Zack Snyder, he of blood and guts and glory 300 fame, surprises with his turn towards a younger audience. With LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS — THE OWLS OF GAHOOLE as his vehicle, he uses his gift for invention and translates from the grim to the enchanting his keen understanding of what makes an enthralling adventure tick.… Read More »
SANCTUM
James Cameron neither wrote nor directed SANCTUM, but his fingerprints as the executive producer of same are all over it. Visually, it’s an exhilarating experience. As for the storytelling, the word lugubrious comes to mind. The writing is stiff and ridden with clichés, with cheese-ish motifs overwhelmed by swelling, overwrought music cues that forge straight… Read More »
GHOST SHIP
We don’t, on the whole, ask a great deal of the usual Halloween releases. A few good scares, maybe a scream or two and, just for effect, a scene that makes us think twice about having linguine with red clam sauce after the flick. If we also get a plot that doesn’t insult our intelligence, so… Read More »
KILLER ELITE
Though inspired by actual events, and based (loosely) on an actual book, The Feather Men by Sir Ranulph Fiennes, THE KILLER ELITE is a vehicle expertly tailored to the particular talents of Jason Statham. This is, in itself, not an indictment. Mr. Statham has starred in high-adrenaline action flicks that are more than worthy of… Read More »
I, FRANKENTSTEIN
I, FRANKENTEIN is the brainchild, via the Darkstorm Studios graphic novel, of Stuart Beattie, the driving force behind the improbably successful UNDERWORLD franchise. I say improbably because if you have seen one UNDERWORLD flick, you have by extension seen them all. I, FRANKENSTEIN is all but indistinguishable from its cinematic sibling, right down to the… Read More »
SCOOBY DOO
Let me put this in context for you. Libraries are woefully underfunded. Too many of the elderly are forced to choose between their prescription drugs and their rent. Teachers in the public school system are barely paid a subsistence wage. But somehow in a world turned upside down, there were tens of millions of dollars to be… Read More »
IN THE CUT
IN THE CUT is not just a bad film, it is a laughably bad film. This would-be erotic thriller wants to discomfit us by delving into the psychological underpinnings of sex and violence and yet succeeds only in making us feel sorry for the people who tried so hard and came up with bupkis. One… Read More »