Validation can be a sweet thing. With Neill Blomkamps’ name forever attached to the defunct Peter Jackson/Fox/Universal Halo project, the director may have had a little more to prove with his big-screen directorial debut. Blomkamp’s previously deft incorporation of realism and fantasy as played out in a wide variety of commercials and shorts shouldn’t have left any doubt to his skill, or at least an idea that he was a director to be on the watch for. As he expands …
Category: Reviews
District 9, the first-ever feature film from director Neill Blomkamp, is stunning, powerful movie that is equal parts sci-fi, horror and drama, all wrapped into a chaotic modern-day allegory that, if consumed correctly by a savvy viewer, should not only entertain, but cause one to pause and consider how we treat our fellow human beings, especially the ones who look, talk and think differently than we do. It is without a doubt one of the best films of the year …
I’ve been to New York City twice in my 35 years, once for business and then again last November to run the 2008 ING New York City Marathon. Both trips to the city did nothing but foster my fondness and awe for The City that Never Sleeps. From running through Brooklyn and Queens on a crisp autumn morning with 50,000 other runners, to looking down from the Empire State Building at the sea of stars that is Manhattan, to eating …
Surely you’ve heard the buzz and outcry surrounding Paramount Picture’s decision to withhold G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra from the bulk of film critics this week, instead giving a few web mainstays like Devin Faraci of CHUD.com and Harry Knowles from Aint’tItCoolNews.com the chance to see the much maligned Stephen Sommers movie in advance. Frankly, I think it’s a great move by Paramount. They proved with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen that a 20 percent fresh rating on RottenTomatoes.com …
Each summer, studios drop a late-season, B-grade thriller into theaters in hopes of seeing it make a run at a dark horse weekend. 2005: Into the Blue and Red Eye. Last year: Death Race and Mirrors. Two of those four qualify for a the Showcase of Shame and both, incidentally, were not released in 2008. But so much for old memories. It’s summer 2009 and this year we’ve got A Perfect Getaway. Written and directed by the very capable craftsman …
With all the flaccid outrage (read: Why didn’t I get invited?) by critics over Paramount’s decision to screen G.I. Joe to only a handful of audiences and critics (including CHUD’s spot-on review by Devin Faraci) and KSL’s Doug Wright mistakenly reporting director Stephen Sommers quit the project (he didn’t- nor was he ever fired), a huge question remains: “OK, but is it any good?” The short answer: Yes. Remember Stephen Sommers pre-Van Helsing? He’s back with a GI Joe that’s …
As a 35 year-old man, my anticipation for the new comedy Funny People was tantamount to the exuberance I felt during my youth for The Empire Strikes Back or Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom – you know, back when I was sporting Underroos and playing with G.I. Joe and He-Man toys. I suppose my excitement for an “adult” movie is part of growing up (although I still get giddy for a juicy, brainless summer popcorn release) , but …
“The following is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Especially you Jenny Beckman… Bitch.” With that, a certain contender for one of the year’s best films (so far) disconnects from the patently absurd formula of contemporary romantic comedies and plugs itself into a relevant reality. As the tag line suggests –in one of the best cases of honesty in advertising film has ever seen– (500) Days of Summer is not a love …
The Harry Potter films thrive amidst a select group of Teflon franchises– films that no matter their quality, earn huge openings and– regardless of any universal love– longtail their way to a tidy sum. And while the Potter films have never been terrible, their page to celluloid translations have always trended toward book-loyalty to a plodding fault. Eight years and five films later, Harry Potter’s cinematic legacy has finally birthed an entry that transcends its dedicated followers to deliver a …
Hoooo boy! It would seem the Transformers sequel, what seemed to be a surefire summer blockbuster, is now headed full steam ahead for ignominy and a Golden Raspberry award. As of this writing and today’s release, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” stands at 22% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.com. And the reviews are brutal. Here’s a sample of what some notable critics are saying about Michael Bay’s Autobots vs. Decepticons movie. A great grinding garbage disposal of a movie, “Transformers: Revenge …