“Grab life by the Ball.” That’s the tagline for “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story,” and it pretty much says it all. With eccentric comedic performers like Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller and Rip Torn, this low-brow affair should have contained enough offbeat moments to elevate itself from the mucky muck of dick-and-fart-joke movies. Instead, the movie […]
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“Spider-Man 2” is the kind of mainstream blockbuster film that Hollywood wishes it could make every time they invest over $100 million. Sam Raimi (“Evil Dead 2,” “The Quick and the Dead”) has always been known for delivering a knockout visual flair to his movies, so it’s no surprise that “Spider-Man 2” features not only […]
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Following the release of his incendiary new movie “Fahrenheit 9/11” this past weekend, Oscar-winning filmmaker and best-selling author Michael Moore has recieved both glowing reviews and angry, heated criticism. In a country where the actions of our President have sharply divided the nation, a movie that takes one side of the argument in such a […]
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Vin Diesel is back, four years after originating the role that made him an up-and-coming action hero. He plays Riddick; a loner, Dottie, a rebel. He’s a simple man, like Pee-Wee Herman, who is not concerned with getting the girl. But, unlike Pee-Wee, poor Riddick doesn’t even have a bicycle for companionship. This movie’s predecessor, […]
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It isn’t very often that a movie physically affects how I feel while watching it. During the last half hour of “Titanic,” I started shivering because I got so cold. While watching Gaspar Noe’s shocking “I Stand Alone,” my stomach was knotted in anticipation of whatever horrible scene was coming next. During director/star Morgan Spurlock’s […]
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SETTING: NEARLY EMPTY COMEDY CLUB, ONE GRIZZLED STAND-UP VETERAN ON STAGE “Airlines are so tight-assed these days. What would it be like if a black man ran his own airline? That’s what I’d like to see. They wouldn’t be serving you salted nuts, that’s for sure. It’d be more like: “Here’s your bucket of fried […]
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Stephen Sommers has discovered a formula that works. In 1999, he wrote and directed an updated and seriously re-vamped version of Universal Studios’ 1932 horror classic “The Mummy.” It opened to huge box office, and was one of the biggest movies that summer. His knack for lots of CGI special effects and campy dialogue was […]
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Last week I blasted the crowd-pleasing hit movie “13 Going on 30” for being little more than a remake of “Big.” As luck would have it, this week we have another derivative teen-lesson movie. The difference between the two, however, is alarming. While “13 Going on 30” offers no insight or new ideas, “Mean Girls” […]
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The following transcription is taken from a conversation that took place in my friend Cameron’s van last night, after driving back from the screening of “Envy.” Cameron: What a waste. I thought any movie with Jack Black and Ben Stiller just had to be hilarious! Eric: The first scene in the movie, where they were […]
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Back in 1988, Tom Hanks was mainly known for silly lowbrow comedies like “Bachelor Party” and “Dragnet.” His first starring role was in 1984’s “Splash,” director Ron Howard’s mermaid-out-of-water tale. It was a successful crossover into mainstream comedy. But that movie’s success hadn’t really been attributed to him. Then came “Big.” Penny Marshall directed Hanks […]
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“Don’t let your memories kill you.” “They won’t kill me.” But this ridiculously inconsistent revenge flick may. Although it is masquerading as a trashy ‘80s Schwarzenegger action flick, “The Punisher” is actually the newest Marvel comic book character brought to Hollywood’s big screen. “The Punisher” is like Mel Gibson’s “Payback,” but not nearly as much […]
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My friend Megan tells me that the rated-R teen formula comedy I saw tonight, “The Girl Next Door,” is being billed in TV ads as the movie for “the next generation.” Apparently, that could be more clearly defined as “the generation that grew up with porn in mainstream culture.” When I was in junior high, […]
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“I want to welcome you all to tonight’s advance screening of ‘Standing Tall’ with the Rock.” That’s how the Hot Jamz 103 disc jockey introduced the new underdog action caper featuring Dwayne Johnson, known to wrestling fans as the Rock, last Tuesday night at the movie theater. It was an early omen, telling me that […]
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Ron Perlman is an odd-looking fellow. He’s the guy the with the long face and forceful jaw you might have seen in movies like “City of Lost Children” or “Blade II.” He was the Beast on TV’s “Beauty and the Beast.” Perlman is the kind of character actor who doesn’t ever get the chance to […]
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O Brother, what do we have here? “The Ladykillers” is the latest broad comedy from quirky filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen. Following “The Big Lebowski,” “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”, and “Intolerable Cruelty,” it’s also the fourth comedy in a row from the Coens (“The Man Who Wasn’t There” being NOT a comedy) that should […]
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