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 […]
For all of my complaints about The Gatekeepers, I still found it to be an important and unique documentary.
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 […]
It’s like watching an unedited reality show rather than a polished, professional film.
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 […]
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 […]
Dramatic climate change suddenly threatens the existence of a solitary caveman family in the new animated film from Dreamworks—The Croods. The main plot of The Croods is pretty typical in that it takes current day aspects of everyday life and pastes them onto a Paleolithic family. The father, Grug (voiced by Nicolas Cage), is obsessed […]
It’s dull, flat and extremely predictable almost in an insulting fashion.
I’m sure you remember when you saw The Hangover for the first time because it was a funny, bizarre film constructed like a mystery. The questions at the heart of the mystery kept audiences interested, and the wacky, vulgar humor kept them laughing. It’s OK to duplicate your own creations as long as the copies […]
An unassuming local adman is recruited to head up the messaging for a referendum vote to determine the fate of Chile’s long-time dictator in the new foreign film, No. In 1988, under intense worldwide pressure, Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet decided to allow his people to vote on whether he should run the country for another […]