I’m a big believer in simplicity where simplicity is called for. As cosmopolitan adult audiences, we’re supposed to sneer at simple stories in favor of works that are more conceptually…
Film
Thanks to last year’s Iron Man and Dark Knight, the age of the superhero as a legitimate and viable tale in the realm of cinema is now in full effect….
On Tuesday, I read that I’m about to be extinct. I got the word from a chart published on Movie City News, which showed that there were 122 working film…
How to Lose Friends and Alienate People (2009, MGM) purchase this movie from Amazon: DVD How to Lose Friends and Alienate People is a film that wants to be the…
Role Models (2009, Universal) purchase this movie from Amazon: DVD | Blu-ray Role Models is a classic example of a “yeah, but” movie. As in: “Aw, Christ, not another raunchy…
The Lodger is another in a long line of contemporary films that attempt to combine the murky atmosphere of L.A. film noir with the tension and suspense of a Hitchcock…
Have I featured a film in this column that was made after 1995? I don’t think I have. I know you kids like it when I post the older stuff,…
It is a time of economic turmoil. The markets are going berserk; reacting like the headless chickens we already knew them to be. Our nation faces numerous crises both domestically…
Dragon Dynasty, which put out an action-packed package of Jackie ChanÁ¢€â„¢s Supercop in January, serves up a double helping of Hong Kong genre cinema this month. The Enforcer, from 1995,…
I don’t think it’s boastful to say that I know a little bit about music. I’m old, so I’ve been playing and listening to it for many years. In that…
In 2002 I decided to cross one of the items off my bucket list (I hate that expression – if someone knows a better one please leave it in the…
Siskel and Ebert went two thumbs up on Ironweed in 1987, but most other reviewers joined audiences and went thumbs down, way down, on this adaptation of William KennedyÁ¢€â„¢s 1984…
Even if you don’t like what the Academy Awards represent–those questionable nominees, that PR flackery, all the “industry” sanctimony–it’s more than possible to enjoy the show itself. Didn’t we all…
When I started the Soundtrack Saturday feature in 2006 on my old blog, I did so because I’d discovered that most of the movies that were pivotal to my coming…
Recently, I went to a local Mexican food establishment to pick up dinner with a friend. This restaurant has a TV mounted to the wall, which is usually tuned to…
If IÁ¢€â„¢m going to remain true to the movie, then the only way to describe Soul Men is to call it one motherfucking funny film.Á‚ If that statement in any…
The soundtrack to Danny BoyleÁ¢€â„¢s film Trainspotting (1996) is widely considered to be one of the best soundtracks ever.Á‚ The songs Boyle selected for the soundtrack fulfill two primary goals…
That high-pitched squeal you hear belongs to the millions of young girls screaming at the release of DisneyÁ¢€â„¢s High School Musical 3: Senior Year Extended Edition today on DVD. This…
A young man named Roary enters a high rise building and takes the elevator to the top floor. Walking through the halls with the confidence of someone who belongs there,…
Palo Alto, CA (2009, Image Entertainment) purchase this DVD (Amazon) Imagine, if you will, that you’re a teenage girl. It’s late, and you’re home from college for Thanksgiving break, so…
Body of Lies (2008, Warner Bros.) purchase this DVD (Amazon) Ridley Scott directing Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe in a big-budget action epic — it’s gotta be a surefire box-office…
Happy Valentine’s Day! I kind of don’t really mean that since I think this is a stupid commercial holiday. Am I a bitter, single girl? No, not at all. I…
I recently had the pleasure of watching Darren AronofskyÁ¢€â„¢s film The Wrestler. This was after I wrote my Oscar tirade, though the experience I had in that film has only…
Miracle at St. Anna opens with a crime: A black postal worker pulls out a German Lugar pistol and kills an Italian man waiting in line to buy stamps. Why…
Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder (2009, 20th Century Fox) purchase this DVD (Amazon) Anyone even remotely familiar with science fiction knows that the Star Trek films suffered from a…
I have to admit, I’ve always been more a fan of B-movie living legend Bruce Campbell‘s personality than I have any of his films. Like most celebrities, there are conflicting…
Hello and welcome back to our three-day Valentine’s spectacular! If you missed yesterday’s introduction, we’re taking time this week to talk about the books, movies, and music we love —…
For the benefit of those who haven’t seen Max Payne yet, but are considering renting the DVD, I’m going to spoil as much of it as possible for you. Why?…
End-of-the-Earth sagas are a staple of horror and sci-fi, but itÁ¢€â„¢s not just genre directors who make them. Filmmakers of all kinds are drawn to doomsday stories, as if they…
Like any film student who worships Chinatown and loved The Pianist, I was intrigued by how Roman Polanski, the charismatic film director, would be portrayed in Marina Zenovich’s documentary, Roman…