Whether intentional or not, the original “Poseidon” (1972’s The Poseidon Adventure) was a cheesy good time. Star-studded and over-the-top, the film virtually invented the “who’s going to die next?” way of thinking that dominates so many of today’s films. I’m surprised that a remake has taken this long to surface… Continue reading
It’s now official: The Mission: Impossible movie franchise has to be comprised of three of the most mediocre big budget films I’ve ever seen. Brian De Palma stayed true to the TV show’s form in 1996’s original, but the labyrinthine plot frustrated many moviegoers. So Honk Kong explosion master John… Continue reading
Redefining a genre is a nearly impossible task these days. With the current state of Hollywood, that which plays it ridiculously safe and treats us all like morons most of the time, one will usually find themselves feeling completely blindsided when a film of true originality comes around. Enter Inside… Continue reading
V for Vendetta, directed by James McTeigue and written by the Wachowski Brothers (of The Matrix fame), is an endlessly ballsy comic book adaptation that is sly and smart – something that more and more comic book films are becoming these days. The film is bound to offend those sensitive… Continue reading
As some faithful readers may recall, director Alexandre Aja’s big studio feature film debut, 2003’s High Tension, had me bug-eyed for several days after the screening. I cautiously rounded the corners of my apartment, as if I was waiting for the guy with hamburger meat for a face to attack… Continue reading
16 Blocks is a film run ragged from simply trying to accomplish too much. Part lean thrilling machine and part overdone drama, the film is probably the longest 105 minutes in recent memory. The usual aberrations creep into the picture as it uncoils from its intriguing setup, and those include… Continue reading
Harrison Ford came out of semi-retirement for this? I guess I shouldn’t be overly surprised seeing as though Ford hasn’t appeared in a truly superb film since 1994’s The Fugitive. Firewall is a classic Ford project through and through, but the difference now is that he is 63 years old… Continue reading
The trailers for When a Stranger Calls have been infuriating me for the past few months, and now I can say that the final product infuriates me even more. Never have I seen a twist so blatantly given away in a trailer. Back in 1979, when the original was released… Continue reading
Perhaps the genre of joyously absurd action films isn’t dead quite yet. Underworld: Evolution borders on taking itself too seriously from a narrative standpoint, but the marriage of a complete disregard for science as we know it and kooky overacting by Bill Nighy saves the film from a grisly F-grade… Continue reading
The last thing I expected Syriana to be was an endurance test. The intriguing trailers have been floating around for several months now and my anticipation was at its peak as I headed into the screening. Low and behold, writer/director Stephen Gaghan, working from the book by Robert Baer, manages… Continue reading