Vantage Point is, unapologetically, a gimmick movie, and on that level it works. It’s refreshing to see a film based around politics that isn’t preachy, doesn’t have an agenda, and instead just goes for straight-up frenetic action. That’s not to say it doesn’t become maddening repetitive at times (only about… Continue reading
Sylvester Stallone, like him or not, deserves some credit. He resurrected his Rocky franchise last year to largely critical praise (although I wasn’t part of that) and now he has brought back the 1980’s most iconic action hero. Not bad for a guy who recently crossed age 60. With Rocky… Continue reading
The teaser trailer for Cloverfield, which debuted in front of this past summer’s Transformers – and sporting no title at that, is one of the only trailers I’ve ever seen where people were talking about it rather than the feature film on the way out of the theater. Thus began… Continue reading
I Am Legend is a prime example of a great idea gone wrong in the hopes of pleasing everyone. What starts off as a compelling drama descends into a stock B-grade horror flick with some of the worst big budget special effects of recent memory. It’s really a shame, because… Continue reading
Hitman, based upon the hit video game franchise of the same name, contains just about everything you’d expect in a film with that title. Targets are picked off from afar, stabbed, strangled, and beaten to death. On the surface the film is a serviceable action diversion, but it suffers and… Continue reading
No Country for Old Men is a true original, and that’s virtually impossible to come by these days. Smart, taut, suspenseful, and ever-so-weirdly funny, the film manages to attempt and succeed at nearly every genre under the sun. The Coen brothers have always been uniquely skilled filmmakers, but No Country… Continue reading
There’s a scene in Lions for Lambs in which reporter Janine Roth (Streep), during one of several down times in her interview with Senator Jasper Irving (Cruise), takes a stroll around the Senator’s office. The camera pans across a photo of Irving with President Bush, who is giving the trademark… Continue reading
Gone Baby Gone is a sterling thriller, the kind of raw cinematic power that you tell your friends about as if you’ve just been put through the spin cycle. Helmed by first-time director Ben Affleck, and starring his brother, Casey, the film scorches a raw nerve from frame one and… Continue reading
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
“I’m not the guy you kill. I’m the guy you buy off.” – Michael Clayton Michael Clayton is the kind of slow burn that only makes its way to theaters at this time of year. It’s the kind of film whose suspense comes from silence, whose dialogue is first-rate, and… Continue reading