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 […]
An emotionally disconnected teen struggles after the unexpected death of her father forces her to confront a distant mother and an uncle she never knew existed in Stoker. 18 year-old India Stoker (Mia Wasikowska) suddenly finds herself thrown into unknown territory when her beloved father (played in flashback by Dermot Mulroney) is killed in a […]
Gimmicks or unconventional plot conventions in movies work only as much as they are supported by the story or other major elements. The black-and-white segments of The Wizard of Oz work so well because they truly balance the rest of the story and take place in a different world. Upside Down tries something creative that […]
Four simple Aboriginal girls and a washed up former events director team up to create a singing sensation and learn about life in The Sapphires. The year is 1968 and, for decades, the Australian government has oppressed the indigenous native Australians forcing them to live on reserves or missions, denying them proper education and requiring […]
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 […]