I have been a movie fan for most of my life and a film critic since 1986 (my first published review was for "Platoon"). Since that time I have written for several news and entertainment publications in California, Utah and Idaho. Big fan of the Academy Awards - but wish it would go back to the five-minute dinner it was in May, 1929. A former member of the San Diego Film Critics Society and current co-host of "The Movie Guys," each Sunday afternoon on KOGO AM 600 in San Diego with Kevin Finnerty.
There are some good things to say about the newest film by director James McTeigue (“Ninja Assassin,” “V For Vendetta“), a combination of “Sleepy Hollow,” “Saw,” “Se7en” and the latter-day Sherlock Holmes films. First, it acquaints the uninitiated with the works of Edgar Allan Poe, one of America’s most creative and tortured writers (Poe, while…
I tried to make a list of movies which I laughed at less than Universal’s newest release, The Five-Year Engagement, and could only think of two: “Observe and Report” and “The Passion of the Christ.” Films I found much funnier include: “The Love Guru,” “Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo,” “All About Steve” and “Platoon.” That does…
There is certainly something to be said for the wonderful claymation and quirky British comedy of The Pirates! Band Of Misfits, the by-product of such other animated films as “Flushed Away,” “Chicken Run” and the “Wallace and Gromit” series. I have always appreciated this technique because it shows that the old-style way of making this…
Viewing The Lucky One was a very frustrating experience. On one hand, the story (by Will Fetters, based upon the novel by Nicholas “The Notebook” Sparks) is an often compelling tale of love, war and broken and healing hearts. On the other, however, there are so many instances where direction (by Scott Hicks, “Snow Falling…
I do not know Joseph Kahn. I have no idea what kind of person he is. I would like to assume he’s a pretty square fellow and all, but if his ability to direct a feature-length motion picture were solely based upon what he did with Detention, I would strongly urge him to pursue another…
In his feature film directorial debut, Drew Goddard (a writer for “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Lost” TV series, and the film “Cloverfield“) has taken a tired film formula — the teen slasher flick — and turned it on its head. The Cabin in the Woods is “The Truman Show” meets “Friday the 13th” meets “The…
I suppose the main question about this update is will the ridiculously violent, but often hilarious, slapstick comedy of Moses and Jerome Horiwitz and Louis Feinberg translate onto the modern screens of 2012. I am of course writing about Moe and Curly Howard and their third wheel, Larry Fine, who became the Three Stooges (after…
