I really didn’t want to see this movie. (I don’t want to see “Chocolat” either, and since Miramax paid off the Academy, it’s now nominated for Best Picture. Which means I have to go. Don’t ask. It’s just a movie geek thing.) Anyway, I knew what was going to happen in “Cast Away.” Who didn’t? […]
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Before I go any further, I should let everyone know I’m a big fan of John Woo, the director. I loved “Hard Boiled,” “The Killer,” and “Face/Off.” “M:i2” is not as good as those flicks, but it still rocked. I like Woo movies because the conflict is always over honor and love. Big, grand themes, […]
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Have you ever gone to a comedy with a friend who kept saying “Oh, that would never happen!” or “That’s not funny, it’s just stupid”? If so, keep that friend far away from this one. My trusted friend Dave hated “Zoolander.” I, on the other hand, broke into fits of unrestrained, surprising giggles. This film […]
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I usually like rock n’roll movies, if for no other reason than the subject matter is close to me. Few movies get a real sensation of what it’s like to be in a band. “Almost Famous” did. This stereotypical piece of trash didn’t even come close. The first 45 minutes or so of “Rock Star” […]
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Nick Park does the inventive and very funny “Wallace & Gromit” short claymation films for the BBC. This is his first of hopefully many long-form features for Dreamworks Pictures. It is essentially a send-up of classic war prison break films like “The Great Escape” and “Stalag 17.” The claymation is amazing and the characters are […]
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Adapted from a steamy potboiler of a novel (its actual title, “Waltz Into Darkness,” is also a much cooler name) from acclaimed pulp novelist Cornell Woolerich, this movie could have been lurid, trashy fun. But the direction is too languid and the pace too slow to keep things interesting. Angelina Jolie is incredibly sexy, and […]
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If you liked “Mallrats,” but thought it could have been a bit funnier or better done, go see “JASBSB.” Director/writer Kevin Smith has drawn his five-part Jersey trilogy(?!) to a close with a hilarious, foul-mouthed, laugh-out-loud funny-ass flick. I’ve liked every single one of Smith’s movies. I think he writes some of the wittiest, side-splitting […]
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Here’s an early Oscar prediction. Tilda Swinton will be up for Best Actress next March for this wonderfully tense and original thriller. I don’t want to give anything away, but let’s just say this doesn’t follow the normal plot of most murder stories. “The Deep End” continues to involve you further and further as Swinton […]
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Well, the first one kinda sucked, but everyone else I was with wanted to go, so there I was…. You know, it was a little better than the original, which I didn’t like either. Maybe it was the set-up of the “American Pie” that I disliked so much. This one doesn’t make much more sense, […]
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This is a very well done old-fashioned ghost story, and I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Nicole Kidman is very convincing, and I thought I had the story figured out a couple of times, but it kept throwing me off the trail. Without ruining it for you, I’ll tell you this […]
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This one Jodi and I had to drive to Kansas City for, and it was totally worth it. We had seen the play in its limited run there as well (the only place outside of NYC that it was ever performed, I was told), and I think I liked the movie even better. It’s not […]
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Tim Burton’s ‘re-imagining’ of the 1968 Charlton Heston classic b-movie has all of the apes, but none of the imagination of the original. It won’t commit to being a social satire or a comedy, so it burrows right down the middle, playing it as safe as ever. The apes look good, and are tons more […]
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Did you like “Swingers?” Do you want to see a different story with the same kind of humor once again written and directed by Jon Favreau and again starring Favreau and Vince Vaughn? If so, go see “Made.” This is not a damnation, but rather a ringing endorsement. Yes, Vaughn plays another dim-witted, loudmouth jerk. […]
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Summer is the time to waste good talent on bad movies (i.e. “Evolution”), and here’s another giant stinker that could have been so much better. How can you go wrong with John Cusack, Julia Roberts, and Billy Crystal in a light romantic comedy? If you are really curious and you have a desire for self-torture, […]
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I think this may be my favorite movie of the year so far, inching barely ahead of “Memento.” It’s almost as if director Terry Zwigoff tailor-made this film for me. It’s based on a great comic book by Daniel Clowes, one of my favorite comic writers. It stars Steve Buscemi, and its his best work […]
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