Movie Reviews
(This review was originally published on August 19, 2011 at The Rogers Revue) If throwing caution to the wind and developing a few basic ideas for an inexpensive alien invasion comedy produces a film as entertaining as “Attack the Block” in the UK, it might be time for Hollywood to reach out to the Brits for […]
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(This review was originally published on August 12, 2011 at The Rogers Revue) When a film franchise consistently attempts to deliver a greater spectacle than its previous installments, there is an inherent risk as the gap between a recycled premise and its ability to surprise the audience widens. The “Final Destination” series has had the potential […]
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(This review was originally published on July 29, 2011 at The Rogers Revue) Mike Cahill’s ethereal tale of a young woman’s struggle for redemption, “Another Earth” is something of a visual poem, a minimalist rendering of a very large concept. The film’s ambition is laced with a quiet despair that feeds its ominous tone, effective in […]
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(This review was originally published on July 29, 2011 at The Rogers Revue) A movie with a premise like “Cowboys & Aliens” might draw plenty of unwarranted criticism from biased moviegoers, but its content isn’t as black-and-white as its title might suggest. Jon Favreau’s $180 Million blockbuster-to-be is unquestionably an epic, but it unwittingly parlays its winning […]
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(This review was originally published on July 22, 2011 at The Rogers Revue) When a film taps into a recurring theme like the fabled existence of complication-free ‘relations’, it stands to reason that aspects of its script would appear like faded remnants of rom-coms in the past. These days it’s hard to talk about anything […]
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(This review was originally published on July 9, 2011 at The Rogers Revue) If Seth Gordon were a less competent director, I might be tempted to make a few cheap and obvious critical references to the title of his newest film “Horrible Bosses”, though I would not be proud of myself for it. Fortunately, his […]
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(Originally published at The Rogers Revue on June 28, 2011.) Grand excitement, beautiful slow-motion shots of explosions, bodies flying around, an orgy of crunching metal and bone, hopelessly absurd physics, theater speakers being pushed beyond their maximum decibel levels, and more action than the human eyes can possibly handle? Yep. Sounds like a Michael Bay […]
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(This review was originally published on May 27, 2011 at The Rogers Revue) In his follow-up effort to the highest grossing R-rated comedy in American history, director Todd Phillips proves that it is somehow possible to be lazy and overzealous at the same time. “The Hangover”, which grossed over $467 million worldwide in 2009, succeeded […]
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(Originally published at The Rogers Revue on April 29, 2011.) In 2003, the remake of The Italian Job was released to big box office numbers and good critical notices; as is the case when something like this happens, the studio starts bandying about possible ideas for a sequel. What came of it was something known […]
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(Originally published at The Rogers Revue on December 16, 2010.) In 1982, Walt Disney Pictures released a film called Tron, which promised to take us to the world behind the computer screen; it did exactly that, with actors personifying various computer programs. The story of a software developer physically pulled into the computer to gain […]
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