Alexander Payne thinks himself a comedian. The films he directs have comedy hidden in the fabric but you don’t necessarily notice because the content is usually pretty heavy, pretty dour. Take his Academy Award winning film The Descendants, from a…
Well movie fans, if light, family-friendly fare isn’t your idea of Thanksgiving fun, you now have another option. Based on the novel by Chuck Logan and a screenplay by Sylvester Stallone (yes, that Sylvester Stallone), Homefront is a dopey, violent…
This one isn’t going to be easy. It’s not that I have a bias against Disney entertainment or anything like that. In fact, I still kinda get a bit too excited when a new Disney is released. Luckily I have…
Striving to make a grand, important film is a noble gesture, but there are many pitfalls. There’s certainly nothing wrong with the performances or intent of The Book Thief, but one can’t help but find the finished product heavy-handed in…
Remakes are a tricky proposition, even when every effort is taken to carefully transpose the project to a new language and audience. Delivery Man, a remake of the sweet, low-key French-Canadian comedy Starbuck, tries its hardest and copies almost every…
In case you haven’t figured out what that big mass of humanity standing outside your local movie theater is, it’s the line for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. But is this sequel worth the wait? From the perspective of someone who…
The problem with Thor: The Dark World is that it wants to be an action movie. A big, loud roller coaster ride that never lets up and takes you to fantastical worlds filled with creatures unknown. Marvel Universe movies are…
They really need to package and market the Hollywood Method Acting Weight Loss System. Sling together a quick infomercial that features host Keira Knightly going over the three easy steps to emaciation: Whatever you’re eating, stop eating it. Don’t eat…
The novel Ender’s Game has endured quite a troubled path from it’s original publication in the 80’s to the silver screen. After numerous stalled attempts, writer/director Gavin Hood (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) has finally managed to mount a big-budget adaptation. And while…
There have been a lot of excellent films this year, but nothing that matches the impact of 12 Years a Slave. This is an exceptional biopic, a film that seemingly accomplishes all of its cinematic goals with staggering effectiveness. This movie…