The self-described "World's Busiest Slacker," Mike Kowzun can found in one of three of his local movie theaters at any given time.
With now three adaptations of trashy page-turners under his belt, all of which have averaged out to pretty spotty final products, David Fincher seems to have his heart dead set on joining the cinematic pantheon of alchemists such as Brian De Palma and Stanley Kubrick who have successfully transformed lead into gold. However, the proper…
If there is a mindset that is getting on my nerves more and more as it becomes steadily more prominent, it’s the idea that a work (especially a film) possessing a certain level of either style or ostentatiousness is in and of itself worthy of praise. It’s an ideology that gave the laughably atrocious 2002…
As head ape Caesar stands atop the rubble of a symbolic tower toppled moments before in a last ditch attempt by fearful humans to wipe out his kind, human benefactor Malcolm (Jason Clarke) confronts him in a fruitless bid to stop further fighting saying, “War isn’t what [he] want[s].” Mournfully, Caesar looks upon him and…
Transformers: Age of Extinction is fascinating. Not in a good movie kind of way. Not even in a bad movie kind of way (although, make no mistake, it is positively atrocious). It is fascinating in that it feels as if it were the result of an experiment to see what a diagnosed sociopath would turn…
Built as either a shot to attain a loftier reputation or as penance for afflicting four goddamned “Shrek” movies upon the populace (perhaps both), Dreamworks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon 2 finds the red-headed stepchild studio attempting to go full Pixar and widen the emotional scope of what has been, to date, probably their…
As nail-bitingly intense as it is darkly funny, Jeremy Saulnier’s sophomore effort Blue Ruin is the kind of film that comes down the line and launches careers for all talent involved. A work of sheer craft, it’s a movie that takes a very standard set-up and wears its influences on its sleeve, yet still manages…
A studio-mandated sequel to a weak-at-best film only made to hold onto the rights to a cash cow property, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a movie so pre-packaged and risk-averse that the only surprise it holds comes from the fact it is, against all odds, even worse than this dubious pedigree would suggest. Scotch taped…
