Dan is an author, film critic and media professional. He is a former staff writer for the N.Y. Daily News, where he served as a film/TV reviewer with a "Top Critic" designation on Rotten Tomatoes. His debut historical fiction novel, "Synod," was published by an independent press in Jan. 2018, receiving praise among indie book reviewers. His research interests include English, military and political history.
Suppose the ultimate version of Nostradamus was thrown onto the silver screen. Now suppose that his specialty was not simply predicting the future, but also holding and carrying the knowledge of all mankind. This is the basic premise to Phillip Noyce’s film, The Giver and Jeff Bridges (“True Grit”) plays this mix of political adviser,…
Marvel Studios can do no wrong. Their properties — Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and Hulk — have generated billions in worldwide merchandising and ticket sales. Interestingly, during this superhero renaissance, they’ve only had one team-up (2012’s “The Avengers,” which itself made $1.5 billion) though. Putting their incredible run of successes on the line and…
For eight years, fans of “300” have been wondering how the film would be followed up — could the heroic sacrifice of King Leonidas and his brave 300 Spartans be outdone? With his sophomore effort, Noam Murro (“Smart People”) says, “yeah, kinda,” with his fairly praisable sequel 300: Rise of an Empire. Keeping with the…
It’s been 12 years since Jack Ryan has been on the big screen. Since then, Jason Bourne was introduced and conquered and James Bond was rebooted to follow suit. Now, with the Russians plotting to cripple the American economic markets, and Shakespearean director Kenneth Branagh (“Thor”) directing Chris Pine (“Star Trek Into Darkness”) as Tom…
After a disastrous last outing with “Battleship,” Peter Berg, has struck gold with his latest project based on the Navy, Lone Survivor. One part “Black Hawk Down” for patriotism and one part “Saving Private Ryan,” for viscerality, it is an extremely visual, potent film that follows four Navy SEALs who are dropped into Afghanistan to…
Comb-overs, perms, cravats, disco, embezzlement and corruption — American Hustle has it all and then some. And like Scott Cooper’s film, “Out of the Furnace,” David O. Russell’s production features one of the best ensemble casts of the year. And like that movie it too utilizes Christian Bale to its advantage, but this time he…
With its gritty depiction of rundown small town, USA and characters desperate to find their way, Out of the Furnace looks a lot like a film we’d come across before in 1978’s “The Deer Hunter.” But while I don’t suspect Scott Cooper’s film will win any Oscars as Michael Cimino’s did, his all-star cast also…
