Zathura will undoubtedly be compared to 1995’s Jumanji, and for good reason, at least topically. Both stories concern a board game with magical powers and an undeniable gift for dropping unsuspecting youths in a land of very good special effects. But what Zathura has, and what ultimately makes it a… Continue reading
Shopgirl is gentle, heartfelt, and thought-provoking – a real rarity in today’s romance market that consists mainly of sitcom caricatures making bets as to whether or not they will fall in love. Based upon Steve Martin’s novella of the same name, there is undoubtedly some truth behind the events depicted.… Continue reading
It’s been seven years since The Mask of Zorro was released, thus making The Legend of Zorro an immediate violator of my sequel rule. Just to refresh, the rule says that any sequel that is made more than five years after its original (or previous sequel) is destined for disaster.… 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
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
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 are still those among us who believe that our journeys to the moon are nothing more than staged illusions. I suppose there is good reason for that, but I’ve never bought into it. There are skeptics everywhere about everything, but space travel and the concept of extraterrestrial life seem… Continue reading
It seems as though we are all extra curious as to whom we share an airplane with these days. I only fly about twice a year, but post 9/11 the tension can be felt upon the first step onto the aircraft. We look each other over as we walk down… Continue reading