Check your brain at the door and be prepared to file Roland Emmerich’s White House Down firmly in the “guilty pleasure” file. The latest from the master of disaster is a gloriously realized piece of popcorn entertainment that revels – and at times wallows in – the ridiculousness of its premise. Sure, we’ve seen the […]
film and movie reviews
Posted inArts & Culture
Epic scope, intelligence save Z
Beset with an ending that had to be reshot over seven weeks at great expense, causing the release date to be pushed back, which only contributed to its already skyrocketing cost, World War Z has been plagued with no shortage of problems. Burdened with a budget somewhere between $170-200 million, the film has quickly gone […]
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End an effective, comedic look at the rapture
I would be willing to bet that movie studios dread it when a major star, whose films have generated big box office, approaches them with a vanity project. These are movies that are personal in nature and tend to have no superheroes, car chases or explosions in them, meaning they’re going to bomb at the […]
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Midnight a bracing look at the realities of love
Richard Linklater’s Before films are a special collection of movies that not only takes an unique look at romantic love but reminds us how engaging the fine art of conversation can be in capable hands. Before Sunrise (1995) introduced us to Jesse (Ethan Hawke), a young American tourist on a train to Vienna who meets […]
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Purge lacks the strength of its flimsy convictions
James DeMonaco’s The Purge hints – and I mean hints – that it might be a socially relevant film that imagines that today’s divide between the “Haves” and the “Have Nots” will develop into a blood sport in the near future. Its premise of Social Darwinism in action is an intriguing one and, in braver […]
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No Clark makes for cold Steel
One of the crucial aspects of superheroes is the notion of the secret identity, the physical and psychic split in the character that delineates the real person from the heroic persona. Whenever this narrative conceit is examined the conversation always turns to Superman and Batman. They were the first two of the modern superheroes, arguably […]
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Both Smiths end up marooned on Earth
Much has been written in the last week pertaining to how awful Will Smith’s After Earth is. It’s been referred to as the Battlefield Earth for a new generation, described as “cheesy,” “horrible” and “uneven” while one critic has stated that one of the main characters “has all the likability of an anal fissure.” (Yep, […]
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Internship surprises as sincere summer sleeper
Every summer season produces a sleeper, a film that comes out of nowhere and exceeds expectations. Shawn Levy’s The Internship is that movie for 2013. It succeeds in not only delivering some solid laughs but also manages to provide a pleasant romantic subplot. Equally important is its vital, timely message that should be embraced by […]
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Fitzgerald’s Gatsby survives Luhrmann’s grandiose approach
Director Baz Luhrmann is one of the more polemic filmmakers working today. While many praise his modern take on the Bard with his Romeo Juliet (1996) and his radical musical Moulin Rouge (2001), others are equally adamant that he’s a stylistic hack who lets his elaborate visuals and seizure-inducing editing-style suffocate his innovative narratives. I […]
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Home Run rife with errors
It really comes as no surprise that faith-based dramas have found a devoted following. Films such as Facing the Giants, Fireproof and Courageous answer a need with their life-affirming messages as the product from Hollywood seldom supplies such themes. I have no problem with the intent of these movies or those who embrace them. I […]
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Iron Man 3 a clunky debut for Marvel’s second phase
Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 has the unenviable task of following Joss Whedon’s widely entertaining The Avengers as the next Marvel Studios movie out of the chute. Too bad that Iron Man 3 gets the company’s second phase off to a bad start. Illogical, scattered and underdeveloped, the film plays like a rush job, littered […]
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Boyle’s Trance rewards the patient
How much you enjoy Danny Boyle’s Trance depends entirely on how much you like to be manipulated while watching a movie. And while it might be distracting to other viewers, they may end up thanking you if you were to bring pencil, paper and a penlight in order to make notes and keep track of […]
