Movie Reviews

(This article was originally published on January 18, 2012 at The Rogers Revue) It’s that dreary season between The Golden Globes and The Oscars when we commiserate about another crappy year of football, fight our annual urge to move south and pick at the remnants of last year’s cinematic bounty.

(This review was originally published on December 25, 2011 at The Rogers Revue) The collaboration of director J.J. Abrams and Tom Cruise in 2006′s “Mission:Impossible III” marked a vast improvement over John Woo’s awkwardly trendy, over-stylized sequel six years prior. Also referred to as ‘Me:Too’, Woo’s crossover effort seemed self-indulgent for Cruise and unnaturally trigger-happy for the series, […]

(This review was originally published on December 16, 2011 at The Rogers Revue) Anyone who has read much John le Carré is probably well acquainted with George Smiley, the quintessential British spy character of the Cold War era (no, it’s not James Bond). In “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”, which is the first book in the ‘Karla’ trilogy (released later […]

(This review was originally published onDecember 9, 2011 at The Rogers Revue) If you enjoyed “Pineapple Express”, then you might appreciate my elaboration on why “The Sitter” barely cleared my D rating. Either way, there seems to be (yet another) new wave of comedy that threatens to challenge our creative existence like a planet-ending meteor.

(This review was originally published on November 23, 2011 at The Rogers Revue) Has anyone ever really gotten the Marilyn Monroe biopic thing right? Not in my opinion. But even Mira Sorvino’s depiction of the platinum blonde bombshell opposite Ashley Judd’s innocent but tragically scarred alter ego in the 1996 HBO movie “Norma Jean and […]

(This review was originally published on November 18, 2011 at The Rogers Revue) Alexander Payne has an affinity for bringing complex literary characters to life in situations of conflict, compromise and absurdity. This was best exemplified in 2004′s “Sideways”, a snarky little gem that effectively walked the line between comedy and tragedy.  His first film in […]