Intermittently garrulous, yet generally somnambulant, THE DARK TOWER disappoints on almost every level. Based on the Stephen King series of the same name, the cinematic version blows a kiss to the novels, then goes its own way plot-wise for reasons that defy explanation, unless it’s a scheme similar to the one in Mel Brooks’ classic… Read More »
INSURGENT Keeps the DIVERGENT Franchise Puffing Along
The advantage of seeing outstanding actors in a middling film is that you can appreciate just how good they are on a whole new level. And INSURGENT is certainly a middling film, though that is an improvement on the last installment in this franchise, DIVERGENT. With a new director, Robert Schwentke, bringing Veronica Roth’s YA… Read More »
I, ROBOT
The best speculative fiction considers what it means to be human and I, ROBOT, comes tantalizingly close to rendering that conundrum on screen. Alas, not close enough. The film, which has the honesty to bill itself as merely suggested by the story of the same name by Isaac Asimov, is a pale simulacrum more interested… Read More »
THE DA VINCI CODE
The book by Dan Brown on which THE DA VINCI CODE is based will never be mistaken for a work of genius. It is not a work for the ages, but rather fills the guilty pleasure niche in the literary food chain. It’s a fast read with an intriguing premise where a great deal happens… Read More »
I AM LEGEND
I AM LEGEND is a bittersweet tale of all that is best and worst about humanity, and a cautionary one about good intentions. It’s also one of Will Smith’s best performances as Robert Neville, the scientist driven by guilt to save humanity single-handed while and fighting his growing sense of nihilism after three years and… Read More »