Recent films I have reviewed: War Horse and We Bought A Zoo

I’ve been on the all creatures great and small beat lately, which worked out well half the time. As for the other half. Well…

The Steven Spielberg-directed adaptation of War Horse is one of my favorite movies of the year, paying homage to classic Hollywood and old-fashioned humanism without being self-conscious about it while still being unmistakably the work of Spielberg. And it’s moving as hell. I love it so much I feel kind of protective about it, and have been a little disheartened by some of the more muted responses. See it. It’s great. 

I can’t say the same for Cameron Crowe’s We Bought A Zoo. I say that as a pretty big fan Crowe’s past work, which even at their most sentimental never strained this hard for effect. If you do go, consider making a drinking game of obviously paid-for references to Target and Home Depot. You will be drunk. Better yet, have another look at Vanilla Sky, Crowe’s most underrated film. Or reconsider Elizabethtown. It’s not as bad as they say! Really!

Finally, I didn’t review Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close but take on it lines up pretty well with Scott Tobias ”F” review. “Cloying” doesn’t begin to describe what director Steven Daldry is up to with this one. Please keep him away from national tragedies.