I love creepy, moody films whether they’re thrillers, horror flicks or some combination thereof. The work of some filmmakers like David Cronenberg, Tim Burton and David Lynch just ooze unique characteristics and techniques that identify them. Korean director Park Chan-wook fits in with that company, too. Known best as cowriter/director of the Vengeance Trilogy (Sympathy […]
A neighborhood thug from a town in Scotland gets one final chance to redeem himself and decides to make the most of it when a life-preserver, in the most unlikely form, is presented to him in The Angels’ Share. Famed British director Ken Loach‘s new film won the Jury Prize at the latest Cannes Film […]
I sometimes feel helpless as a moviegoer when I watch a disaster unfold before me that I can do nothing about. I’m not talking about asteroids in a movie like Armageddon or Deep Impact. I’m referring to the slow descent of a filmmaker’s career as each successive movie is less creative and entertaining than the […]
A soon-to-be father, not sure about his ability to handle parenting suddenly finds that he’s the biological father of 533 children in the French Canadian comedy, Starbuck. David Wozniak (Patrick Huard) is a 40-something screw-up. He can’t seem to do anything right in life. He owes loan sharks $80,000, can’t handle a simple meat delivery […]
A group of young friends head to an old family cabin and unwittingly unleash Hell itself into their midst in the remake of the 1981 cult classic Evil Dead. The original Evil Dead is considered one of the classic films of ’80s horror. Today it looks like the epitome of campy with outrageous discount Halloween-like […]
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 […]
Imagine a film in which all of the living presidents of this country — or any country for that matter — talked about their successes, failures and strategies for their administrations. It would be a gift to politics fans and history buffs alike because of the perspectives and stories concentrated into a couple of hours. It’s one […]
1Detailed character studies are often like catnip for certain moviegoers. A movie of this type that’s done well can be a joy to experience in the right hands. If someone else flubs it, that kind of scrutiny can be exhausting to watch. Fortunately, Like Someone in Love is the work of a skilled filmmaker who […]
We all know that the health care system in this country is in a pretty bad state. One could argue that ObamaCare is not at all the right way to fix this situation. Nevertheless, the existing system has too many flaws to ignore. There have been a variety of documentaries over the years that take […]
The teenage years are often the most turbulent while growing up because of both the raging hormones and the quest for one’s identity and place in the world. If you add to the mix world events of considerable significance or some worthy cause, those same teenage years become even more emotional and difficult. I was […]
A doctor living in East Germany in 1980 is forced to endure the humiliation of working in a remote low-tech hospital in Barbara. Barbara is the kind of film artsy reviewers love but that challenge many viewers to comprehend why. It’s billed as a political and psychological thriller but will elicit little sense of either […]