Gone Girl is basically two movies in one; a serious, realistic missing persons boiler followed by a laughably over-the-top second half that comes dangerously close to unraveling the whole works. The film does not depend upon the audience buying wholesale into the numerous twists, but rather the shifting character motivations and completely… 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
It’s really amazing that it’s taken this long for Need for Speed, a popular and never-ending video game series, to get the big-screen treatment. On the heels of the mega-popular The Fast and the Furious and its sequels, there is a built-in audience for this kind of vehicular anarchy. And… Continue reading
Desperado, released in August of 1995, is basically a big(ger) budget remake of director Robert Rodriguez’s first film, El Mariachi (1992). Many are familiar with the lore surrounding El Mariachi‘s production. It was made in twenty days on a budget of $7,000 (or roughly the cost of afternoon snacks for today’s… Continue reading
20 Years Ago It pretty much goes without saying that True Lies encompasses just about everything a thirteen-year-old boy could want in a movie. It has a sense of humor, lots of cartoonishly over-the-top action scenes, and even a racy striptease because, well, it just feels like it. I knew… Continue reading
20 Years Ago Speed was one of my very first “pure” action films. I was thirteen when it came out and was coming up on the age where my parents were warming up to the idea of me seeing R-rated films. I didn’t see it theatrically, but I nearly wore the… Continue reading
Writer/director Bobcat Goldthwait has become quite the daring and provocative filmmaker in his post-acting years. His God Bless America and World’s Greatest Dad are both biting satires and pitch black social commentaries on contemporary America. With Willow Creek, Goldthwait switches gears completely and explores the found footage horror sub-genre. It’s one… Continue reading
Released in May of 1997, Breakdown is an old-school suspense/thriller from director Jonathan Mostow and starring Kurt Russell. It won its opening weekend and finished its theatrical run with a respectable $50 million haul, but it has since vanished into the realm of the underrated and under-appreciated – not to… Continue reading
Hitting theaters in May of 1995 and posting a very impressive box office total of $91.4 million on a $53 million budget, Crimson Tide was one of my very first truly suspenseful cinematic experiences. With a very engaging core moral dilemma combined acting clinics by Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman,… Continue reading
Released in February of 1996 and grossing a respectable $70 million domestically, Broken Arrow is a true 90’s action film. Filled with bizarrely comedic dialogue, an over-the-top villain in John Travolta, and a whole lot of stuff blowing up real good (helicopters, hummers, trains, people), it’s best remembered as a… Continue reading