I honestly can’t remember the last time I went to a movie that made me jump out of my seat, laugh out loud, and get all emotional in the same two hours. M. Night Shyamalan’s “Lady in the Water” is an incredibly well balanced film that has immense style and substance. A bit of a […]
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“They are treading water in a sea of retarded sexuality and bad poetry.” – Marty Di Bergi, reading a review of a Spinal Tap album in “This is Spinal Tap” “That’s nit-picking, isn’t it?” – Nigel Tufnel, Spinal Tap lead guitarist It was twelve years ago that New Jersey convenience store twentysomethings Dante Hicks (Brian […]
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There are lots of sci-fi movie and novel fans out there who could explain to me fervently what they like about the book or film version of “A Scanner Darkly.” I admit, I haven’t read the novel, but I have read “Naked Lunch” and that should count for something. It’s possible I don’t own the […]
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“Blade Runner” and “Minority Report” are both terrific movies, but neither of those Philip K. Dick movie adaptations so accurately approximate the unique head trip that it is to actually read one of the revered science-fiction author’s books as much as Richard Linklater’s new animated film “A Scanner Darkly.” Based on a partly autobiographical 1977 […]
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No one expected the first film in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise to be any good or to become such a huge success. Spectacular advertising and an outrageous performance from Johnny Depp made “The Curse of the Black Pearl” a smash-hit and left audiences chomping at the bit for another romp with Captain Jack […]
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It was just three years ago that Johnny Depp finally achieved major superstardom and, believe it or not, his first Oscar nomination in a Disney movie based on a theme park ride and directed by Gore Verbinski (“The Ring,” “The Mexican”). 2003’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” had swashbuckling adventure […]
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Like the popular syndicated radio show that bears its name, Robert Altman’s new film “A Prairie Home Companion” occupies its own unique time bubble. Nostalgic for an idealized version of wry family entertainment that probably never quite existed, it embodies all that is strong in character about the Midwest, or at least what should be. […]
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I must concede from the get-go that I think Superman may be the least cool superhero ever. His story has never grabbed me the way Batman or Wolverine do, not to mention the whole “all-powerful unless too close to a rock” thing never ceases to annoy me. For that reason alone “Superman Returns” was not […]
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One really never knows what you’re going to get with an Adam Sandler flick. You could get lucky and end up with a modern classic like “The Wedding Singer” or make a nonrefundable withdrawal of two hours of your life suffering through “Mr. Deeds.” The new Sandler film “Click” is a pleasant surprise. It’s not […]
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Usually I don’t read reviews of a movie until I’ve finished writing my own. The frightening new global warming documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” has been in limited release for about a month now, and I’ve just seen it. This means that there are plenty of people in bigger cities who have already posted their reviews. […]
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When you see a movie poster with Jack Black in a Mexican wrestling costume you really ought to know what you’re in for. If not, and you were hoping for – I don’t know…an elevated comedy experience – it would be a bit like waltzing into the Ben and Jerry’s and demanding a car battery. […]
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Ever since “Napoleon Dynamite” was elevated to major cult favorite status, people’s expectations for writer/director Jared Hess’ follow-up effort have been high. That movie is here, and “Nacho Libre” throws in the raucous energy of Jack Black and the unusual setting of a Mexican monastery and low-rent wrestling arenas. On paper, you’ve got an intriguing […]
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I am obsessive about films and music. If I like an album, I don’t just listen to it once or twice and move on, I’ll listen to it endlessly for weeks, sometimes months on end. Just ask anyone at my work if they want to listen to Death Cab for Cutie’s “Transatlanticism” or Jay-Z’s “Black […]
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In the low-budget yet endlessly stylish neo-noir “Brick,” the familiar posture of disaffected youth manifests itself in the most bizarre way. The problems of high school cliques are not new, and like any generation, the kids of bleak and sunny San Clemente, California have developed their own distinctive slang. It just happens to be delivered […]
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It shouldn’t come as a monumental shock that the new movie “The Break-Up” is actually about…wait for it…a break up. In spite of the slightly misleading previews that tout the film as a quirky romantic comedy, “The Break-Up” is a worthwhile gem, one that avoids many of the typical pitfalls of relationship stories and manages […]
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