In Chronicle, Josh Trank’s (who’s previously worked on TV’s “The Kill Point”) theatrical debut, we learn that, much like how it is with young love, when high school students are confronted with superpowers, things can quickly escalate from skipping stones and playing aeronautical football to committing crimes of passion and bouts of melodrama. Yet, despite [...]

It took two viewings for me to appreciate We Need to Talk About Kevin, the neo-surrealist drama helmed by Lynne Ramsay. Based on a book of the same name, the film, scribed by the director alongside Rory Kinnear, explores the theme of “nature versus nurture” through the eyes of Eva Khatchadourian (Tilda Swinton), a disenchanted [...]

Recently, as per my friend’s request, I skimmed through a snuff film he’d found online. “You know, the fact that I don’t bat an eye at this, but have to hold back tears during ASPCA infomercials is sick in and of itself.” “Congratulations, you’ve been desensitized to human violence,” he shot back. It’s true, like [...]

Casting for Steven Soderbergh’s latest film, Haywire must’ve started with an all-star poker match. Inviting talents like Channing Tatum, Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, Michael Fassbender, and Ewan McGregor for beer and gambling, the director, confident with his hand, decided to raise the ante. “How about we make this interesting? Relativity Media dumped me with a [...]

My neighbor is a borderline Christian extremist. When she’s not bashing homosexuality or quoting the Bible, she particularly enjoys listening to gospel music and watching Tyler Perry movies. Once, being the self-appointed film snob I am, I asked about her obsession with the Madea series. She applauded the franchise’s family-friendly and pro-God morals — completely [...]

I always enjoy reviewing the first film of the year because, as many of you know, January is largely reserved for contractual releases and studio throwaways. Alas, it’s 2012 and we’ve only 11 months before utter chaos, so I’m savoring the opportunity to rip apart William Brent Bell’s The Devil Inside. A faux-documentary, it examines [...]

A decade later and 9/11 has become the new “it” thing in Hollywood. Now, much like with homosexuality, movies — particularly late-winter melodramas — dealing with the terrorist attacks have become foolproof investments. As such there was no stopping Stephen Daldry’s latest film Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, an adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer’s eponymous [...]

Georges Prosper Remi, better known by his pen name Hergé, was the revolutionary behind the Adventures of Tintin comic series, which he wrote and illustrated. Known for the meticulous research that went into each chapter, its vivid humanism, political satire and the “ligne claire” art style he used (and pioneered), which utilizes strong lines, cast [...]

If Bella Swan of Twilight infamy is the archetype for every subordinate female lead, Lisbeth Salander, the punk fashionista at the crux of Stieg Larsson’s “Millennium” novel series, is her antithesis; her independence and inability to conform — physically and intellectually — makes her the forerunner of the New Age feminist movement. Pierced, inked, and [...]

The Church of Scientology must’ve numbed Tom Cruise to fear (or common sense) — it’s the only explanation for the stunts he does in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol — because the actor dangles 100 stories in the air outside Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper. And although it’s awfully hard to believe he [...]

Like many movie snobs and deadbeat critics, I too studied film. As a consequence, I’ve met a number of hacks — among them was a young man who tried to emulate classic cinema. Everything from the scores he used, to his cinematography and narratives were brined in dust and had an air of pretentiousness. Usually, [...]

High school: You either loved it or you hated it. If you were a star athlete, gorgeous cheerleader, or the kid who had an open house and unmatched access to alcohol, I’m sure you’ve nothing but fond memories. Personally, as a dork, I don’t miss it in the slightest, yet, embarrassingly enough, I still wonder [...]

There’s a lot of hoopla surrounding Martin Scorsese’s latest, Hugo, which is the director’s introduction to family films, and the only one to utilize 3D technology. Not run-of-the-mill praise, I’ve heard phrases like “timeless,” “a masterpiece,” and “one of the best movies about filmmaking ever made,” being thrown about. And because I have no life [...]

During the mid-fifties American puppeteer Jim Henson, and his muppets, a varied collection of custom marionettes, took the entertainment world by storm. Through the years, the most iconic has been Kermit the Frog, the only “amphibian” to address the Oxford Union, and also the first to receive an honorary doctorate from Southampton College. But although [...]

In 2006 George Miller, Warren Coleman, Judy Morris, and John Collee brought us Happy Feet, which proved that despite being confined to the barren, icy wasteland of Antarctica, penguins can have fun too (usually by singing radio hits). Despite mild controversy over the film’s environmentalist stance and its supposed polar reconstruction of an urban environment [...]

Reflecting both the film’s target audience and the man at the helm (who we can all agree has seen better days), Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar opens with its titular protagonist (Leonardo DiCaprio), loose-skinned, prune-hued, and silver-haired, doing what people his age do: Ranting and raving. In his particular case it is about communism, which he [...]

Hunter S. Thompson was an acclaimed author and journalist, though as memorable as his literature is, he also has a legacy for his lifelong love of alcohol, mescaline, LSD, and cocaine. And on February 20, 2005, when the drugs stopped supplying happiness, he shot himself to death. The suicide note read: “No More Games. No [...]

Ding! Ding! Ding! It’s time for a brief lesson on the Bard of Avon — William Shakespeare. Born to a working-class family in early 1560s, and, with a sixth-grade formal education, he began as a successful actor in London. Later, ‘Peare branched out to writing plays, specifically comedies and tragedies. His more famous works, considered [...]

It’s the good, the bad, and the catty in Chris Miller’s Puss in Boots, the first action-packed spinoff of the Shrek series, and to the surprise of many, it not only provides viewers a much needed history lesson by explaining how everyone’s favorite swashbuckling orange tabby came to be the legend he is today, but [...]

During my younger years, my mother would always tell me outlandish stories. Most of these tales involved animals spontaneously springing to life and adapting anthropomorphic qualities and inspired an overactive imagination, but one fable in particular would always scare me witless. As a superstitious woman, she’d look at me — her words marinated in conviction [...]

Admittedly, I haven’t the slightest idea of what it means to be a woman (especially in these oh-so-confusing times). But, with the media on blast about weight loss products and plastic surgery, and super models — all rail-thin and covered in makeup — constantly being shoved in our faces, I assume that it’s difficult for [...]

The only thing more cliché than a wholesome American family moving into a cheap mansion, only to realize that the awesome deal they scored was thanks to a supernatural presence or a dark secret, is a city slicking author, so anxious to leave the noisiness of the urban jungle to pen his book, that he [...]

As a somewhat successful writer, I’ve become a firm believer that all work should be from the heart. Unfortunately, as a film critic, I’m stuck watching and reviewing movies where it’s painfully obvious that the filmmakers had an ambitious idea in mind, but not the slightest idea about the subject matter. What results is a [...]

Much like athletes, who run on daily workouts, strict diets, and practice, sports films operate on inspiration. And there’s something about the genre that makes grown men cry their eyes out. Perhaps it’s the machismo, making even the most collected male feel comfortable in shedding a tear or two (definitely more masculine to get emotional [...]

Sam Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs released theatrically in 1971. Based on the novel “The Siege of the Trencher’s Farm” by Gordon Williams, it came out the same year as A Clockwork Orange, The French Connection, and Dirty Harry, causing quite the uproar from conservative Americans, who were worried about the increase of violence in movie houses. [...]

Gonzalo Là³pez-Gallego’s mockumentary Apollo 18 has been delayed five consecutive times. But that doesn’t mean that the director used the time wisely. NASA, which often works with filmmakers who are using space as a backdrop for their films, denounced the movie due to their minimal involvement (never even seeing a rough cut) and Bert Ulrich, [...]

When asked how many animal species exist, scientists estimate that the answer’s anywhere between 10 and 100 million. Now, that’s a whole lot of creatures running about. So then why has Hollywood limited itself to only a handful? Wouldn’t it be interesting to see a thriller revolving around genetically-altered giraffes or a monstrous salmon for [...]

As Hurricane Irene pummels the east coast with heavy downpours and strong winds, massive evacuations are being held all over New York City. Thankfully, unlike the more privileged, who are grabbing their poodles and running for the hills, hardened Brooklynites (myself included) have been largely unaffected by the mayhem, continuing to fear only bills and [...]

In this economy, a bargain-priced mansion sounds like a dream. However, every film aficionado knows that when the place is called Blackwood Manor, has a history of mysterious disappearances, and hasn’t been bought in decades, it’s most likely a conduit for evil. But there’s always an oblivious family ready to set up shop and in [...]

Entire essays — books even — can be devoted to describing Zoe Saldana’s beauty. Everything from her eyes and sun kissed skin to her perfectly toned body makes her every man’s epitomic woman. And Oliver Megaton’s Colombiana was clearly devoted for an actress of her picturesque appearance. Penned by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Karmen, [...]

In 1991 Columbia Pictures introduced you to an extraordinary new filmmaker, and an unforgettable new vision. The director was 23-year-old John Singleton, the film, Boyz ‘N the Hood. Next year, the studio presented a remarkable new film, from another phenomenal talent. The film was Robert Rodriguez’s El Mariachi (the above is a tongue-in-cheek reference to [...]

In the second remake to release this week, director Craig Gillespie (Mr. Woodcock) brings us Fright Night, which, penned by Marti Noxon, is loosely based on Tom Holland’s 1985 film of the same name. Fortunately, unlike the retelling of Conan the Barbarian, it’s an entertaining update of a cult-classic. On the outskirts of Las Vegas, [...]

Some bud, a couple of drunken girls, and a bass-heavy soundtrack seem to be the inspiration behind the sophomoric Conan the Barbarian, a remake of an equally bad 1982 motion picture of the same name. It’s a film that was probably scribbled on a memo pad by a frat boy who had one too many [...]

At fortysomething, Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) is living the American Dream. He has a nice house, a decent job, two loveable kids, and unlike most people, he’s married to his high school sweetheart, Emily (Julianne Moore). But that white picket fence is only as strong as those who built it, and in Weaver’s case, this [...]

Anyone who has read my review for 2010′s misfire, Jonah Hex, knows that I love genre-mashing. I adore it especially if it’s something being meshed with a Western. Now imagine my glee when I heard Cowboys & Aliens being announced. Then came out that Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Sam Rockwell, Olivia Wilde, and Paul Dano [...]

Anyone who has gone to high school in the U.S. remembers those lectures about the American Dream, but never has someone mentioned Captain America, a man who epitomizes it. Created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby in 1941, Captain America became the comic-book world’s most nationalistic superhero. And though the serial was meant as a [...]

Prior to my screening of Stephen J. Anderson and Don Hall’s Winnie the Pooh, an adaptation of the beloved A.A. Milne and Ernest Shepard books, a military recruitment ad (complete with tattooed musclemen who, cradling monstrous rifles, ran through enemy-fire, barking orders) terrified the young audience made up of rampageous toddlers that parents had brought [...]

I like music documentaries, despite not being much of a virtuoso (though I’ve tried my hand at guitar — needless to say, it’s still sitting in the same corner it’s been in for the past three months). But what attracts me to the genre are the artists themselves; as a semi-struggling screenwriter who is still [...]

Ever go to the grocery store and, while standing at the checkout, glanced at the tabloid papers? With Rumor Patrol, People, and Life & Times all detailing the juicy details of Lindsey Lohan or Britney Spears’ latest mental breakdown (using a combination of badly Photoshopped pictures, corny puns and headlines reading, “Drugs, Booze, and Floral [...]

In Seth Gordon’s (Freakonomics, The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters) Horrible Bosses, you’ll meet the tool (Colin Farrell), the psycho (Kevin Spacey), and the man-eater (Jennifer Aniston), three higher-ups that make their employee’s lives a living hell. First in line is Bobby Pellitt, the son of Jack Pellitt (Donald Sutherland) and the heir [...]

The Ledge was screened in New York during a stand-off between supporters and opponents of gay marriage; some journalists even believed that the city, which was one vote away from legalizing marriage equality, was on the heels on “anarchism.” Luckily, it never came that far. Coincidentally, the film, Matthew Chapman’s directorial debut (he also pens [...]

Most scripts are divided into three acts: The setup, which introduces characters, plot-points, and locales; the confrontation, where both the antagonist and protagonist’s strengths and weaknesses are further examined — complicating the problem at hand — and finally; the resolution, which concludes the aforementioned conflicts. Larry Crowne, a love-story between an ex-Navy serviceman and his [...]

Generally, writers try to change the world. We think of ourselves as omnipotent while stroking prickly beards, sipping on aged wine and puffing down on fine cigars. This will be my magnus opus, we think to ourselves. Though, as luck would have it, many of these ideas go up in smoke (the others are publically [...]

I’ve had my fair share of eccentric teachers. In junior high, there was Mr. Plotsker, who despite being fit as a horse, walked with a cane. Sometimes he would twirl it around during long-winded lectures. Other times, he’d pretend it was a machine gun. “Close, but no cigar,” he’d proclaim, pointing its end towards a [...]

In 2003 Brian Douglas Wells, a high school dropout, pizza deliveryman, and “valued employee” of the Mama Mia Pizzeria, was double-crossed by Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong and Kenneth Barnes, his co-conspirators in a botched robbery plot. On the afternoon of August 28th, at the end of a dirt road, the crooks fastened a time bomb to Wells’ [...]

A friend of mine once argued about the redundancy behind DC Comics; its name, he claimed, originally stood for Detective Comics, thus by adding an extra ‘comics’ at the end, one is left with the awkwardly titled Detective Comics Comics. Though, despite the discrepancy behind the publisher’s name, it has remained a powerhouse in the [...]

Set in Lillian, Ohio, J.J. Abrams’ (Star Trek, Mission: Impossible III) latest, Super 8 chronicles Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney), a young boy who struggles to connect with his depressed workaholic of a father, Jack (Kyle Chandler), the town’s Deputy Sherriff. He spends his time playing with monster makeup on the set of his friend, Charles’ [...]

The premise for 2008′s Kung Fu Panda was conceptualized by a DreamWorks Animation executive, Michael Lachance, and has been around since the early ’90s. When it finally released, the production (directed by John Wayne Stevenson and Mark Osborne) slowly became a financial and critical success for the studio. In fact, the story of Po (voiced [...]

The wolfpack is back in Todd Phillips’ sequel to his 2009 smash-hit The Hangover. Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, and Ed Helms all reprise their iconic roles as Phil, Alan, and Stu. This time in The Hangover Part 2, however, the team assembles in Thailand for Stu’s wedding. But when he, already on poor terms with [...]

20th century author and poet, Raymond Carver, is oftentimes recognized for his impact on short story writing. In the 1980s, when the medium first began to falter, short stories had become a tough sell for publications because of their briefness, however, that did not stop the author, who had admitted to being “inclined to brevity [...]

Emily Giffin’s Something Borrowed is quintessential “chick lit,” a highly marketable genre of fiction that prides itself in depicting modern womanhood in a (mostly) humorous manner. And because it was an international bestseller with a built in demographic, a film adaptation was inevitable (although I thought it would have arrived sooner). Something Borrowed, director Luke [...]

An adaptation of Tiziano Sclavi’s Italian horror comic series and a spinoff of Michele Soavi’s horror-romance Cemetery Man, Kevin Munroe’s Dylan Dog: Dead of Night is no stranger to obscure source material. Bringing former Man of Steel, Brandon Routh, back into a leading role, the film (penned by Thomas Dean Donnelley and Joshua Oppenheimer), is [...]

In Super Size Me, he risked his health to expose the fast food industry, then in Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden, Morgan Spurlock upped the ante, deciding to travel to the war-torn Middle East (armed with just a camera-crew and some defense training). Now the director takes a less harmful approach to [...]

The London-born actor, David Niven (who is best known for his role as Phileas Fogg in Michael Anderson’s critically-acclaimed Around the World in 80 Days) was once quoted as saying, “Keep the circus going inside you, keep it going, don’t take anything too seriously, and it’ll all work out in the end.” Indeed, the circus, [...]

Born as Alisa Zinov’yevna Rosenbaum in St. Petersburg, Russia to a middle-class family, philosopher and writer, Ayn Rand, would soon see her father, a successful pharmacist, lose his business following the Bolshevik Revolution. With her family punished for past successes, Rand moved to the United States, where she’d fall in love with capitalism and ultimately, [...]

Establishing a poignant opening scene is the most important aspect of filmmaking and more often than not, otherwise talented screenwriters, directors, and editors underestimate its significance. The introduction of major characters, the picture’s setting, and putting the plot in motion are all elements that must be addressed from the start. In the case of Kelly [...]

Rio de Janeiro — it’s the only place in the world where a tranquil shot of birds chirping their way through the thick greenery can erupt into a grandiose tribal orchestra. Doing away with the mammoths and icecaps of his previous works, director Carlos Saldanha (the Ice Age series) places immense care in representing his [...]

Released on the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s slaying, Robert Redford’s (Lions for Lambs, The Horse Whisperer) The Conspirator commences with a wide shot depicting a ravaged battleground: Frederick Aiken (James McAvoy) lying in a ditch alongside his comrade Nicholas Baker (Justin Long), and several hundred bloodied troopers. The shot closes in on both Union soldiers [...]

There are two unspoken rules to crafting a remake. First and foremost, classics are strictly prohibited. Secondly, if there are any trademark performances attached, it’s all the more reason not to continue onward. Jason Winer’s (T.V.’s Modern Family, Don’t Trust the Bitch in Apartment 23) Arthur breaks both amounting to nothing but another vehicle for [...]

Amidst the Arctic Circle’s barren snowcaps, Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) hunts. With nothing more than a bow-and-arrow, she kills a deer, although to her disappointment, she missed her mark — the creature’s heart. She finishes the job with a pistol — a stare down with the animal’s bloodshot eyes revealing a sense of humanity and sympathy, [...]

For a screenwriter, period pieces tend to be difficult — especially if they’re set in medieval times — dialogue being restricted to olden diction isn’t the easiest to write. However, with director David Gordon Green’s latest, which is an awkward mix of stoner comedy and medieval epic, that problem is quickly dispelled. How, you may [...]

Much like Duncan Jones’ freshman endeavor, Moon, a film that was eclipsed (pun intended) at first, but which then skyrocketed to unprecedented levels of success during award season, Source Code is a cerebral thriller that takes an unorthodox approach to popcorn cinema. The similarities don’t end there, however; although both films were penned by different [...]

Riding through the sun-drenched Los Angeles, the charismatic defense attorney, Mick Haller (Matthew McConaughey), immediately presents himself as someone you’d like to know in times of trouble . . . as long as you’ve got the dough to pay upfront. He’s a courtroom monster who has no problem talking his way out of defending a [...]

I once had the genius idea (or so I thought) of penning a story involving a pill that could fix all of your flaws. Bald? No problem, one pop and you’d be growing a lion’s mane. Fat? Simple, give it a couple of minutes and that beer belly would disappear completely. Poorly *ahem* “equipped”? No, [...]

Just judging on the fact that the story has been interpreted to be an allegory for sexual awakening, Little Red Riding Hood was just asking to be dumbed down and reimaged into a romance for teeny-boppers. So eat your heart out kids, here’s Catherine Hardwicke’s Red Riding Hood, a film that might have been decent [...]

Contrary to what Americans like to believe, the United States wasn’t built on peace and love — the fountain on which it stands will always be violence. As colonists, we deceived and slaughtered the Native people. Later, we held slaves for profit. Now, once again, we’re fighting a war based on greed. Looking back, it [...]

Director Gore Verbinski himself has admitted that Rango was meant only as a “small” break from the widely-successful Pirates of the Caribbean series. To his surprise, however, animated filmmaking was not the piece of cake that he had expected and his short detour into the Mojave Desert was scaled into a more serious production. Fortunately, [...]

Exploitation films are an acquired taste. Much like fermented tofu, you either love it or find the very idea disgusting (most people fall into the latter category). Fortunately, although the inception of VHS-tapes brought an end to the grindhouses and drive-through theaters that catered to such cinema, there are still filmmakers dedicated to the art-form. [...]

Regardless of what other people say, creativity is the lifeblood of any civilization. You think that without visionaries we’d have computers, automobiles, and toilet paper? No, we’d still be Neanderthals and trust me, wiping your ass with leaves isn’t as appealing as it sounds. Then again, that brings up the question: Where’d all the inventiveness [...]

Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) and his wife, Elizabeth (January Jones), are on a plane to Berlin, where he is to hold a presentation at a bio-technology summit funded by Prince Shada (Mido Hamada), a tree-hugging ruler that has attracted the interest of extremists in his country. Upon landing in a very snowy Germany, the [...]

In 120 A.D. the Roman army’s Ninth Legion marched into Northern Britain (which was apparently left uninhabited) never to be seen again. In response, Emperor Hadrian built an expansive wall to cut off the north from the rest of his empire. Fast forward 20 years and in the Roman-occupied South, Marcus Aquila (Channing Tatum), the [...]

Stephanie Meyer is the Antichrist. Because of her damned formula of “girl meets boy, boy turns out to be a freak (albeit a very attractive freak), boy and girl fall in love and decide to have demented demon babies (yes, I went as far as to spoil the end of the Twilight series — sue [...]

The unknown is scary for a lot of people (myself included), as I find even the smallest of prospects (i.e., the women’s restroom) to be vast and dangerous. However, some brave souls dream of exploring the unexplored. In fact, some make it their life’s work; one example being deep-sea divers, who find pleasure in discerning [...]

Set in a Sartrean representation of present-day Italy, The Rite is a satirical look at exorcism and the individuals who perform them. With similarities to Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit and his belief that “Hell is other people,” Mikael Hà¥fström’s (1408, Derailed) latest chronicles two clergymen — Michael Kovak (Colin O’ Donoghue) and his seasoned counterpart, [...]

You’d think that January would be a month brimming with cinematic gems — a new year means new opportunities, in turn, allowing fresh talents to be inducted into the grand scheme of Hollywood. Unfortunately, that just isn’t the case, and for any dignified film connoisseur, January is just the beginning of a cold and barren [...]

Director Sang-soo Im has said that his recent, The Housemaid, a remake of the eponymous Ki-young Kim production — considered one of the greatest Korean films ever made — is meant to be an indirect representation of the gap between rich and poor in Korea. Following Eun-yi (Do-yeon Jeon), an impoverished young woman who begins [...]

Ivan Reitman’s royal fuck-up No Strings Attached may be the most perplexing film released thus far this year. The reason being not for subject matter or direction, instead it remains puzzling for its purpose — or lack thereof. Suitably released during the black-hole month of January, this misguided production offers nothing but a smack in [...]

The Green Hornet is a character unbeknownst to most people. Starting as an obscure radio series by George W. Trendle, “The Green Hornet” became a fan-favorite for those enjoying “pulp-heroes” at the time. So it comes as no surprise that some poor sap (most likely an intern) working in Hollywood was forced to dig up [...]

The first scene of Dominic Sena’s new film, Season of the Witch (penned by Bragi F. Schut), a follow-up to his idiotic Whiteout, chronicles the hanging of three accused witches at the hands of a group of religious zealots in Viccah, a fictional town, in 1235 A.D. This scene is meant to make the Catholic [...]

Forever — the concept that something can last “without ever ending” seems implausible — nay — it is impossible. Yet at the same time, achieving something — especially love — that can last eternally and never wither or fail, is an insatiable lust that, unfortunately, no human being can ever conjure up. This makes Hollywood’s [...]

One of the requirements to holding any kind of public office is a sharp tongue. That being said, a king with a speech impediment is simply coated with irony; it sounds like a great political satire. However, director Tom Hopper (The Damned United), alongside screenwriter David Seidler (Malice in Wonderland (the 1985 T.V. movie, not [...]

Jay Roach’s Meet the Parents was not necessarily an exercise in subtlety; featuring a Jewish male nurse named Gaylord ‘Greg’ Focker (played by Ben Stiller) as the film’s protagonist. But audience members and critics alike just ate it up, resulting in a total gross of over $166,000,000. Four years later, an inevitable sequel surfaced, entitled [...]

Henry Hathaway’s 1969 film True Grit is the definitive spaghetti western: A rowdy tale of three mismatched Western flavors that travel together in hopes of capturing Tom Chaney (Jeff Corey), a man wanted for two counts of murder — one for a loving father, Frank Ross, who Chaney kills following a debacle at the poker-table [...]

Spike Jonze’s visual retelling of Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are chronicles the story of Max (Max Records), a young boy who feels abandoned by his mother (Catherine Keener) and his sister (Pepita Emmerichs). He runs away to a world of his own, which is inhabited by large creatures, which sport large sharp chompers, [...]

Tron: Legacy is a film that has been hinted at since the 1990s, however, excitement sky-rocketed in 2008 after a teaser trailer, helmed by Joseph Kosinski, was screened at the San Diego comic con. Of course, reception was spectacular, thus allowing Disney to green-light a sequel to one of their most subtly darkest (and in [...]

An illustrious Angelina Jolie is just one-half of Florian Henekel von Donnersmarck’s (you can’t make a name like this up) The Tourist. Usually considered one of the most beautiful women in the world, Jolie’s character, Elise Clifton-Ward, also exemplifies the same unrestrained beauty: The eyes that capture the attention of any males, and lips that [...]

Never in my right mind would I have thought to watch a film about ballet dancers. Admittedly, I’m not sophisticated enough to partake in any sort of classical theater (though I did listen to a bit of “The Nutcracker” once — my nose titled upward with class). But after seeing Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan, my [...]

Based on a popular Brothers Grimm fairy-tale and helmed by Nathan Greco and Byron Howard (screenplay by Dan Fogelman), Tangled is the simple yet elegant tale of a young princess named Rapunzel (voiced by Mandy Moore), who is born of a mysterious and all-healing flower, whose abilities have transferred over to her golden hair. But, [...]

Usually when a guy, who goes on a rant in the ticket line, enters to see the same movie as you, it’s hard not to frown. Though in the case of George Tillman Jr.’s Faster, which was penned by Tony and Joe Gayton, I couldn’t help but smile profusely. That’s because his “profound” commentary during [...]

When I think of the word burlesque, the only thing that really comes to mind is a strip club. I imagine the term was coined so that married men could get away with seeing strippers, on account that the proper term in one of these clubs would be burlesque dancers. See? It sounds so much [...]

Based on the obscure French film, Pour elle, of which I have never heard of, Paul Haggis’ The Next Three Days (which he both directed and wrote the screenplay for), stars the bankable Russell Crowe alongside the equally popular Elizabeth Banks as John and Lara Brennan, a married couple whose relationship takes a drastic turn [...]

It’s hard to believe that it’s been nine years since the release of Chris Columbus’ Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and it’s even harder to believe how much of a cultural phenomenon this big-screen adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s series of novels has become. In fact, Daniel Radcliffe, who has played Harry Potter over the [...]

As a frequent movie-watcher, you are trained to endure a certain level of bad — I mean, it’s just the nature of cinema; most movies aren’t Oscar nominees, hell, most movies don’t even come close to winning any sort of awards. Nonetheless, we watch them. As for the reason, it really doesn’t really matter as [...]

If you think about it, the annual batch of torture porn (i.e., the Saw franchise) is the most harmless aspect of Halloween; I mean, there’s poisoned candy, pedophiles galore, and just general creepiness (and I don’t mean that in the jolly ol’ fun way, more like forty-year old fathers in bikinis weird — I’ve seen [...]

I once had the misfortunate of watching a Lifetime television special and because of this I was forced to use a tampon for the rest of the week. Going one step further, Tony Goldwyn’s Conviction, which has been advertised as the perfect Oscar-bait, kicked me square in the balls and sent me straight to menopause. [...]

“You just got your ass handed to you by a goddamn retiree.” This one quote pretty much sums up all there is to know about director Robert Schwentke’s latest film Red (an acronym for “Retired Extremely Dangerous”), which features an all-star cast that consists of Bruce Willis and Mary-Louise Parker in the lead and Morgan [...]

Sometimes it seems like there’s a website for every type of hopeless romantic out there. Women Behind Bars is a site dedicated to helping incarcerated women by connecting them with a plethora of interested men (why someone would be looking to date a convicted felon is beyond me). Trek Passions, as you’ve probably guessed, is [...]

Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray Thee, Lord, my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray Thee, Lord, my soul to take. If I should live to future days, I pray Thee, Lord, to guide my ways. Amen. There’s something very unsettling about this one particular evening [...]

Christian Alvart’s Case 39 is basically what happens when you turn the Franklin D. Roosevelt quote, “. . . the only thing we have to fear is fear itself . . . ,” into a broader statement and use that to make a horror film. Furthermore, the film, penned by Ray Wright, who also wrote [...]

The best thing about the social-networking site Facebook is that you can practically say anything you want as long as you add “lol” at the end. Failing to add this very important acronym results in comments such as these, which were literally copied from my own Facebook account (however, I corrected them for grammatical issues/spelling): [...]

I can only imagine what went through author Kathryn Lasky’s head when she envisioned her

Oh man, I’d hate to have been on the trading floor during the recent financial collapse because if there’s anything scarier than a frustrated trader, it’s a frustrated trader who just lost a shitload of money. I can see it now — hundreds of irritated investors, pitch-forks in hand, burning down anything that they don’t [...]

If I had to choose three people that I’d hate to be stuck in an elevator with, they’d be O.J. Simpson, Phil Spector, and Justin Bieber. However, M. Night Shyamalan would be a close fourth. Coincidentally, Shyamalan translates the horror of spending countless hours in such an enclosed space with the aforementioned names in Devil, [...]

There’s one scene in Tim Burton’s Big Fish in which Ewan McGregor and Steve Buscemi’s characters rob a bank only to find out that the vault has been wiped clean and that the bank is on the brink of bankruptcy. Now, while that film was mediocre at best, that one scene, which is satirical of [...]

If there’s anyone deserving of the electric chair, it’s Paul W.S. Anderson. Now I say this for a couple of reasons — most of which stem from a recent interview with the popular site, Rotten Tomatoes, however, a lot of my hatred also derives from his body of work which includes Soldier (bad), AVP: Alien [...]

Religion and disease — two of the most destructive aspects of modern society. Both have the tendency to spread like wildfire and both can alter a person’s physical and mental well-being. However, disease can be cured or prevented — religion cannot; because before human beings learned how to think both rationally and peacefully, we learned [...]

So I assume that you’ve all seen Mesrine: Killer Instinct and are now anxious to see the conclusion to the series. Luckily, you are not to be disappointed as Mesrine: Public Enemy #1 delivers the same captivating storytelling, magnetic performances, and ace dialog that its predecessor sported. It does, however, lose a bit of focus [...]

Meet Jacques Mesrine: The most notorious French gangster/bank robber in history, who somehow seemed to escape the fame anywhere other than his native homeland. Being a charismatic bloke, he is best described as France’s own John Dillinger, yet, Mesrine, who practiced kidnapping on the side as well, was responsible for the deaths of approximately forty [...]

I’ve never been one to believe in the hocus-pocus, piece of schlock that is the Bible. I’m sorry if this offends any fanatics, but it’s just how I feel. Although I was raised as a Catholic, even as a child I found the stories of Jesus’ resurrection and God’s seven-day creation plan to be just [...]

I wouldn’t make a good father and I’m not afraid to admit it. I’m rude, have no respect for anyone, and I’m just a bad influence in general. But if I were to “spread my seed,” there would be a couple of positive impacts on the human race, namely my streaming blonde hair which just [...]

I don’t consider myself the conventional nerd. I’m not interested in technology; in fact I have trouble finding out how to change the screen resolution on my computer monitor. I don’t read comic books — except for those couple of times where I sat adjacent to the graphic novel section in Borders. To top of [...]

Angelina this. Angelina that. I’m sick and tired of hearing about Brad and Angelina and their countless marital problems, but I guess I’m alone on this one because the mass media still manages to profit from the misery of these mediocre (at best) performers. I honestly don’t know whose still in Jolie’s fan base — [...]

There’s just something about Westerns that screams out, “Mesh me with other genres.” Perhaps it’s because most traditional westerns are one-note bores that fail to gain any recognition (don’t get your panties in a bunch — I said “most”) and the application of futuristic weaponry and demonic spirits seems like a surefire way to breathe [...]

M. Night Shymalagong came to mainstream recognition through his work on The Sixth Sense, which he both wrote and directed. It was nominated for several Academy Awards including: Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. Oops, excuse me, before I continue on with this review, I must correct myself — I’ve been informed that [...]

Tom Cruise used to be the personification of “badass.” He struggled to become the best pilot he could be in Top Gun, he overcame the impossible in Mission: Impossible and of course, he tackled a dystopian future in Minority Report. But it seems like the action-hero has aged quite poorly and these days he’s tackling [...]

At this point I’ll consider myself a masochist. With a bad taste in my mouth from my viewing of Stoic, I continued on my Uwe Boll obsession and decided to watch his latest film The Final Storm, an apocalyptic thriller which stars Lauren Holly and Steve Bacic as a suburban couple who invite Silas (Luke [...]

“You are a man with some serious cojones,” one prisoner tells Mitch before hanging him. If I ever have the chance to meet German director Uwe Boll, I’d tell him the same thing, for it’s films like Stoic that require a lot of courage and an abundance of faith in ones trade. Stoic, which marked [...]

I think I’d make a decent superhero. I’ve got the good looks, the charm, the brains, and most importantly, the courage, that is needed to save my fellow man from whatever perils they are facing. Oh, who am I kidding? I’ve got none of those (except the good looks and perhaps an inkling of intelligence) [...]

I’m one of the few people who consider Uwe Boll an important film-maker. It may be sad but it’s true. But let me explain my reasoning. Though Mr. Boll, who finances his own cinematic exploits, has not directed a single note-worthy film (except for being notoriously bad), he shows dedication and balls. It takes a [...]

One thing that a lot of people don’t know about me is that I enjoy the occasional “chick flick.” Yes, I said it (fully knowing the consequences that this may have on my manhood), at times I do like to indulge myself in one of the countless sugar-coated and seemingly implausible romantic-comedies that flood movie [...]

MicMacs is definitely an interesting motion picture. At times it seamlessly channels the silent, yet comically powerful presence of cinema greats such as Charlie Chaplin, but at other times, it’s severely bogged down by the almost nonexistent character development and the increasingly thin storyline. However, visually, MicMacs is a triumph — adding to director Jean-Pierrer [...]

There must have been a reason why I found the initially positive response to director Jorma Taccone’s MacGruber so ominous. Perhaps it was the fact that Taccone’s past cinematic exploits only include an actor credit for Land of the Lost and Hot Rod but it’s more likely that I found the eight positive reviews on [...]

Every time something tragic involving a youth occurs — whether it be unhandled rage or mental breakdowns — it seems that the “prestigious” physicians and psychiatrists employed for the good ‘ol government have an answer. They usually disregard the obvious answer — prior mental or emotional issues — and blame the aggressor’s hobbies for his [...]

I was first introduced to the “Theatre of the Absurd” in a high school philosophy class. This sect of plays which were mostly written by European playwrights in the mid-1900s was considered a declaration against realism and the concept of how to make a “great” play. Never have I imagined returning to a so-called “Theatre [...]