The first time I realized I was driving by one of the locations used in The Big Lebowski (1998)- Johnie’s Coffee Shop – I thought it would be great fun…
Film
Gran Torino finally opened to wide release this weekend, and rapidly earned the number one spot at the box office. It deserves every single dollar it’s made. Many have been…
Anyone who reads my Three Strikes Rule column is aware of how much I love the BBCÁ¢€â„¢s much-hyped drama Skins.Á‚ Funny, heartbreaking and painfully accurate, Skins is as much a…
“Don’t fuck with the babysitter.” There were many occasions during my short stint as a teenage babysitter when I wanted to say this line from Adventures in Babysitting (1987) —…
The average movie is mediocre at best. This is not meant as an insult to hardworking filmmakers. The simple fact of the matter is that few films in a given…
Ping Pong Playa is the bomb, yo. With a quirky, offbeat story that sends up sports movies but wears its charm and heart openly on its sleeve, this is the…
As I try to figure out my top DVDs for 2008, a must for my 2009 list has already arrived. Hot on the heels of its excellent Á¢€Å“CollectorÁ¢€â„¢s ChoiceÁ¢€ edition…
Why is gold valuable? Why is it worth anything at all? Sure, it’s yellow and shiny. But so is brass. It’s scarce, but so is osmium, and you don’t see…
You know youÁ¢€â„¢re in for a long haul when you check the time counter on your DVD player, it tells you that only 29 minutes have elapsed and you exclaim,…
Resident Evil: Degeneration (2008, Sony) purchase this DVD (Amazon) I have to say, I am pretty much the biggest fan of the Resident Evil games. From the moment I played…
The Duchess (2008, Paramount) purchase this DVD (Amazon) Period pieces have to fight an uphill battle, from the moment a studio decides to press forward and make them. They’re a…
Well, here we are in 2009. I hope everyone had a great holiday season and didn’t kick anyone in the face or anything. I know I was tempted a few…
What is the most important factor in the creation of a movie? Is it a good script, quality acting, or great visuals? Or is it something more? It is my…
Transformers Animated: Season 2 (Hasbro, 2009) purchase this DVD (Amazon) I’ve never really been a big Transformers fan, even back in my childhood. I’ve never understood the cultural fascination with…
I could use this space to write a snarky column about the latest Á¢€Å“BeethovenÁ¢€ film, BeethovenÁ¢€â„¢s Big Break, which just came out on DVD, but whatÁ¢€â„¢s the point? If youÁ¢€â„¢re…
The tagline for Matthew McConaughey’s latest film is “Love and waves, that’s what we need in these dark days.” A movie star who isn’t afraid to tackle the worst financial crisis…
Barbara Daly Baekland was an actress who married Brooks Baekland, heir to a Bakelite plastics company, and together they spent their lives living glamorously while doing not much of anything…
Rod Lurie says he likes my blog. HeÁ¢€â„¢s a friendÁ¢€”well, a Facebook friend, anyway. I might recuse myself from reviewing his latest film, Nothing But the Truth, but I should…
The Women (2008, Warner Bros./Picturehouse) purchase this DVD (Amazon) Critics and film fans often tsk and tut when a studio fast-tracks a picture in an effort to shove something out…
Did everyone have a late-night horror show in their local TV market? Cleveland had The Hoolihan and Big Chuck Show (later The Big Chuck and Lil’ John Show), which aired…
Towelhead (2008, Warner Independent) purchase this DVD (Amazon) Screenwriter Alan Ball rose to prominence with 1999’s American Beauty, a quietly disturbing look at a theme that has become something of…
Having missed the two previous Mummy films, I wasnÁ¢€â„¢t too concerned about watching the third in the series, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. This film contains an entirely…
Before we begin, allow me to state for the record that I hate remakes. With very rare exceptions, they tend to be lifeless, pale imitations of the classics which came…
Á¢€Å“You have no will, no mind of your own,Á¢€ intones the dastardly villain in The Brides of Fu Manchu, one-half of a horripilating double feature available today. Fu, I hear…
Mamma Mia! The Movie (Two-Disc Special Edition (2008, Universal) purchase this DVD (Amazon) I freely admit I’m not the target audience for this movie. Being without a vagina, an attraction…
It was easy to laugh at the Oscars recently, when, after a montage of heart-swelling moments from earnest, socially conscious, liberal-minded pictures about the ills of our society, host Jon…
The Longshots (2008, Dimension Films) (Purchase at Amazon) LetÁ¢€â„¢s face it, I knew going into watching The Longshots that I wasnÁ¢€â„¢t the intended audience. I could have watched it alone…
Somewhere in the translation from script to screen, a really smart idea got lost when Anamorph was made. ThatÁ¢€â„¢s not to say that the movie is entirely bad (and it…
The parallels between 1976 and 2008 are undeniable. Back then, the economy was in shambles, suffering through a wicked bout of inflation. Late in the year, hope arrived in the…
Just in time for the holidays, the complete Speed Racer series has been re-released in a groovy collector’s set. If you’re a fan of the popular anime cartoon that came…