Great fairy tales, even the darker ones, completely take you out of the theater to a place where you’ve never been before and reward you with a fable and unique, fantastic characters. I think back to the experiences that I had when I first saw Shrek, Labyrinth, Beauty and the Beast and any number of […]
I love comedies, and I enjoy certain types of Westerns as well, especially those that push the boundaries in some way like Unforgiven or The Proposition. A Million Ways to Die in the West purports to be a Western comedy, yet it satisfies only the Western half of that description with its setting. It doesn’t […]
A spineless sheep rancher, obsessed with the harsh realities of Nineteenth Century life, falls for the wrong woman in A Million Ways to Die in the West. Animated TV comedy virtuoso Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy and American Dad) spoofs the classic Western at the helm of his second feature-length movie. The look and sound of the film’s […]
An eighteen-year-old, preparing to take her final vows, must choose between the church and a family connection she never knew in Ida. An orphaned infant girl, delivered to a Polish convent, grew up oblivious to her real identity, heritage and any ties to existing family. Raised by the sisters of the nunnery, her only guiding […]
Time travel movies and others that play with temporal realities are successful or not based on the strength of the plot. You could have the best cast in the world, and it will all end up lost to time if the story doesn’t make sense or, even worse, is too complicated. Some of the best […]
Two divorced parents transform a horrid blind date into a surprise African vacation in the romantic comedy Blended. An overly laid-back store manager and father of three girls, Jim Friedman (Adam Sandler), goes on a blind date with an obsessive closet organizer and mother of two boys named Lauren Reynolds (Drew Barrymore). Jim’s used to having a […]
It’s just too long and dull for what it is.
An introverted office worker, stuck in a mundane life, meets his twin but quickly learns they’re nothing alike in The Double. There must have been something in the water in Hollywood a while back. In the past year, we’ve seen the release of at least three major doppelganger-based films. Earlier this year, we had Ed Harris […]
Godzilla movies were regular entries in the monster movie marathons that they’d put on the air late at night or on lazy Saturdays spent in front of the TV. I loved these movies because Godzilla would inevitably destroy everything in sight and often fight other creatures in those plots where he was actually saving humanity […]
High school classmates wrestle with the apprehension, risk and wonder of burgeoning independence in Palo Alto. Very few teens emerge from their high school years without the experience leaving an indelible imprint (good and bad) that they’ll carry with them the rest of their lives. For many, the journey can feel like traversing a minefield, […]
A frustrated top chef loses his way before a food truck leads him back in Chef. Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) sweats every detail as the head of a top kitchen’s staff in a very popular Los Angeles restaurant. The owner is a very successful but risk-averse entrepreneur whom we only know as Riva (Dustin Hoffman). They […]
Comedies go in cycles, and every now and then, an outrageous gross-out comedy surfaces and tries to match the success of past winners like The Hangover or just about every Farrelly Brothers entry. We’re the Millers was one of last year’s funniest films, and it managed to keep the laughs coming at a tremendous pace. […]