This will be a tricky one. The one thing I really hate about your average movie review is the plot summary. I enjoy reading the opinions, but I detest having to wade through the section where the reviewer inevitably gives away entirely too much of the story for me to properly enjoy the film. On […]
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Modern romantic comedies can be a tricky formula that trip up the best of movie directors (see Kevin Smith’s “Jersey Girl”). And, unless your name is Ron Shelton (“Bull Durham”, “Tin Cup,” “White Men Can’t Jump”), then the underdog sports story turns out to be the most formula of formula films. Put these two old […]
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In 1971, Francis Ford Coppola’s newly minted American Zoetrope company released “THX 1138,” the first feature film by a young writer/director named George Lucas. It disappeared from theaters quickly with little fanfare, receiving a disappointing and chilly reception from both audiences and critics. Thirty-three years later, Lucas is a cinematic legend and household name, thanks […]
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Martial arts films have experienced somewhat of a rebirth lately, with films like Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill” series leading the way. For this formerly cult-status genre to reach a mainstream audience, however, a compelling story must match with dazzling visuals. It’s time to add another film to that […]
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Somewhere deep down in the dark heart of director E. Elias Merighe’s newest offering, “Suspect Zero,” there is a film that teases its audience with a bit of misdirection and then offers a glimpse into an inner resource that each one of us may have the potential to tap into. If only those ideas could […]
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In the ads for the new ultra-realistic low budget thriller “Open Water,” two quotes are being used more often than any others. “The best shark movie since ‘Jaws’!” -Brian Raftery, GQ “Prepare to jump out of your skin.” -Peter Travers, Rolling Stone After reading these excited endorsements (and after seeing the non-scary “Exorcist” prequel just […]
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Any movie bold enough to have a title like “Exorcist: The Beginning,” has a whole lot of hype to live up to. As far as terrifying movies go, the bar has been raised pretty high. Then again, maybe we’ve come to expect crappy sequels from classic scary films. Just look at “Jaws 3-D.” “Exorcist:The Beginning,” […]
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Sometimes the Hollywood studios make life a whole lot easier for us movie reviewers. When your silly little road-trip-down-the-river comedy, directed by the man who helmed “Little Nicky” and “Mr. Deeds” no less, is called “Without a Paddle,” it just makes things way too easy. But this trifle of a film is so mild and […]
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M. Night Shyamalan is the spiritual P.T. Barnum of the film community. Like the famed circus entertainer, he is terrifically skilled at manipulating an audience’s feelings. Writer/director Shyamalan knows what an audience expects from his movies (“The Sixth Sense”, “Unbreakable”, “Signs”), and has the uncanny ability to deliver just that. His latest film, “The Village,” […]
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WARNING:SPOILER ALERT! DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW UNLESS YOU HAVE SEEN THE MOVIE OR DON’T CARE ABOUT SPOILED PLOT POINTS!!! Until yesterday, the only time I had seen the most-rented movie in America of 2003, the Matt Damon spy thriller “The Bourne Identity”, was during its theatrical release in the summer of 2002. Knowing that […]
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“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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