In 2009, the book “The Help” was released and spent more then 100 weeks on bestseller lists. It chronicled the fictional stories of Aibileen Clark, a poor African American lady who works for rich, white families in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960s. The book was written by Kathryn Stockett, a Caucasian lady who was [...]

Independent films rarely take on science fiction. Reason is because sci-fi films usually require lots of money for sets and effects (movies with angsty conversations about your family, on the other hand, are relatively cheap and easy to make). When the genre is tackled, however, I have often enjoyed the results mostly because they tend [...]

What you expect from a film really paints what you will feel about the film afterward. Whether you are partial to or despise the director or one of the actors, if you’ve heard good or bad reviews from friends, or if you’ve been sucked in or led astray by marketing will already start you with [...]

In 1953, Morris Engel made a film called Little Fugitive. It was about a boy who thought he had killed his older brother and ran off to Coney Island to live on his own. It’s a charming piece (even though Engel was more interested in capturing the realism of this little boy in this big [...]

There are many people who love the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, although seeing the awfulness that was The Country Bears and knowing that The Haunted Mansion was soon to follow, the film just seemed like a similar ploy for Disney to pillage their old tourist attractions and try [...]

The thing that kept coming into my mind as I watched African Cats is “Boy, I miss Meerkat Manor.” I know that Animal Planet show isn’t the first show/film to try and anthropomorphize animals or even the best one, but sitting through four seasons with those adorable rodents really embedded that formula into my brain. [...]

Try as he may, Robert Zemekis cannot find his way out of the uncanny valley — that deep gorge where his other forays into motion-capture like The Polar Express, Beowulf and A Christmas Carol have fallen. For those who are unaware of what this valley is, look at the “human” faces in any of those [...]

“In a crazy city, if one is to survive, he’s got to be more crazy.” So starts this story set in Hong Kong where the price of an apartment overlooking the sea is somewhere around $5 Million. This movie is supposedly based on a true story, and it is in some timely aspects, as the [...]

I am developing a huge love of Korean cinema. Of course, when I say Korea, I mean South Korea (I doubt anything of value is coming out of North Korea). With me, it all started with the devastating film, Oldboy, which at the time, I counted as a one off and never really looked further [...]

This is a continuation of last week’s reviews of the 2011 Oscar Nominated Shorts. Documentaries are typically much more thought provoking, much more topical and much more depressing then their narrative or animated brethren. In those areas, this group of documentary shorts does not disappoint. Here they are:

As an avid watcher and prognosticator of the Oscars, the short films that are nominated are always my weakness. I never see them, don’t know how to see them and I often just guess who will win depending on the titles. However, it all works out because 99% of the people that guess the winners [...]

Comedy is subjective. Everyone has their own things that they find hilarious, whether it be a kick in the groin, a pie in the face or a well-placed pause. To add to that, comedy depends on your understanding; what you’ve experienced, the things you’ve seen, heard, and learned will determine whether or not you will [...]

I’ve watched 233 “new to me” films. 82 of those 233 films were released this year. Out of those 82 films here is my list of Top Ten films for 2010.

Christian Bale has returned to acting! Thank God Almighty! After languishing in barely there roles — growling in the rebooted Batman films and picking a paycheck for Terminator Salvation — Mr. Bale reminded me why he used to be a name that made me want to see whatever movie he was in, regardless of what [...]

There is a tactic that shock jocks, the writers of publications like the Enquirer and others in the media use to generate a buzz. They will say something outrageous, “Did you know that the left kidney of dolphins, when mixed with elephant tusk powder, will reverse the aging process? In fact that’s what Avon uses [...]

Have you seen the 2005 Michael Bay film, The Island? That bloated and overbearing film was constantly in the back of my head as I was watching Never Let Me Go. The premise similarities are striking, as is the fact that the film, The Island, and the book, Never Let Me Go, came out around [...]

“Man is steel. The tank is only iron.” On July 12, 2006, conflict began between Israel and Lebanon. It began when Hezbollah soldiers fired rockets into Israel and blew up two armored Humvees patrolling the Israeli side of the border. Three soldiers died. Two other soldiers were taken by Hezbollah into Lebanon. Israel responded and [...]

Banksy is a British graffiti street artist. His art is known throughout the world, however his identity is, even now, a complete mystery. The art he creates is often satirical; often taking jabs at government and popular culture. One of his pictures, “Naked Man” is a painting of a naked man hanging outside a window [...]

Atomic apocalypse may still be upon us. That is what the filmmakers behind Countdown to Zero want us to remember. As President Kennedy says, “Every man, woman and child lives under a nuclear sword of Damocles, hanging by the slenderest of threads, capable of being cut at any moment by accident, or miscalculation, or by [...]

When anyone watches a movie, they enter into a non-verbal contract with the director that states that as we place ourselves in their hands for the next two hours; we trust that they will not screw with us. That does not just cover that they won’t plant us back in the Middle Ages and then [...]

It’s always great to see an exciting director’s first film. To say, “Wow! Once that guy polishes up some of his story telling skills, he’s going to make some impressive works.” Harry Brown is Daniel Barber’s first feature length film and it knocks the wind out of you. From the opening scenes, shot on what [...]

The film sub-genre of Mumblecore has been around since 2002. They are characterized by improvised scripts spoken by un-proven actors on shoestring budgets. The plots are simplistic, people talking about what people talk about as they would normally talk. Nothing particularly spectacular happens and it’s okay. Slowly, the directors of these films have been getting [...]