We Own the Night, with its top-drawer cast and sleek production, never distinguishes itself from the countless family-driven crime yarns of years past. It’s not to say that this is bad film; just one we’ve all seen before, repackaged nicely for a Fall release. Above all else, it’s a dour… Continue reading
Something has happened to the Farrelly Brothers since 2005’s Fever Pitch, and that something is named Judd Apatow. While the Farrelly’s laid the groundwork for the contemporary raunch-fest with a heart, Apatow has brought it full circle with the likes of The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up. The… Continue reading
Rush Hour 3 is the reeling definition of a cash grab. 1998’s original was fun enough, but since it went on to make untold millions we’re now subjected to the sequel machine, which started with 2001’s dismal and largely unfunny Rush Hour 2. This third offering blatantly breaks my sequel… Continue reading
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry is the kind of comedy that tries to toe two lines and stumbles on both. It spends its first half gleefully mocking homosexuals and everything about them, then does an about-face and turns into a tolerance sermon as the two main characters slowly… Continue reading
I admitted in my review of 2005’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire that I hadn’t turned a page of a single Harry Potter book, and things haven’t changed since. Nevertheless, I immensely enjoyed Goblet of Fire as a chapter of its own, loaded with action, wit, and wonder.… Continue reading
As I do my best to rewind and remember 2003’s Bruce Almighty I do not recall leaving the theater and spouting something to the tune of, “man, this movie needs a sequel!” But, of course, that film raked in $242 million domestically. Now, four years later (one year shy of… Continue reading
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End feels like the final chapter of this shockingly successful franchise (the whole shebang has been crafted from a Disney theme park ride), and one can only hope it is. While the first two films skirted by on charm and sheer energy, At World’s… Continue reading
As a fan of the first two Spider-Man films I can only speculate as to why director Sam Raimi and his screen writing partners felt it necessary to try and go “bigger and better” with this third entry. Parts one and two had everything a Spidey junkie could possibly want,… Continue reading
Guys like Nicolas Cage, not in a disturbing way, but in a bona-fide man-crush kind of way. The same thing happens when Mike Ditka walks into an unsuspecting Chicago sports bar. Why compare the two? Because Cage, at least of late, has made ridiculously entertaining films (see “guilty pleasures”) with… Continue reading
It’s always a frustrating predicament when the performances in a film are so unabashedly superior to its script that, on acting alone, it’s almost recommendable. Director Gregory Hoblit’s Fracture is such a specimen; a film whose lead performances, by Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling, are engaging and chock full of… Continue reading