That Disturbia is being compared to Hitchcock’s Rear Window goes without saying. I guess you just can’t have a housebound Peeping Tom spying on his neighbors without that comparison, but it becomes clear very early on that Disturbia doesn’t have Hitchcockian aspirations. This is a teen-friendly thriller beginning to end,… Continue reading
My love and admiration for 1985’s Commando never goes unspoken when given ample opportunity. Quite simply, it is the raddest action flick ever made. It took preposterous action to a level that has never been reached since and proved once and for all that you can pile up bodies and… Continue reading
Just when it looked like Sandra Bullock was getting her stuff together in films like Infamous and Crash she comes down with a bad case of Ashley Judd-itis (AJI, for the uninitiated) and retreats to the formulaic, gimmicky fare that put her on the map in the first place. Her… Continue reading
As an unsolved mysteries fanatic, the Zodiac killings are among the most perplexing and frustrating – ever. Nearly everyone is familiar with the Zodiac – a killer who preyed on young couples and taunted the police and media with bizarre letters and ciphers – but few seem to know that… Continue reading
Ah, another blown opportunity for a Michael Jordan documentary. After all, isn’t that what most people think of when they hear the number twenty-three? Do they really think about how that single number could be the key to unlocking every evil deed done in this world? If the number is… Continue reading
Go ahead and yawn. Turistas is just another disposable piece of pseudo-exploitation trash that has arrived in the wake of the success of Hostel, a film that, while flawed, at least had the benefit of some psychological plausibility. Nightmares of isolation and unendurable pain are the calling card of this… Continue reading
Never before have I seen so many moviegoers flail their arms as they exit the theater. In fact, an astute patron would liken the reaction to that of a crowd that has just seen an amazing magic trick. I have a feeling that’s exactly how the screen writing team of… Continue reading
The Illusionist feels like a relic from a lost era at the movies. Set in early 1900’s Vienna, Neil Burger’s film truly feels like it belongs in a 1940’s throwback theater with five cent popcorn. It’s a big enough rarity in itself to find a solid crime/drama these days at… Continue reading
How does one even begin to approach a film as silly, boring, and self-indulgent as M. Night Shyamalan’s Lady in the Water? Considering the current trend is to bash Shyamalan mercilessly (a surprising number of people just can’t seem to get over The Village), I have no shame whatsoever in… Continue reading
Now we’re getting somewhere. Monster House plays like a living, breathing entity: it’s loaded with humor, spirit, scares, and even has an oddly touching side. This is full-fledged get-lost-in-the-story material and it’s easy to do so since nearly everyone grew up with that scary-looking house in the neighborhood that seemingly… Continue reading