The running gag in The Weather Man is that quite often Chicago weatherman Dave Spritz (Cage) gets pelted with some type of food product, whether it is a burrito or a Frosty or a Slurpee. Spritz theorizes that it’s because the public views him as a clown, but I theorize… Continue reading
Julian Fellowes’ Separate Lies is a drama for adults, and that is a rarity in today’s film marketplace. Most films today try and offer something for both the young and old, but Separate Lies dishes up a winding mirage of double-crosses, all wrapped around a tale of infidelity. Fellowes, who… Continue reading
Let’s cut to the chase. The video game-film adaptation genre is perhaps the worst in the history of Hollywood. Time after time we are let down by these genre films, so why in the world would Doom, based upon the groundbreaking video game, be any different? We have Andrzej Bartkowiak,… Continue reading
I had this horrible dream the night after I watched Domino. The Earth was being taken out War of the Worlds-style, complete with tripods shooting lasers, turning people and buildings into dust. After the demolition was complete, one of the pesky extraterrestrials descended into the last film vault left to… Continue reading
Politics never change, but the cast of characters do. It leads one to think what Edward R. Murrow, the centerpiece of George Clooney’s new film, Good Night, and Good Luck., would think of today’s political climate – and more importantly, how he would report it. Broadcast journalism has changed since… Continue reading
Hollywood loves it when beautiful actors morph themselves into working class, average people. It’s even better if you do that and are in a message movie. Charlize Theron won an Oscar last year for her riveting portrayal of Aileen Wuornos, the focus of the film Monster. She donned some truly… Continue reading
There is something undeniably endearing about stop-motion animation. The process is lengthy and painstaking, but produces such unique results. The characters move in their own begrudging way, and in the case of Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, you can even see the fingerprints of the filmmakers in… Continue reading
I’ve never worked in a restaurant. The notion of handling food, dealing with rude customers, and catching a glimpse of what goes on behind-the-scenes simply sounds like a living hell to me. I opted to work in two video stores, as one might expect, and while I’ve dealt with my… Continue reading
The Gospel clearly has one goal in mind: to get the world interested in gospel music. That’s actually an admirable goal, especially in these times of foul-mouthed rap music that celebrates murder, prostitutes, and drugs. Even the film points that out. The surrounding story behind this goal is a convoluted… Continue reading
There is no question that many will be wondering why Roman Polanski, of all directors, has decided to do another telling of the classic Charles Dickens story, Oliver Twist. Polanski is, after all, one of our most creative directors and one who is rightfully associated with very high quality productions.… Continue reading