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(04/17/14 8:57pm)
Being bad is not the worst fate to befall a movie. Certainly, it can be a highly detrimental factor; after all, people are far more likely to be attracted to good films, causing bad movies to receive poor press and poor box office results. Even so, there can be a certain charm to a bad films; hammy acting, poor writing, laughable dialogue, ridiculous special effects and the like all serve to make bad films at least ironically entertaining, if lacking in quality. Barring that, genuinely awful films deserve credit for eliciting some form of emotion from audiences, even if it is negative.
(04/10/14 8:49pm)
In what can only be described as one of the greatest franchise turnarounds in the last several years, Captain America: The Winter Soldier proves itself to be everything its prequel, The First Avenger, was not. Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, Marvel’s blockbuster film starring Chris Evans as the mighty Captain America boasts some of the best action, choreography and, arguably, writing in all of Marvel’s superhero films thus far.
(04/03/14 8:07pm)
Russell Crowe has had, to put it lightly, an interesting career. Over the course of his acting life, he has been everything from a Roman gladiator to a schizophrenic mathematician. He’s been a boxing champion, a French policeman and the father of Superman himself. With such legendary characters under his proverbial belt of acting, it makes sense for Crowe to continue upping the ante, playing more and more titanic roles. At this point in his career, however, it would take a role of absolutely biblical proportions in order to continue this trend of escalation.
(03/27/14 4:38pm)
Within the community of animated film creators, few can claim the level skill and success of Hayao Miyazaki. Considered to be a master of his craft, Japanese film director Miyazaki has earned renown for creating anime (read: Japanese animation) classics of worldwide acclaim, such as Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle. Among his film’s accolades are his consistently good storytelling techniques, compelling characters and top notch animation, typically handled by the famed Studio Ghibli.
(03/13/14 4:28pm)
The last decade or so has seen a great resurgence in the once nearly-dead genre of comic-based film. After decades of questionable writing, tired plots and campy acting — to say nothing about the culmination of these factors in the disastrous Batman and Robin — recent, new directions of comic franchises have breathed new life into this genre, seeing the returns of such greats as Batman, Spider Man, and the Man of Steel Himself.
(03/07/14 8:10pm)
Another year is behind us, and with it another Oscar ceremony, full of affluence, excess and the Hollywood system congratulating itself for a job well done (theoretically). Films are praised; films are snubbed; mistakes are made in announcements; paparazzi invent controversies; all in keeping with the great Academy Awards tradition. Following that same tradition, Leonardo DiCaprio once again walks away without one of the coveted gold trophies. The roars of both outrage and laughter from the internet are, as always, deafening.
(02/27/14 5:00pm)
If you’ve been following my reviews, you know my stance on sequels very well. For the record, I am not always against sequels. Sequels are perfectly valid as films so long as they make sure to meet certain criteria. First, they must stay true to the spirit of the original film, recognizing what made the prequel great and what made it appeal to people. Second, it must be sure to bring fresh material to the table so as to remain a strong film on its own. It’s a delicate balance, and even slight variations potentially skew the entire project.
(02/20/14 6:20pm)
In 1987, Paul Verhoven entered into sci-fi cinema with a quite literal bang with the release of Robocop, an action story featuring a robotic police officer hunting criminals in a dystopian future society. The film was hailed as an excellent step forward in the sci-fi action genre with critics praising its witty plot, smartly written characters, over-the-top gore and thought provoking atmosphere. The film has since been remembered as one of the quintessential sci-fi films of the eighties, joining such greats as James Cameron’s Terminator, spawning multiple sequels
(02/13/14 5:04pm)
Night falls across the city, as the seedy criminal underground stirs to life. Frightened citizens lock themselves in their homes in fear. Gangs take to the street to fight their wars. Black markets deals see the exchange of everything from drugs to automatic weaponry. The corrupt bureaucrats set their thugs on the unwary, whether to collect debts or kill witnesses doesn’t matter.
(02/06/14 8:54pm)
Let’s talk about Disney. Disney and its musicals.
(01/30/14 7:38pm)
I'm going to be rather critical in this review, so before I begin properly, I’m going to get a crucial point out of the way early on: I love this movie. More than that, I love each and every one of the Middle-Earth movies that director Peter Jackson has made. They are fantastically put together, very well written and do an excellent job crafting an entire world. They also invest audiences in the characters, which is crucial. In short, they are great films; don’t ever get that wrong.
(01/26/14 5:54pm)
The winter season is upon us, and with it comes the second batch of blockbusters. Yes, come Christmas time, cinemas are filled to the brim with the second most anticipated blockbuster hits of the year; all the films that Hollywood was too scared to release in the coveted summer slots. This is a time filled with sequels, quirky comedies and “artistic” films, clearly trying too hard to win an Oscar.
(11/21/13 9:51pm)
There’s nothing saying that every movie has to be particularly intelligent; while intricate stories, good acting, and other such features are typically considered essential to a good movie, they are by no means required; films like Rocky or the original Star Wars are certainly indicative of that much. Lack of intelligence only hurts a film if the movie is actively trying to be intelligent; such is unfortunately the case with James Vanderbilt’s recent action blockbuster, White House Down.
(11/16/13 7:19pm)
Due to the controversy surrounding Orson Scott Card, author of the novel on which Ender’s Game was based, I feel it is necessary to preface this review with a brief note on objectivity.
(11/07/13 11:14pm)
(10/31/13 5:57pm)
I have been told on occasion that I can be too critical of films; I watch them very closely and oftentimes turn up more criticisms than a film necessarily needs. After all, the purpose of film is to entertain; so long as that goal is achieved what does it matter how flawed a film is? At these times, I watch Sharknado.
(10/24/13 9:09pm)
The horror genre is a fickle beast. At any given time, it stands poised to churn out both cinematic masterpieces and indefensible garbage. Unfortunately, among horror films, the latter seems much more common than the former. The genre is littered with films that exhibit poor ideas, poor execution, poor acting and poor plots.
(10/17/13 10:22pm)
Horror, as a genre, typically relies on several common tropes in order to work properly. One of these tropes is the “unknown;” commonly, a lack of knowledge about a person or event serves to make it more ominous. Withholding knowledge from audiences builds suspense as audiences have no means expecting what might happen, which serves to make the frightening aspects of the film more potent when they occur.
(10/10/13 5:04pm)
When one thinks of horror movies, several big names come to mind. The Halloween series, Silence of the Lambs, Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolfman and others are all nearly synonymous with what people consider “horror” to be: a suspenseful atmosphere, terrifying creatures, scared people and plenty of slow, cinematic death scenes.
(10/05/13 5:48pm)
Horror films are definitely a spectacle, to say the least. Bursting with cheesy acting, empty plots, jump scares and blood, you can be assured that these hellish crafts of cinema will elicit emotional reactions of all kinds.