What is it about the Jackass franchise that inspires its more intellectual defenders to get all pretentious about it? Take a minute to read the piece in the Atlantic about Jackass 3D. Or better yet, read my long-winded reply to a colleague who posted an editorial about his disdain for everything Jackass. Here it … Continue reading
Last year, the Brooklyn band TV On The Radio released a truly terrific cover version of the song “Heroes” by David Bowie. This year, Peter Gabriel recorded one that’s even more stirring still. However, it’s probably true that neither version will ultimately prove to be as enduring as David Bowie’s original. So it is … Continue reading
From the time The Social Network was announced as a film straight through until the time I finished watching it for the first time, I couldn’t help thinking of my friend Tom from Myspace. Well, we used to be friends. We’re not friends anymore. I haven’t been to his site in months. … Continue reading
The best praise I can give Easy A is that it can stand without shame alongside Clueless and Mean Girls as a female-friendly high school movie that’s just as watchable for guys and just as entertaining for grown-ups. That happens because of a likable lead actress (Zombieland’s Emma Stone) and a small cavalry of equally … Continue reading
Frozen is a killer premise well-executed. Here’s how simple it is: Three college students on a ski trip get stranded on a lift, halfway up the mountain. No one knows they’re up there. There’s nobody around to hear their calls for help. It’s too high to jump, it’s below freezing, and there are hungry things in the woods. Can’t … Continue reading
What’s in a name? Let’s face it, Douchebag is an attention-getting title. It’s just short of calling your movie Asshole but getting away with it. That’s cool and transgressive and all, but if you’re going to pull a stunt like that, the movie that results should earn the title it used to bring people in. … Continue reading
Martin Scorsese believes in film preservation because, as he says, even the films which aren’t considered great are still worthy as historical documents – they show us how people and places looked in the not-too-distant past, and they suggest what those people may have been thinking about. This is another reason why Martin Scorsese … Continue reading
Can we talk about costumes for a second? There are many things that I believe make The Town a really satisfying movie, but one of the elements that makes it so convincing is the costume design. And I’m not just talking about the masks: The skull masks used in the opening robbery, and the eerie nun masks … Continue reading
When it comes to movies, each individual person has their own specific conception of bliss. Some movies are able to unite us, such as The Wizard Of Oz or The Godfather or Raiders Of The Lost Ark or Spider-Man, but more often there are movies that hit center on a much more esoteric … Continue reading
Whatever else you want to say about it, Piranha 3D is a movie that keeps its promises. The trailers, the commercials, and all the pre-press promised that Piranha 3D would lean heavy on its R rating. Its makers and its promoting swore up and down that we’d see more gore and more nudity than … Continue reading