There was a time when the zombie movie was confined to a single genre, back when George Romero was terrorizing survivors in farm houses and shopping malls, but now things have gotten more complicated. The popular-as-ever undead have wandered beyond horror into the comedy, action, and drama genres. It’s great that they’ve branched out, but…
Films inspired by video games usually fall into two categories: Bad (“Doom,” “Super Mario Bros.,” “Tomb Raider”) or terrible: (“Mortal Kombat,” “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li,” “Max Payne”). Hitman: Agent 47 (a remake of the 2007 picture starring Timothy Olyphant) neatly fits into that last category. There are many reasons for this, including poor…
A common criticism of modern filmmaking is a lack of originality. And in a medium of formulaic genre styles that thrive on remakes, reboots, sequels and extended cinematic universes, it’s perhaps a valid point to make. Yet there is one main advantage to movies that carry a sense of familiarity — consistency. Whether it is…
A good rock song, like any piece of art, can make its mark in one of two ways: It could innovate and expand the parameters of a tried-and-true formula, or it could stick to the established conventions and attempt to find its synergy in the charisma of the artists and performers. If one were to…
The original “Sinister” was an unnerving film that followed true crime writer Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke) as he moved his family into a house where the previous occupants had been brutally murdered. While researching the crime, he discovered an old cardboard box of old 8mm home movies in the attic — horrifying depictions of multiple…
I will approach this review a little differently if you don’t mind. But allow me first to tell you a little story. I made an irrational choice. I started my review for Irrational Man before I even saw the movie. Irrational indeed. I started this review before I even knew whether this movie was going…
For the sake of full disclosure, I will say right now that I am no fan of “Gangsta Rap.” I am not an advocate of an art form that glorifies and promotes violence, profanity and the degradation of women, no matter how many of those things are an everyday part of the rappers’ lives. Using…
