Movie Reviews

Oct 12 2012

The House I Live In

“The War on Drugs may be well-intentioned / but it falls f**kin’ flat when you stop to mention / an overcrowded prison where a rapist gets paroled / to make room for a dude who has sold / a pound of weed – to me, that’s a crime…” — Nick Hexum, “Offbeat Bare-Ass”, from 311’s […]
Read More

Oct 12 2012

Seven Psychopaths

(This review was originally published on October 12, 2012 at Reel Film News) As the credits rolled on “Seven Psychopaths”, I found myself struggling to remember how the whole thing started in the first place. The film, written and directed by Martin McDonagh (2008’s “In Bruges”), plays like a stream of consciousness; it’s easy to […]
Read More

Oct 5 2012

Escape Fire: The Fight To Rescue America’s Healthcare

(This review originally appeared at Reel Film News on October 5, 2012.) Everyone in this country knows our healthcare system is the pits, no matter what side of the fence you’re on politically. Bureaucratic red tape, avoidance of reimbursement or even paying for contracted services, Health Maintenance Organizations versus private care… it’s confusing and sometimes […]
Read More

Oct 5 2012

V/H/S

(This review was originally published on October 5, 2012 at Reel Film News) Hmmmm…. an exclusively ‘found footage’ horror anthology. There’s an interesting concept. Like many compilations of its genre, “V/H/S” is hit or miss; sometimes it’s delightfully disturbing, and other times it feels recycled and uninspired. Consisting of five tales shot in the POV style […]
Read More

Oct 5 2012

Taken 2

(This review was originally published on October 5, 2012 at Reel Film News) In “Taken 2”, Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) re-employs his ‘particular set of skills’ to save himself and his family from abduction in Istanbul. He should have used common sense instead. That way, he might have been left with enough stamina to overcome […]
Read More

Oct 1 2012

Looper

(This review was originally published on October 1, 2012 at Reel Film News) It speaks volumes for Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s agent that the actor has starred in the two best sci-fi action films of the past decade; first Christopher Nolan’s “Inception” in 2010 and now Rian Johnson’s “Looper”, which takes the concept of time travel into mind-bending […]
Read More