It is a common assumption that most men want to be James Bond, and why not? He beats up the bad guys, beds the pretty ladies, and is as suave as any man can be. After viewing the “torture sequence,” as the MPAA has chosen to call it, I doubt… Continue reading
It seems like virtually every animated film these days has an agenda. Is it because the genre has crossed over so successfully to adults? Or do kids really care about socio-economic issues these days at a young age? The trailers would lead one to believe that Happy Feet is just… Continue reading
An American woman is accidentally shot in the desert of Morocco by two native boys. Her husband must find her immediate care before she bleeds to the death. The couple’s children are home in San Diego under the care of a Mexican nanny, who winds up taking them to Mexico… Continue reading
Aardman Animations made one of last year’s finest films in Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Constructed with glorious stop-motion animation and a strong sense of dry wit, the film blindsided me with its ingenuity and spirit. Tragically, Aardman’s production warehouse burned to the ground shortly after the… Continue reading
Borat, subtitled Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, arrives with more buildup and controversy than most comedies these days. Between Entertainment Weekly questioning whether it is the funniest movie ever made to Kazakhstani officials denouncing the entire project, the PR, both good and bad, couldn’t… Continue reading
It is at this time that I feel like borrowing and reworking a phrase coined by the one and only Roger Ebert: “I didn’t feel like a viewer during Running with Scissors. I felt like an eyewitness at a disaster.” Here is a film so loathsome, so pointless, and so… Continue reading
Never before have I seen so many moviegoers flail their arms as they exit the theater. In fact, an astute patron would liken the reaction to that of a crowd that has just seen an amazing magic trick. I have a feeling that’s exactly how the screen writing team of… Continue reading
“Every jackass thinks he knows what war is, even if he’s never been in one.” So begins Flags of our Fathers, easily one of the year’s finest films. Based upon the book of the same name by James Bradley (son of John Bradley, one of the six men who raised… Continue reading
Not since The Break-Up has a film been so mis-marketed. One would assume, after viewing the trailers and TV spots, that Man of the Year is an edgy political satire examining just what would happen if a late night comedian got elected President of the United States. One would be… Continue reading
Welcome back, Marty. After trying to score Oscars for Gangs of New York and The Aviator (both solid films, don’t get me wrong), Martin Scorsese is back to the old stomping grounds with The Departed. You know the good stuff: crooks, double-crosses, mafia, brutal violence, corrupt cops, colorful language, the… Continue reading