There comes a time in any romantic relationship when the couple in question drops the carefully cultivated dating personas. You know, when the pleasant, smiling, eternally non-plussed character designed to impress the other party gives way to the real person underneath. Sometimes this reveals delightful quirks that only serve to endear the one to the… Read More »
HULK
Ang Lee had a vision. Take The Hulk, that pop-icon slave to rage and make a literate, thoughtful exploration of the human psyche, not just what drives us to rage, but also why there is a little piece inside each of us that is drawn willingly to it. If only he had been able to… Read More »
T3: RISE OF THE MACHINES
Like the Energizer Bunny, some franchises refuse to lay down and die when they should. They just keep going and going and going and going until they become unspeakably tedious, which, as you know, is three steps worse than appalling. At least with appalling, there’s emotional engagement, with TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES, there’s… Read More »
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL
The idea behind PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN is enough to make even the most hopeful of reviewers cringe mightily and reach for an aspirin and an antacid. It’s not based on a book, a play, or even a scenario that can be summed up in one sentence in a pitch meeting. It’s based on a… Read More »
SPY KIDS 3-D: GAME OVER
We live in an age when pretty much any film aimed at kids will have tie-ins that include toys, t-shirts, and, possibly, a computer game of some sort. Few films exploit the merchandising angle as cynically as SPY KIDS 3-D: GAME OVER. This film is little more than an instruction manual for how to play… Read More »
LARA CROFT TOMB RAIDER: THE CRADLE OF LIFE
When the production notes for a non-period film spend more than a paragraph on the costume design, you can be reasonably sure that the creative focus of the project was not optimally aimed at a stellar piece of filmmaking. Hence we learn that the fabric Angelina Jolie’s silver diving ensemble comes from Japan, because that… Read More »
S.W.A.T.
Did or does S.W.A.T. the television series have the sort of cult following that made a film version inevitable? Are there conventions of kids who dress up in ersatz S.W.A.T. uniforms and stage mock rescues? Are there Hondo worshipers? A frightening thought, but not as off-putting as sitting through this film. The passel of writers… Read More »
OPEN RANGE
At the beginning of OPEN RANGE, Kevin Costners latest directing, acting and producing effort, a wagon becomes stuck in the mud after a torrential rainstorm. Kevin and his co-star Robert Duvall do get the wagon rolling again. Alas, the film itself remains mired in situ. Kevin returns here to the western genre and hes certainly… Read More »
MEDALLION, THE
Click here for Jackie’s interview for THE TUXEDO.It takes a film like THE MEDALLION to put in perspective why Jackie Chan is the object of cult adoration that he is. It is only Jackies undeniable charm that carries this flick through its distinctly un-engrossing first part. It is only Jackies undeniable charm that makes the… Read More »
SO CLOSE (CHIK YEUNG TIN SAI)
SO CLOSE begins as an excellent example of what a martial arts action film should be. Its full of slick moves, quick cuts, and nasty surprises for hapless victims who smile smugly until the tables are irrevocably turned on them. As satisfying as all that is, writer Jeff Lau has added another dimension to director… Read More »
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