down very easily. It is one of those movies that the whole family can stretch out all about the family-room floor after a huge meal of ham and turkey and enjoy without worrying about being frightened or made to blush uncomfortably. It’s a perfect holiday movie which is how I just experienced it. Unfortunately,...

Movie Review: Redacted

Todd Ford — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 21:46:10 EDT

Based on the true story of a teenage Iraqi girl who was raped, killed, and burned by American soldiers...
“…a loathsome, crude, amateurish and grotesque assault on our troops in Iraq … a wretched, irresponsible film that richly deserves the public rejection it will, inevitably, receive.” – Micheal Medved“…De Palma admits he made the film to hurt the Iraq war effort ... [De Palma is a] vile man and [Redacted...

Movie Review: My Kid Could Paint That

Todd Ford — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 09:36:00 EDT

A documentary about a little artist named Marla versus the world of modern art.
My Kid Could Paint That is a terrific film. It examines a multitude of subjects ranging from the nature of modern art to how hard a child should be pushed toward greatness to the relationship between a documentary film and the truth. And all of this breezily realized thanks to the screen presence of a very cute little girl named Marla.Marla...

Movie Review: The Fountain

Todd Ford — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 09:48:41 EDT

Aronofsky's The Fountain will capture your imagination and send your head spinning.
Rarely does a movie come along that captures my imagination and instantly vaults onto my list of all-time favorites. It has happened twice in recent years with Spielberg’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence and Kim’s Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter … and Spring -- both sent my mind spinning. It happened again in 2006 with The...