Here’s the simplest way to put it: if you liked the over-the-top, brutal finale of Pineapple Express, you’ll most likely find yourself enjoying Observe and Report, a file that is plenty mean-spirited in its own right. Sometimes aiming for straight gross-out gags and other times targeting oddly-timed and prolonged verbal… Continue reading
If The Haunting in Connecticut feels familiar, you’re not alone. It seems like the fast track to getting a story from the written page to the screen is claiming paranormal phenomena in an old house, whether it’s true or not. No less than seven films and TV shows regarding The… Continue reading
Watchmen arrives to theaters with much fanfare, which is to be expected since a big-screen adaptation of Alan Moore’s mid-80’s source material has been in development basically since the source material was released. Director Zack Snyder and screenwriters David Hayter and Alex Tse have braved the unenviable task of translating… Continue reading
I suppose there’s no good time to release The International these days. After all, who wants to watch a movie about corrupt banks that siphon money for nefarious purposes at the expense of their clients? Sounds a lot like real life to me. While the subject matter does hit a… Continue reading
Purposefully shrouded in mystery over the past few months, few people going in to Seven Pounds will have any idea of what it’s really about. Mission: accomplished for the studio. This is one of the dourest, boring, and insulting films I have seen in years. We got our first taste… Continue reading
With the exceptions of Bad Santa, The Polar Express, Love Actually, and Elf, this decade has been pretty pathetic when it comes to holiday-themed films. It’s time to face it: there’s nothing new for this sub-genre to offer. As Christmas had become increasingly more about consumerism and all-around obnoxiousness, so… Continue reading
Approaching an Oliver Stone film is one of the toughest things to do for a film critic. The man is a lightning rod for controversy, whether it is accusations of revisionist history or outright bias. That he is the one directing the first biopic about President George W. Bush will… Continue reading
It’s pretty apparent that Hollywood wouldn’t mind if the War on Terror lasted one hundred years (hey, it’s the only figure we’ve been given to work with). The post-9/11 thriller factory is still working at full capacity, but Body of Lies emerges as more of a cautionary espionage tale than… Continue reading
Whenever I hear the word “quirky” being used to describe a movie, I can’t help but shudder. Ever since the success of last year’s Juno, screenwriters all across Hollywood have been competing for “Most Quirky Screenplay,” which usually means throwing around dialogue that sounds like no one and playing music… Continue reading
Is it possible to not recommend a movie headlined by Robert De Niro and Al Pacino? One would think it to be an impossible feat, but leave it to screenwriter Russell Gewirtz and director Jon Avnet to muck up the whole works. There’s nary a bad thing to say about… Continue reading