I discovered “Cashback” this summer and was mesmerized by its blend of genres throwing in a little sci-fi/fantasy to go in with the romantic comedy. If you like indie romance, read the rest of my review below. Based on his Oscar-nominated short film of the same name, Sean Ellis’ “Cashback” is an elegant and funny […]

Dancing, passion and familial struggle are all tied together in the high-spirited “Billy Elliot,” the little independent film that could in 2000, when such films were drastically under- appreciated. “Billy Elliot” caught some attention however because it combines the dream-like fancy-free spirit of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers films along with the social-historical context of […]

Completely out of nowhere, it was announced this morning that Walt Disney Co. had purchased Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion. Wow.  I’ve been following the news on JoBlo this morning, and the superhero movie-lover inside me wondered immediately how it would affect the current Marvel films in development. The answer is apparently that it won’t […]

And at last, time for the final category of the summer and perhaps the season’s most beloved genre: best action films. 2009 was a rarity in this decade because it wasn’t dominated by superhero movies. Only one came out and it barely made the list, whereas last year there were three and I probably would […]

I’m all about comedies at the movies, but I’m pretty tough when it comes to reviewing humor. I’m usually either pretty generous in reviewing a comedy that manages to make me hysterical a good number of times and stingy if I’m not won over by the characters.  All in all, 2009 was a pretty solid […]

A story of a man talking to a tall imaginary rabbit seems like a child’s film, but “Harvey” is anything but. In fact, it challenges our tendency to dismiss it as such. It is a case study of a perfectly delusional but perfectly charming middle-aged man who despite those around him believing him insane, ends […]

“The Bank Job” is fun, so much fun that you kinda have to stare awkwardly at its “based on a true story” tagline. Did a bank robbery where the press was blacked out really happen? Was it really set up as a government operation to retrieve critical blackmail photos of Princess Margaret? Speculation aside, “The […]

2009 was a pretty good summer in the way of family/kids entertainment. With kids out of school and day camps not for everyone in this economy, even the films not on this top five list cough“G-Force”cough raked in serious money. In fact, only one film on this list didn’t cream the box office (for understandable […]

Summer is the time for the action blockbusters and the year’s best comedies, which despite our society’s many gender reforms, means more roles for men, so putting together the top five acting performances by a male actor was a tougher endeavor than for the ladies.  To sort things out, I chose quality dramatic acting over […]

As a movie-lover, I sometimes feel bad about alienating the genre of horror movies as much as I do considering how well they perform at the box office. I watch very few of them and it’s not because I’m too scared (though I’ll admit I get jumpy no matter how many times horror directors abuse […]

Sometimes the most genius films are the ones that draw the most criticism. “Burn After Reading” may never reach the elite of IMDb top 250 and confuse and bother a lot of viewers, but if that’s you, then you simply have yet to watch enough Coen brothers films to understand and appreciate the deep intelligence […]

The summer’s best female roles tended to come from the best actresses. Sad as it is, most summer films don’t create great roles for women, so the women that really shine in this season tend to be the best in the business. Though the majority of my top five are younger actresses, the top two […]

There’s very little gutsier film-making than creating an animated war documentary. Israeli filmmaker Ari Folman’s genre blend is exactly what makes “Waltz with Bashir” a stand-out film, one made with every intention of frightening producers in concept and spitting in Hollywood’s face with its quality. The challenge of every war film is to illuminate a […]

A lot of future stars are born in the summer. Although the Oscar-caliber actors usually emerge from the winter season, the summer months most often judge an actor’s true commercial success. Getting a big role in a possible blockbuster, such as Megan Fox in 2007’s “Transformers,” can make you the next biggest hit on search […]

Underdog sports movies walk a fine line with clichés; romantic comedies walk a fine line with clichés. “Tin Cup” is both these things and walks the finest of the fine lines, and though it leans toward the cliché, it never completely loses its balance. Its likable swagger behind star Kevin Costner — a similar swagger […]