redrobinfilmreviews

Everything is Illuminated
Quirky, and eventually deeply moving film of Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel. Good acting, and adequate directing by Liev Schreiber. I was deeply saddened by the details, often repeated under the Nazis, of the slaughter of Trachimbrod, and touched by the ongoing need to collect the artifacts of people’s lives. Not a dry eye in the house. Thanks to Josh for giving it to me. **

Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Third film in this series of popular but cinematically lousy movies based on the kids’ toys that my son, like many others his age, played with. This one at least has a narrative that, for the most part, holds together and makes some sense. And the FX are well designed and executed enough to be compelling for a change, though they are derivative of recent movies such as Battle Los Angeles. But Michael Bay is an embarrassingly jingoistic hack, and the overly emotional appeal to patriotism and veneration of the military are the worst of many bad elements of these movies. **