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…
Damsels in Distress is perhaps the most pretentious screenplay ever filmed. I imagine there was a more comprehensible first draft and then writer/director Whit Stillman (“The Last Days of Disco”) pulled the thesaurus off the shelf and went to work. These damsels come across more as ridiculous caricatures than actual flesh and blood characters; nobody…
One of my closest friends goes on regular hunting trips with his family. Nothing earth shattering there — they, as most hunters, tend to hunt for Bambi’s extended family for sport or food (although I found it particularly strange that, although he’s not a taxidermist, he once kept a deer head in his refrigerator for…
Witty retorts have always been part of the Hollywood macho man’s arsenal (see every Schwarzenegger or Stallone flick). Unfortunately, the punch line spewing protagonist in James Mather and St. Leger’s Lockout stands as an obvious — and desperate — attempt to recreate the ‘80s action hero and nothing more. Co-written by Luc Besson (who, in…
It’s been a while since a movie really kicked me in the face. Well, at least in a good way. This particular type of facial assault only occurs with the most visceral, vigorous action movies during which fists and feet become weapons of mass destruction. Boisterous, brilliant face-kicking is at the top of the agenda…
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…
