It appears Todd Phillips received the memo. After the successful sequel, “The Hangover: Part II,” was released in 2011, there was a great swell of disappointment, watching co-writer/director Phillips basically remake his original 2009 feature, merely switching locales and stakes but retaining the same crude sense of humor and trust in comedic madne...
With its last outing, 2011’s “Fast Five,” the “Fast and the Furious” franchise reached a previously unimaginable creative high. Against all odds, it was a vastly entertaining picture that readjusted tonal goals for the series, dropping most the dead weight car race tangents to run full steam ahead as a caper, using the limited but colorful cast to ...
In this line of work, one sees plenty of animated movies, and while there are natural variances in quality, most fall into a familiar structure, guaranteeing a certain box office response. The French production “The Painting” generally refuses the temptations of formula, displaying remarkable invention as it builds a unique world of art appreciatio...
The Cartoon-o-Tron 9000 sparks to life and cranks out “Epic,” a feature filled with so many derivative ideas and formulaic events, it’s difficult to assess what’s actually novel about the picture. From the production team that brought the world the “Ice Age” series and “Robots,” “Epic” has its eye on a blockbuster plan of engagement, hoping to wow ...
Writer/director Noah Baumbach has spent the last chunk of his career working on his anger issues, funneling his insecurities into pictures such as “Margot at the Wedding” and “Greenberg.” “Frances Ha” comes off as a calculated attempt by Baumbach to remind his audience that he’s not such a creep, working intimately with star/co-writer Greta Gerwig ...
In 1995, the Isaac Mizrahi documentary “Unzipped” opened to acclaim and box office interest. It was a strange picture at the time, revealing the backstage life of a fashion designer, detailing the work, the struggles, and the success of such an intense vocation, teeming with judgment and humiliation. Cut to today, and fashion stories are everywhere...
“Syrup” takes on the cutthroat world of marketing, a battleground where anything goes in terms of content, as long as it sells. The same disposability applies to the employees as well, who often engage in pure ruthlessness to secure work and reputation, handing the picture fanged potential that’s aching for a smart directorial approach to lend the ...
Most films concerning The Troubles take a vitriolic stance, using stark images of violence and fiery participants to paint a disturbing portrait of sacrifice and circular movements of tragedy. “Shadow Dancer” is no less impassioned, but takes a more suspenseful route, locking on the internal churn of responsibility and personal protection as nation...
I was completely swept away by the 2009 reinvention of “Star Trek” (my favorite film of that year). Director J.J. Abrams approached an impossible creative challenge with startling confidence, restoring awe to a dusty brand name while removing the need to be slavish to Gene Roddenberry’s original creation as it paved the way for its own universe of ...
What “The Iceman” has to offer, we’ve seen before. It’s a hitman story, a bio-pic of sorts studying the cold-blooded career of Richard Kuklinski, a mafia enforcer who murdered over 100 people during his two decades on the job, dealing with all types of godfathers and hot-heads as he tried to raise a family in relative peace. It’s a tough guy saga t...
I’m almost embarrassed to admit that my introduction to Ricky Jay was through his acting credits, watching him perform in the films of David Mamet and Paul Thomas Anderson, completely unaware of his legacy as a sleight of hand master. His magical authority would come later to me, making his accomplishments and skill even more impressive, with his v...
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen an Uwe Boll picture, going to back 2008 when his last theatrical endeavor, “In the Name of the King,” blew in and out of multiplexes with the speed of a spring breeze. Since that time, Boll has gone on to direct 15 movies, living up to his Ed Wood legacy by churning out features at an alarming rate, with one of...
Danish director Susanne Bier has built a career out of difficult pictures with hard edges, gracefully exploring the limits of vulnerability with a decidedly humane approach, always aware of natural behaviors that have generated some spellbinding cinema (including 2004’s “Brothers”). “Love Is All You Need” is an unnerving step toward mainstream acce...
After playing second fiddle to Gerard Butler in last month’s “Olympus Has Fallen,” it’s about time star Aaron Eckhart proved himself in the action arena. It’s only a shame “Erased,” as nondescript a title as can be, doesn’t reveal much ingenuity in the stale genre, electing to reheat plot elements and violent encounters viewed in other, better film...
I wish “The English Teacher” was as humorous and mischievous as it believes itself to be. A farce in serious need of speed and content, the picture doesn’t exactly achieves its minimal goals, falling short of its intended satiric aim toward high school theatrical productions, while lacking spitfire as a comedy of errors tinged with uncomfortable se...
“Midnight’s Children” is a sprawling motion picture that rarely pauses to allow its audience a moment to grasp the numerous leaps in time and enormous collection of characters. It’s based on the 1981 book by Salman Rushdie, who co-scripts and narrates this bizarre story of childhood trauma, magical powers, and crushing political changes, attempting...
“Aftershock” is a strange disaster film that desires to merge broad comedy with utter depravity, looking to concoct a pungent brew of exploitation for those who’ve developed a taste for such bitter screen insanity. Unfortunately, the feature is lopsided, unfunny, and needlessly aggressive, or, in other words, it was co-written by Eli Roth, the horr...
The marketing for “Peeples” has been stamped silly with the Tyler Perry brand name, though he only has a vague producer presence here, not a primary creative role. Actually, it’s probably a mistake to have Mr. Madea’s name anywhere near the picture, as Perry’s core fanbase will be expecting something volcanic from a movie that just wants to relax a...
Director Baz Luhrmann is not a miracle man, but he’s successfully restored pluck to fatigued material with his unique brand of cinematic voodoo. He made Shakespeare dizzy with 1996’s “Romeo + Juliet,” sent turn of the century Paris to Mars in 2001’s “Moulin Rouge,” and restored romantic sweep to a majestic continent with 2008’s “Australia.” However...
With “Down Terrace” and “Kill List,” director Ben Wheatley was striving for more of a severe atmosphere of family dysfunction and the dark unknown, creating interesting but indulgent cinema that fell short of its initial promise. “Sightseers” takes Wheatley in a distinctly broad direction, creating a pitch-black comedy that’s uproarious when it isn...
Continuing his barbed but playful filmmaking interests as of late, writer/director Francois Ozon works his way to an exploration of voyeurism with his latest effort, “In the House.” Playing to the helmer’s strengths as it details obsession and mental gamesmanship, the feature is a riveting endeavor that blurs the line between fact and fiction, work...
In the mid-eighties, there was bumper crop of films examining the plight of the red-blooded, family-oriented American farmer as they faced industry demands, corporate interests, and dwindling profits. In 2013, the vocation has changed radically, with little room for a personal touch, giving way to fields of crops born from genetically modified seed...
After securing blushes from teen girls worldwide with his supporting role in the “Twilight” series (playing Emmett, the vamp bruiser), Kellan Lutz is looking to break out on his own, accepting starring vehicles that require displays of strength and beefcakery. However, the true star of “Java Heat” is the Indonesian island where the location takes p...
“What Richard Did” doesn’t move in traditional melodramatic directions, preferring to sustain an air of realism that often results in startling turns of character. It’s a low-key production, perhaps painfully so to some viewers, asking those with patience to stick with the relatively mundane aspects of Irish teen life before it springs an act of vi...
The Bert Stern that we know is the legendary advertising and celebrity photographer, a man with a singular eye for feminine beauty and unforgettable composition, building his career on iconic pictures, most notably of Marilyn Monroe just before she passed away in 1962. The Bert Stern of the “Original Madman” documentary is an older gentleman with l...
When we last saw Iron Man saving the day, he was a member of the Avengers, teaming up with his superhero friends to save the Earth from a city-smashing alien invasion. Unable to topple that mighty achievement, co-writer/director Shane Black selects an insular path for the arrogant but lovable Tony Stark, and that unusual mix of spectacle and person...
“Gambit” announces its retro intentions right away, kicking off with an animated title sequence not unlike those found in the “Pink Panther” series. Although credited as a remake of a 1966 picture starring Michael Caine and Shirley MacLaine, the new “Gambit” is more of its own thing, only retaining the comedic sensibilities of the 1960s, along with...
In 2004, writer/director/actor/producer/composer/editor Shane Carruth brought “Primer” into view. A no-budget but highly sophisticated picture that exhaustively explored the elasticity of the time travel subgenre, “Primer” was appreciated by a cult following that adored Carruth’s attention to detail and steely moviemaking approach. Nearly a decade ...
There are times when “Generation Um…” is an authentic indie production, and there are moments where it feels like a parody of one. At the very least, it’ll be the one film this year where the audience is treated to a sequence comprised entirely of star Keanu Reeves eating two cupcakes. Perhaps that alone should be a gauge to the must-seeness of the...
Vampire movies have had it rough lately, what with the “Twilight” saga managing to regress fearsome, sensual creatures into dour Teen Beat centerfolds, complete with shimmering skin. “Kiss of the Damned” isn’t a rebuttal to the world of Edward Cullen, but it does a fine job reminding audiences that bloodsuckers are far more amorous and reprehensibl...
