Even bearing in mind that this film was always going to be fighting the uphill battle of the “middle film” curse, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug still didn’t quite live up to expectations. Perhaps it’s because “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” — Peter Jackson’s last “middle film”, from The Lord of…
While I certainly enjoyed the first trailer for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, I like the second one even more. Warner Bros. and crew have raised the ante with this trailer, hinting at alliances and double-crosses, hidden adorations and resentments, and of course fantastical conflicts waged within a finely crafted world. As the dwarves,…
If the mind of “National Lampoon’s Vacation” director, Harold Ramis, was to morph with the unkempt, lewd intellect of Bob Saget or Louis C.K., you’d have the framework for We’re the Millers. It mixes harmless family humor with blandly offensive material, creating a slapstick comedy that, against what some may think is a good mix,…
Every now and then, there comes a film that reaffirms our quelling desire to be at the movies, or to watch as we sit back on the couch with an addictive bag of popcorn. The Conjuring is one of those films. With old-school scares, stellar camerawork and commendable acting, this film — though formulaic —…
Warner Bros. Pictures has released the first tease for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, the 2nd installment in the Hobbit film adaptation trilogy. Picking up where “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” left off, the film continues the epic adventure involving the Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, the Dwarf, Thorin Oakenshield and his 12 clansmen and the…
I am happy to announce that The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is the best comedy of 2013. Of course, that’s not saying very much considering that comedies released this year have included “Identity Thief,” “Parental Guidance,” “The Guilt Trip” and “21 and Over,” among others, and that JFK’s memorial service would have been funnier by comparison….
The newest “fairy tale epic” production, Jack the Giant Slayer, when compared to others of its genre, fits neatly beneath “The Brothers Grimm,” above “Snow White and the Huntsman (thanks to the presence of British actors and the absence of Kristin Stewart) and FAR above last month’s travesty, “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters.” It is…
