John Hancock (Will Smith) is not your typical superhero, and HANCOCK is not your typical superhero film. It is as daring and audacious as its eponymous hero, venturing into realms of mythos and sentiment with equal dexterity and erudition. It’s one of the funniest flicks out this summer. It’s one of the most romantic. It’s… Read More »
THE CHANGELING
THE CHANGELING, directed and produced by Clint Eastwood, is based on a true story so Kafka-esque that it staggers the imagination. In March of 1928, Christine Collins came home from work to discover her nine-year-old son, Walter, was missing. Her call to the Los Angeles police for help was rebuffed because the boy hadn’t been… Read More »
PAUL BLART — MALL COP
Kevin James, star and co-writer of PAUL BLART: MALL COP should know how to play to his comedic strengths when penning a role for himself. He and writing partner, Nick Bakay, an alum of James’ sitcom, “The King of Queens”, however, aren’t so great at fabricating a long-form script around which to build on James’… Read More »
TERMINATOR SALVATION
For all the explosions, gunfire, firestorms, and manly gnashing of teeth, TERMINTATOR SALVATION has an overriding weariness to it. The franchise, while robust box-office wise, has essentially been telling the same story now for a quarter of a century. A tale of time-travel, murderous cyborgs, and a father born decades after his son’s conception is… Read More »
LEGION
LEGION is an incoherent flick positing, amid all the apocalyptic mayhem, that the Almighty is out of touch with His/Her inner Deity. It may be a juicy mystery that passeth all understanding to make theologians quiver with the delight of unraveling it, but as a premise for a movie, it’s incoherent. That it also attempts… Read More »
RITE, THE
THE RITE forges boldly into some interesting theological territories without ever quite making the trip as interesting as the ideas behind it. What begins as an intriguing consideration of how evil can insinuate itself upon even the most innocent of souls becomes, in a breathtakingly short period of time, a wordy symposium. Concepts and theories… Read More »
ZOOKEEPER
The annoying thing about ZOOKEEPER isnt that its a bad movie, though it is, and a very bad one at that. The annoying thing is that Kevin James in the title role is so very good. It sets up a damnably uncomfortable tug-of-war between hating the flick and yet enjoying the work that James does… Read More »
THE THING
THE THING by Matthijs van Heijningen, Jr. is the prequel to John Carpenters re-make of the same name, which was a re-make of Howard Hawks THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD. Its a confusion that would seem to have been easily avoidable, but for some reason wasnt taken care of at any point during pre- or… Read More »
GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, THE
At a key moment late in THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, a character is offered the choice between doing the sensible thing or doing the polite thing. He does the polite thing with dire consequences. The concept of politeness takes a beating in David Finchers turn at visualizing Stieg Larssons internationally successful crime novel… Read More »
GHOST RIDER — SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE
There comes a moment when adapting a comic book for the screen when all those involved have to make a choice. Should there be an attempt to make a preposterous premise reasonable, or should one throw verisimilitude to the winds and just have a good time making a cheesy movie? The makers of GHOST RIDER:… Read More »