When I first heard about Gravity, I joked about it and thought that it could never work. An entire movie of Sandra Bullock and George Clooney floating around in space?! No way! Would it be a disaster or a triumph? As I always do, I withhold judgment until I actually see a movie — no matter how […]
A space shuttle crew effecting repairs on the Hubble Space Telescope is bombarded by space debris, leaving them helpless in the vacuum of space in Gravity. It’s the most hostile environment known to mankind. Without extensive protection, humans wouldn’t be able to survive in it for even a few seconds. That harsh environment we call space […]
A New Jersey lothario finds that his real-life sexual encounters pale in comparison to his porn fantasies and looks to effect a change in Don Jon. Jon Martello (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a character who could have been taken right off the set of Jersey Shore. He’s all about presentation. He works out incessantly, hangs out […]
Two radically different race car drivers clash on and off the track during the 1976 Formula One World Championship season in the new Ron Howard film Rush. Race car drivers are a unique breed. That was never more evident than the 1970s when the top speed of race cars advanced more quickly than the drivers, teams […]
Race car drivers are often overlooked as athletes because many people think that they merely drive around in circles for hours. They don’t realize that racers endure incredible discomfort from the heat and track conditions, experience injuries as a result from strongly holding a jerky steering wheel for hours and deal with the occasional crash. […]
Concert films come in all flavors. There are the kinds that mix backstage footage with the performances, and then there are the types that just show the concerts from various angles but don’t add more to the mix. The latter types are almost never released to theaters other than Fathom Events, which are usually screened […]
The Wizard of Oz is my favorite movie. Period. It has everything I like about a great adventure or musical — memorable characters, catchy tunes, quests, a really evil character, comic relief, amazing special effects (for the time), a talented lead actress and even flying monkeys. Imagine my surprise when I learned that they were going […]
A protective father takes matters into his own hands when he comes to the realization that the police aren’t willing to do what’s necessary to help recover his missing daughter in Prisoners. Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) and his wife Grace (Maria Bello) live a typical western Pennsylvania suburban lifestyle. They’re religious, conservative types who enjoy […]
A trio of sex addicts work together to fight their challenging addiction in Thanks for Sharing. Sex addiction is a very misunderstood issue. There’s not even complete consensus on its validity, with many people believing it’s just an outlet for men to be able to excuse their bad behavior under the guise of a disease. […]
About halfway through watching Insidious: Chapter 2, I realized exactly how to think about this subgenre of horror movies. This sequel, the original Insidious, the recent The Conjuring and so many others are really the film equivalent of a walkthrough haunted house that you might visit around Halloween in sites across the country, including transformed amusement […]
Vin Diesel first entered the consciousness of moviegoers with Pitch Black (2000) and The Fast and the Furious a year later even though he had small roles in Saving Private Ryan and Boiler Room. Diesel knows how to give back to his fans and doesn’t snub his nose at the movies that propelled him to […]
A bookish loner spends her life savings to experience a dream vacation where everything is like a Jane Austen novel in Austenland. Jane Hayes (Keri Russell) is the consummate Jane Austen fan. She has read her books countless times, knows the movies by heart and even has a life-size cutout of Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. Her fascination […]