It’s so very hard to elicit real tension and fear in a movie. When it’s done right, it’s a magical thing. I love and crave those moments. I keep going back to it, but The Orphanage is really a perfect ghost story that way. On the other hand, some films spend a lot of time […]
It’s completely ridiculous that any drug dealer worth his weight in cocaine would trust some new guy like John, but if you accept this premise, the rest of the film succeeds.
This is, without question, Johnson’s best role to date.
The latest Nicholas Sparks novel to be filmed is Safe Haven. It’s another romance surrounded by elements that threaten an otherwise obvious love affair. I must admit that I’m a huge fan of The Notebook which has gotten me no shortage of curious looks from various friends but I still contend it’s a great love […]
I wish that I had a winning formula for anything — perhaps video game design or writing — that would produce money at a regular rate with different versions of that same formula. Nicholas Sparks seems to have a knack for writing romantic dramas that get turned into movies starring pretty actors kissing in the rain. Some […]
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 […]
Christopher Walken, Al Pacino and Alan Arkin come together to star in Stand Up Guys. The story about a trio of old-time hoods revolves mainly around Doc (Walken) and Val (Pacino). Val’s been doing time for an accidental killing for the last 28 years and it’s his old friend and literal partner-in-crime Doc who greets […]
Stand Up Guys has a lot going for it with its cast and premise, but in the end, it certainly doesn’t elicit a standing ovation. In fact, the only thing standing up in this film is Al Pacino’s pecker after a few too many male assistance pills. That tired sequence has been done to death […]
When it comes to horror films I can be as stingy as ole’ Jack O’ Lantern. For me the best horror films need to go beyond the easy fright. They need to crawl beneath the skin and into the deep emotional psyche. That requires a solid, believable story line to go along with the creepy […]
Another week brings another Best Film Oscar nominee into focus with Zero Dark Thirty, the retelling of the hunt and killing of Osama bin Laden. The film stars Jessica Chastain as “Maya” who, may or may not have existed. My guess would be that she stands in as an amalgam of several key players of […]
Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts star as husband and wife Henry and Maria, vacationing with their three sons in Thailand for Christmas. Their idyllic excursion comes to a brutal end when the infamous tsunami comes bursting through their resort and scattering everyone. The early scenes of the movie involve jaw-dropping, highly realistic recreation of the […]