When families start coming together, the romantic comedies and dramas start coming out of the woodwork for feel-good family time, so this is the one time of year I combine all such efforts. This year we have quite a few of them, but you’ll have to dig for the real winners. The Twilight Saga: [...]
Archives
Some Tips for the Writers of the Next ‘Star Wars’ Films
I wrote this for Entertainment Fuse. If you want to go ahead and read this article in its entirety, click her to read it on EntertainmentFuse.com “Star Wars” returning to the big screen for Episodes VII, VIII and IX is a super exciting prospect, but we all felt the same way before I, II [...]
Safety Not Guaranteed Review
When time travel is part of a sci-fi thriller or action-adventure film, we usually get caught up in how it all works and excitement of a journey that defies our current scientific capabilities. “Safety Not Guaranteed” takes the indie approach, exploring the more grounded aspects of time travel (as oxymoronic as it sounds), or in [...]
Wreck-It Ralph Review
For at least a decade now, the first name in animation has been Pixar, with the Disney half of that combination generally omitted. Pixar’s dedication to the best storytelling in both written and visual form as well as incredible creativity and cleverness has generally gone unparalleled, but plain old Disney Animation show it’s catching up [...]
Archive Review: The Lost Boys (1987)
Before the vampire craze of the late aughties there was “The Lost Boys.” Here’s my review from June 6, 2011. Living in the modern era of overdone vampire stories, “The Lost Boys” makes for a worthy retro antidote. With films and TV shows full of characters who simply are vampires these days, “Lost Boys” reminds [...]
Pitch Perfect Review
Nothing about the premise of “Pitch Perfect” suggests it should be a funny movie, or anything more than a diversion for “Glee” fans who’ve burnt out on the hit show after three-plus seasons. A cappella groups might be a change of pace for Hollywood, but college humor isn’t, with most college comedies going straight to [...]
Moonrise Kingdom Review
The moment “Moornise Kingdom” graces the screen, it is a Wes Anderson film. The first major sequence, the symmetrical exploration of the Bishop house, couldn’t be mistaken for any other filmmaker’s style — nor could the rest of the film, honestly. So if Anderson is just as divisively quirky as ever, why has “Moonrise Kingdom” [...]
Archive Review: The Evil Dead (1981)
I feel like everything I’ve posted for my horror archive reviews this month has been a film that received or will receive a remake! This “Evil Dead” review comes from July 25, 2011. You might never suspect a relationship between horror and comedy — which means you’ve never seen a Sam Raimi horror film. Although [...]
Seven Movie Psychopaths I’d Like to See Together
I was a big fan of “Seven Psychopaths,” and considering that part of the film involves Colin Farrell’s Marty attempting to assemble seven psychopaths for his screenplay, I thought it would be interesting to assemble seven of my favorite movie psychopaths of all time into a group that you’d want to stay far, far away [...]
Archive Review: Poltergeist (1982)
A fitting archive review for this weekend with “Paranormal Activity 4″ in theaters (and some news that Sam Raimi could direct the remake of this one). From August 23, 2010. Some will say “Jaws” and other will say “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” but the 1982 “Poltergeist” offers the Exhibit B for of the [...]
Archive Review: Let the Right One In (2008)
My review of this foreign horror film comes from Halloween 2010. Foreign language films lose out on a wider audience for two reasons: limited distribution and subtitles. Most audiences view subtitles as a hurdle to their enjoyment of a film, but regardless of whether that’s a founded argument, it’s inconsequential for “Let the Right One [...]
Dark Shadows Review
When you let a child play with the same toys over and over again, you’re going to end up with some stale make-believe. Tim Burton has pulled his Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter dolls out of his play chest again and decided this time they’re engaged in a supernatural love story taking place in [...]
Argo Review
Exfiltration specialist Tony Mendez received the highest honor that can possibly be awarded in Intelligence for his work during the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979, and the man who played him and directed his story in “Argo,” Ben Affleck, will find himself quite decorated as well if he continues to make films at this quality [...]
Seven Psychopaths Review
In the marketing for “Seven Psychopaths,” CBS Films wants you to count the film’s seven stars, but the one real psychopath (and I mean that in most positive and endearing way possible) that matters is writer and director Martin McDonagh, whose sophomore film and follow-up to “In Bruges” is a cockeyed stroke of genius.
Archive Review: Dawn of the Dead (1978)
I finally saw the original zombie-mall masterpiece back in April. It’s rather striking how much “Dawn of the Dead” feels like its own original film. Maybe its the move from black and white to color or the complete change in main characters, but outside of that, it’s entirely the same concept as its predecessor.
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