About ten minutes into Michael, you realize that there is no angel from Saturday Night Fever coming to shatter the innocent veneer or heavenly ideology. The protagonist of Markus Schleinzer’s Michael is a quiet insurance salesman. He smokes like our aforementioned angel, has a beer over dinner, but aside from the ten-year-old boy he keeps locked in […]
Hang on to your cliches folks! Men in Black III is sure to challenge them all and include a few that left at the end of last decade, like any reference to Andy Warhol, free love, televisions, record players. If giving Scientology money isn’t your bag, check out Orin Peli’s new horror flick, one guaranteed to keep you […]
Cowboys and Aliens is a cocktail of fun, silliness, and attempts at transparent meta-commentary. The film begins with a mystery as Jake Lannergan (Daniel Craig) awakes in 1873 in the Arizona dessert, and we, by default, are introduced to our first alien: a man unaware of his surroundings and completely foreign to the rest of the characters […]
The Avengers is an exercise in giving characters enough screen time without making them seem exploited and underutilized. And, for the most part, it works and successfully builds off of the characters limned in previous installments leading up to this supergroup of an action hero film. By far, the Hulk is the best part of The Avengers. […]
This weekend brings us the latest installment in the two-hour-commercial genre, a bunch of people popping out progeny, an exploration of men and their grooming habits throughout the years, and Sam Jackson kicking ass — this time without the aid of a raging green monster or an iron-clad playboy / philanthropist. Battleship: I understand the logic of […]
Upon the most recent viewing of The Incredibles, I’ve come to the conclusion that the film directed and written by Brad Bird is not about superheroes or equality. It’s about rampant use of frivolous lawsuits. In America, there are over one millions lawyers per capita, more than any other nation. On average, 15 million civil lawsuits are […]
Last weekend was ruled by The Avengers, and it’s probably a good bet that most production companies assumed this would be the case. I’m sure that Dark Shadows will draw a decent crowd, but it would be safe to bet on Marvel’s superhero cavalcade to continue conquering the box office. Dark Shadows: The love affair between Johnny […]
The amus bouche of summer superhero spectaculars enters theaters this weekend. While it’s not The Dark Knight Rises, The Avengers will certainly draw droves of fans. All in all, the story should be decent. I’m just hoping for minimal advertisements within the film for the return of Tony Stark, the blonde-headed viking, and the inevitable fourth incarnation […]
Directed and adapted by Gary Ross, The Hunger Games deviates from its literary counterpart penned by Suzanne Collins. The difference is not so much in the events of the story. Those stay, for the most part, the same. Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) sacrifices herself to save her sister, Prue, whose name is unluckily called as the girl […]
This week brings us Cusack as Poe and a number of literary references. It also portends the dangers of long term engagements in the presence of sickly relatives. On the lighter side, there are claymated pirates looking to pillory foes and wreak gentle havoc on the high seas. Payback: Just in case you weren’t aware how much […]