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…
What’s a classic love story without some stars crossing overhead? What’s a romantic comedy without family members getting in the way and embarrassing both themselves and the lovers in question? What can a potential bride do when her father insists on more tradition than she’s comfortable with? How can a penniless suitor earn that father’s…
About a year and a half ago (before I was writing for any sites), I went to the movie theater to go check out Paul Thomas Anderson’s “The Master,” a film that not only deeply sat with me, but had me thinking for days on end about its rich themes and utterly impressive display of…
Science-fiction fans are no strangers to tales of artificial intelligence, and even the average film-goer has had his share of computers gone wild. These films range from thought-provoking and thrilling (films like “The Matrix,” “2001: A Space Odyssey”) to enjoyably fun and entertaining (I’m thinking of “War Games” and “The Terminator”) to downright awful and…
Giant rock creatures? A bevy of clichés? Another awful performance from Emma Watson? So this is what a biblical epic looks like in the new millennium. It’s also what Darren Aronofsky looks like with a big budget. Neither is very encouraging. Well, except for the rock monsters, of course. Aronofsky’s Noah is a non-traditional take…
Although its number of detractors seems to have increased as of recently, I remain steadfast in my fandom of “The Raid: Redemption,” the Indonesian martial arts movie that became a cult sensation upon its release on Western shores thanks to its brutal action and fluid camerawork that brilliantly captured its already stellar fight choreography. Single-minded…
