This review of “Cowboys and Aliens” originally appears on KTKA-49. The new movie “Cowboys and Aliens” is a perfect example of truth in advertising. The title says it all. There are cowboys and there are aliens. And that’s about it. Taking the title of the 2006 graphic novel that it’s based on and none of […]
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“Crazy, Stupid, Love” may have one of the lamer and lazier titles given a film this year, but that is exactly the point. This film embraces many of the clichés of sexually driven romantic comedies, but in doing so comments on and critiques them. Just take a scene that occurs in the middle of the […]
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A good idea is just that, an idea. It may be chock-full of visual potential or hint at the possibility of an engaging story. Even if the idea is fantastic, there is an enormous chasm that stands between that idea and, in this instance, a well-crafted enjoyable feature film. Jon Favreau falls headlong into this […]
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This review of “The Warrior’s Way” and “Das Boot,” new on Blu-ray and DVD, originally appears on KTKA-49. “The Warrior’s Way,” out now on DVD and Blu-ray, stars South Korean megastar Jang Dong-gun as an Asian assassin who ends up in the American West in the 19th century after taking mercy on the child of […]
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Coming of age stories often come in two forms. Some explore the expansion and depth of a life just begun. Films like “My Life as a Dog” follow young adolescents as they blossom into a proto-sexual adulthood. The other type of coming of age story deals with the fleeting nature of life. In films like […]
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This review originally appears on KTKA-49. The superhero genre gets an injection of good old fashioned patriotism when “Captain America: The First Avenger” hits theaters this weekend. Set during World War II, this Marvel Comics adaptation follows the adventures of a wimpy young man with a good heart who is turned into a muscular super […]
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In the midst of the summer movie season, comic book movie exhaustion and action overload has started to weigh heavily on me. Do we really need another film about a dude in a crazy suit, who punches other dudes in crazy suits? Isn’t there an upper threshold for the number of these films that can […]
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DVD/Blu-ray Review – Insidious and [REC] 2
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This review of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” appears on KTKA-49. To see how this film fits in with the rest of the series, read all the films ranked in order at Top 8 Harry Potter Movies. It all ends this weekend as “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part […]
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How do you conclude a fourteen-year literary and cinematic legacy? Well if you’re director David Yates and writer Steve Kloves and the movie is “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2,” then you make sure to toe the literary line, not wanting to excite or offend. This results in a film that is […]
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This review of the new Criterion Blu-rays “Black Moon” and “Zazie dans le Metro” appears on KTKA-49. Famed director Louis Malle has two movies new out on Blu-ray this month and both are variations on the tradition of film surrealism. “Black Moon,” which has been unavailable for years on home video, is a bizarre movie […]
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This review of “Horrible Bosses” appears on KTKA-49. “Horrible Bosses” has a very simple concept. Three lifelong friends—played by Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, and Jason Sudeikis—go from thinking about killing their abusive bosses to actually plotting their murders. If the movie were a rich character drama or a suspense film, it would explore the dark […]
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“Beginners” is impossible to describe in a way that does justice to this oddly sad, oddly funny, and thoroughly enjoyable film from Mike Mills. It does tell the story of a son dealing with the death of two parents from cancer, the homosexuality of his father, and an exciting and troubled romance. In spite of […]
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This review of “Cedar Rapids” and “Elektra Luxx” on Blu-ray and DVD appears on KTKA-49. When “Cedar Rapids” hit theaters back in February, it barely made a mark at the box office. Maybe it was the fact that most of the movie takes place at an insurance conference in Iowa that kept people away. Or […]
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This Blu-ray review of Criterion’s new “Kiss Me Deadly” transfer appears on KTKA-49. Criterion’s new Blu-ray issue of the classic 1955 hard-boiled film noir “Kiss Me Deadly” is out now and is a must-have for any serious film fan. Ralph Meeker plays Mike Hammer, the famous detective created by Mickey Spillane, in a movie that […]
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