IGOR is a charming bit of gothic whimsy that makes up with a sweet-tart brand of light irony what it lacks in surprises. It may not be the most original plot, but for riffing so expertly on classic horror flicks, and for plumbing the depths of horror to be found in the relentless perkiness of… Read More »
2012
With 2012 you got your big special effects, you got your overwrought melodrama, you got your colorful supporting characters, a passel of kids of varying cuteness, outrageous puns, and a plucky dog. What you got here is blockbuster of a popcorn flick that delivers on ending the world as we know it and takes a… Read More »
HOT TUB TIME MACHINE
HOT TUB TIME MACHINE is a completely silly premise that the film purveying it has the excellent good sense to not only acknowledge, but also to mock. That premise is three middle-aged guys and a geeky nephew hop into a hot tub that magically transports them back to 1986. The flick also has the excellent… Read More »
MAX
As an exercise in ethics, people have been known to ponder the morality of going back in time to kill Hitler before he rose to power and committed any crimes against humanity. Some though, to adhere to the polar opposite sort of principles that Hitler espoused, thought a much more effective way to stop him… Read More »
IDENTITY
I suspect that IDENTITY wants to be more profound than it ultimately is. This adds a note of prissy pretension to an otherwise effective little thriller. Set on a dark and stormy night at a rundown motel situated on an Indian graveyard, screenwriter Michael Cooney toys with horror conventions but doesnt succumb to the clichés.… Read More »
MUST LOVE DOGS
Click here to listen to Diane Lane’s interview forUNDER THE TUSCAN SUN. In MUST LOVE DOGS the outcome is never in question. We know that divocee Sarah (Diane Lane), though currently experiencing the doldrums that come with having been abandoned by her husband almost a year ago, will be paired off successfully and blissfully by… Read More »
1408
1408, based on the short story by Stephen King, is a slick psychological thriller masquerading as a good old-fashioned ghost story. It’s old-fashioned in the sense that it relies on the jump-and-scare technique rather than the slash-and-burn one. It also relies on some fiendishly clever twists and an intelligent script that’s smart not just because… Read More »