I usually dread sequels of any popular film and superhero sequels in particular. They mostly dilute the original instead of expanding upon it, but there are many notable exceptions like Aliens and The Godfather: Part II. Superhero sequels are another creature entirely. In many such movies, the villains set the tone for the experience — sometimes […]
Tom Cruise stars as a futuristic maintenance man helping to clean up Earth after a devastating war in Oblivion. The year’s 2077 and Earth is a vast wasteland of destruction after an alien race attempted to take it over but ultimately failed. The final battle involved the fateful decision to nuke virtually every square inch […]
I’m always wary when they hold up movies for any reason. Lately, that reason has been to add 3D effects or position a release away from other major films’ release dates. In the case of G.I. Joe: Retaliation, they both added the unnecessary 3D treatment and highlighted Channing Tatum to take advantage of his popularity […]
I’m a big fan of police dramas. Movies like Heat and The Departed work well if the characters are developed and the plot is deep enough to draw you in but not so complicated that you need a scorecard. I was taken by surprise by the recent import from England called The Sweeney. It’s a film adaptation […]
Lightning does sometimes strike twice in the movie business. Think of the Indiana Jones movies and at least the first two movies in the Alien franchise. I have to admit that I’m an optimistic moviegoer, which means that I don’t go into a movie as most major reviewers do with an agenda, an unfounded bias […]
The epic Dinosaurs of 1993 are back from extinction, yet again saved by technology, and this time it’s 3D to the rescue. Jurassic Park first dawned on movie screens exactly 20 years ago in 1993. Then, it was a stunning example of what technology could do for storytelling in a motion picture format. The effects were at the […]
The next grand tale from the author of the Twilight Saga pits humanity against an alien race that exists by inhabiting the bodies of other races in The Host. A race of aliens known as Souls takes over Earth over with almost no bloodshed. These Souls take over a human and eradicate all of their memories […]
Who knew that the summer movie season would start so early?! Most of the big-budget, special-effects films are saved for the period from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Lately, the trend has been to push the boundary of this season to early May. Jack the Giant Slayer marks a surprising change for 2013 to get […]
When you look like Dwayne Johnson and sometimes enter an arena as The Rock, it’s tough to escape tough guy roles and action movies. Diversions include bad films like Tooth Fairy. Although there’s a living to be made as an action star, it’s no surprise that Johnson wants more challenging roles. Snitch—not to be confused […]
Dwayne Johnson is the star of Snitch, a new action/drama about a small business owner named John Matthews, who has to go to the extreme to get his son out of a very tight noose. When it comes to Johnson I have to continually wonder if I’ll ever see him in a film where I’m […]
It’s nice to see familiar characters return to the screen to do what they do best as long as they’re not stunted. Bruce Willis has been in some notable films in 2012, including the disappointing Looper and the amazing Moonrise Kingdom, but it’s a pleasure for him to return to the Die Hard series in […]
Sylvester Stallone entertains the most these days when he’s poking fun at himself or the action film genre as in The Expendables or when he takes on a serious role as in Cop Land. Bullet to the Head leaves a lot to be desired as a mediocre action film that puts Stallone through the motions […]