Reviewing one of the most respected films of all time is a bit daunting. I hadn’t seen the Godfather trilogy in years so when it came time to review Godfather II I immediately went out and purchased the trilogy in order to refresh my memory… That’s how important these films are. Do they still hold their ground now though?
I guess you can say that I am in the very distinct minority in the US when it comes to soccer. I love it, especially English football, which has a rick, deep and at times, crazy history. Teams like Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Everton, Leeds United, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forrest, Reading and Derby Country, just to name but a few. Even the names of the stadiums evoke the richness of that history, with monikers such as Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge, Anfield and Craven’s Cottage immediately coming to mind! Better than the Wachovia Center don’t you think? Read the full story
Steven Soderbergh’s films are if nothing, very complicated, with layer upon layer of intrigue. From Ocean’s 11,12 and 13 to Traffic it can get to be very difficult to keep up with the action and figure out where the film is heading. Dealing with an actual historical event and the lives of real people, it is a bit easier to follow a film as you already know the actual outcome. Making these characters and these stories into a great film is much more difficult than with works of pure fiction. Which brings us to the subject of today’s review, The Informant. Read the full story
For reviewing Ben 10: Alien Swarm I enlisted the official kids of this movie reviewer. Although I normally am very comfortable in critically watching youth-oriented fare, my complete ignorance of Ben 10 necessitated I call in the backup team. Read the full story
Half a century ago seems like a long time; but it was around that time that one of Hollywood’s most gifted and eccentric directors was in his prime; making classic films that would set the stage for today’s filmmakers. Alfred Hitchcock was one the kind of director that doesn’t really exist anymore; similar to Orson Welles, his films were carefully crafted masterpieces that were so layered that even today there are countless books and websites dedicated to analyzing his works. North by Northwest was screenwriter, Ernest Lehman’s attempt to create the Hitchcock picture to end all Hitchcock pictures, did he succeed? Read the full story
Michael Mann’s crime epic, Heat, is declared as one of the best heist films ever. Utilizing the chemistry between two superstars from the genre and containing one of the greatest shootouts in cinema history, Heat’s résumé definitely has all the right stuff for being an essential Blu-ray to own, but as with the recent Michael Mann film “Public Enemies” sometimes a poor sound mix or poor video quality might make the disc unworthy of a Blu-ray purchase. How does Heat stack up? Read the full story
Most of my movie-loving friends have already seen Boogie Nights while I had not. Considering the film had as much popularity as it did and it’s well over a decade old now, it was high time I sat down for a watch of this flick. I heard fragments of the content here and there so being the red-blooded male that I am, of course my interest was peaked. But even a hot, scantly clad (or no clad) woman is not enough in and of itself to make a film good. How is the acting, the plot, the climax, the believability? You will find the answers to all these questions in this review of Boogie Nights. Read the full story
It was with some trepidation that I accepted the responsibility to write a review of the new Star Trek movie. My experience has been that no film or TV franchise has engendered such a rabid and invested following, with aficionados debating plot and character points like aged Talmudic Scholars. Therefore, no matter what my review stated, it would attract criticism like a Golden Corral attracts seniors.
I will have to admit that I hadn’t really heard of this film before it arrived on my doorstep. It has been my general experience since I began to do these reviews that when I normally haven’t heard of a film, there is a very good reason for that, namely, it is a bad film. While not completely awful, The Invention of Lying is another film that proves the general rule. And that is too bad as the premise for the film was actually rather promising. Read the full story
With all the snow and very cold weather gripping us here on the East Coast, it seemed perfectly natural to watch a film that is set in Antarctica in blistering cold conditions, right? After all, why watch a film set in the tropics with all that lush green foliage and warm temperatures. Well, that is the choice I made when I decided to check out Whiteout. Was it a good one? Well….. Read the full story
It had all the right ingredients; a script by Monty Python’s Terry Jones, The Muppet’s creator Jim Henson in the director’s chair, a soundtrack by David Bowie and produced by George Lucas as well. Released in 1986, Labyrinth failed to find an audience in theaters, but did it deserve better? Read the full story
Every now and then, a movie comes out of nowhere to become a big hit, catching the critics and studios by surprise. This summer it was the subject of this review, The Hangover. Perhaps audiences were looking for some lighthearted comedy in today’s tough economic times. Whatever the reason, this film was a huge commercial success, grossing well over 10 times its cost of $35 million. I guess I was one of the few who didn’t see The Hangover in theaters as I can’t say that the subject matter appealed to me very much. However, when the Blu-ray arrived for review, I didn’t hesitate to pop the disc into the player to see what the fuss was all about. Much to my surprise, I found the film to be enjoyable although far from a comedy classic. Read the full story
I guess you could say that I am a relative newcomer to the world of Harry Potter at least in regards as the books are concerned. My wife loved the books and had read them before the movies started to arrive but I did not. I went into each of the early films without any knowledge of the plots other than that Harry was a wizard. That was about it. The films were well done and were easy to get into even without any prior knowledge from the books. Perhaps that was even better as I had no clue what was coming next. Read the full story
It’s hard to believe that it was a decade ago when the South Park movie came out. I didn’t remember much about it so I was eager to jump back into the snow-covered town and revisit what Kyle, Kenny, Stan and Cartman had been up to in theaters in 1999. How has the film faired over ten years and how was its transition to Blu-ray? Grab your cheezy poofs and read on to find out… Read the full story
Steven Soderbergh’s debut, Sex, Lies & Videotape, covered some untreaded territory 20 years ago. With an award winning performance from James Spader and a cult following that continues to grow, is the newly remastered Blu-ray of Sex, Lies and Videotape the definitive must have version? Read the full story
What were they thinking? That was the phrase that was running through my head as I was watching the subject of today’s review, Four Christmases. Every now and then a film comes out that has a great cast but is so bad that you have to wonder why the cast members and in particular, the stars, didn’t walk away as soon as they read the script. Four Christmases is just one of those films. Read the full story
Jackie Chan had gained notoriety through the 70’s impressing the masses with his unique style of martial arts and ability to choreograph a scene incorporating comedy, kung fu, and all sorts of props. However, none of his early films could prepare him for the mainstream success he had received from 1978’s Drunken Master. The film is still highly regarded and was the catalyst that has made Jackie Chan Asia’s biggest action star, and made him the most recognizable face in China. Throughout the 80’s Jackie Chan became more well known for his action comedies and his death defying stunts which he would always perform himself. Read the full story
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