The Liam-Neeson-caught-in-a-pickle formula is basically its own sub-genre at this point. It’s been quite the surprising and profitable turn for Neeson, who spent his early career in dramas and light-as-a-feather comedies. Now a proven action star, he’s back once again in The Commuter, his third collaboration with director Jaume Collet-Serra… Continue reading
Seventeen years ago the face of horror changed forever when The Blair Witch Project, filmed for a minuscule $60,000, took the August box office by storm and raked in an incredible $140 million by Halloween. It’s not like it was a fluke; all-around well-received, it was something never seen before… Continue reading
Talk about having time on your hands. The Age of Adaline tells the story of woman eternally stuck at age twenty-nine. This is the kind of “forever young” scenario we all dream about, but Lee Toland Krieger’s film is much more interested in soapy melodrama and period piece costuming than… Continue reading
Tackling a topic as complex, difficult, and at times downright uncomfortable as race relations in the United States is never easy. Dear White People, the feature film debut from writer/director Justin Simien, stares it right in the face with a combination of biting satire, understated anger, and a whole lot of… Continue reading
Expectations are usually set in concrete by the time the third entry of a franchise is reached, and The Expendables 3 is no exception. You know you’re in for a lot of action, cheesy one-liners, and the kind of plot that can be hung from a clothesline. On that level,… Continue reading
I, Frankenstein is an endlessly silly Blade/Underworld mash-up that somehow never becomes unwatchable, mainly due to some decent action, visual effects, and Bill Nighy’s Billy Mack-gone-Goth routine. Aaron Eckhart stars as Adam, the supposedly horrendous creation of Dr. Frankenstein (he basically looks like a normal dude with some scars) whose… Continue reading
Humans in peril has been a big theme at the movies this year, and the most bare-bones and frustrating survival story comes in the form of All Is Lost. Featuring virtually no dialogue other than a few guttural swear words and a character that we know very little about, All… Continue reading
Rabbit Hole is about as gentle and low-key as a film about the loss of a young son can be. Most can only imagine what such a tragedy would be like for a set of parents. Rather than dwell on the negative, Rabbit Hole takes us through a couple’s steps… 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
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