I’ve never made any bones about not liking the original Ghostbusters. While many of my generation have proclaimed it a comedy classic, I always saw it as a lumbering movie that was hijacked by Bill Murray, who left his co-stars with nothing to do but pick up the pieces in his wake. It’s too bad that […]
Chuck Koplinski
Writing for Illinois Times since 1998, Chuck Koplinski is a member of the Critic's Choice Association, the Chicago Film Critics Association and a contributor to Rotten Tomatoes. He appears on WCIA-TV twice a week to review current releases and, no matter what anyone says, thinks Tom Cruise's version of The Mummy is a woefully underrated film.
Posted inArts & Culture
Lights Out a fun frightshow
In order for a horror film to work, it’s required that at certain points, its characters act … without thinking? I don’t want to use the word “stupid,” as I surely don’t know how I would behave if a horde of flesh-eating zombies were bearing down on me and I realize I just happened to […]
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Infiltrator not invasive enough
Bryan Cranston as Robert Mazur in The Infiltrator. PHOTO COURTESY BROAD GREEN PICTURES Has the increase in quality television affected the way we (or maybe it’s just me) watch films? For the last decade, many convincing arguments have been put forth that what with the coming of sprawling, multi-part, continuous series (The Sopranos, Game of […]
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“Pets” Could Use Some Discipline
Much like a puppy you bring into your home, there are things to like about The Secret Life of Pets and some…well, not so much. Yep, it’s cute, charming and fun for a little while but then it runs away with itself and makes a bit of a mess, one that could have been avoided […]
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Swiss Army Man: A multi-purpose disaster
Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe in Swiss Army Man. I’ve seen some very bad movies lately, but Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s Swiss Army Man is by far the worst of the year, a film so misguided, confused and insulting that I sat slack-jawed over what I was witnessing. While I’m sure the movie was […]
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Timely “Purge” A Pointed Reflection of Our Times
There’s always been an obvious social/political subtext in James DeMonaco’s Purge films. Regrettably, our country has come to the edge of enacting the sort of severe class politics these movies revolve around. No, it hasn’t gotten to the point where citizens are allowed to kill and maim whomever they wish for a 12 hour period […]
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“BFG” An Empty Exercise
Box office pundits spent a great deal of time wondering this week why Steven Spielberg’s The BFG tanked during its opening weekend at the box office. (For the record, it brought in $19 million against a $140 million investment) The only thing I can figure is that they hadn’t seen the film because it’s quite […]
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“Shallows” Dead in the Water
Some films are half-baked from the start and never get around to fully developing what could be a worthy premise. Jaume Collet-Serra’s The Shallows certainly falls in that category as it leaves the audience, as well as its main character, stranded with no where to go. Nancy (Blake Lively) is the damsel-in-distress as she sets […]
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“Resurgence” A Bloated Piece of Nothing
As far as I know, there was no great demand for a sequel to “Independence Day” and what with the many financial successes in his past, I can’t imagine that its director Roland Emmerich is in need of money. Which leaves me asking, “Why was “Independence Day: Resurgence” made?” It’s likely that you’ll be asking […]
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Yates’ Tarzan a rousing, moving success
Alexander Skarsgard as Tarzan in The Legend of Tarzan. PHOTO COURTESY Warner Bros. Legendary film producer Darryl Zanuck once said, “The secret to success in Hollywood is giving the public what it wants before it knows it wants it.” In the spirit of that statement and in an effort to keep you ahead of the […]
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Johnson, Hart generate vital chemistry in Intelligence
Kevin Hart as Calvin Joyner and The Rock as Bob Stone in Central Intelligence. One of the most surprising developments in American popular film over the last decade is the emergence of Dwayne Johnson as a major star. Using his popularity in the WWE as a foundation – and successfully putting it behind him, as […]
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Magical Dory helps us find ourselves
Dory voiced by Ellen DeGeneres in Finding Dory. There’s no question that Pixar Animation radically changed the way big-screen cartoons were created, as well as what audiences should expect from them. These brightly told morality tales weren’t just for kids, as they spoke to concerns that touched upon not only childhood issues and trauma but […]
