Movie Reviews

We’re a hotheaded group of individuals. We crave a pull quote like anyone else, but it’s not about that. It’s only about you the reader. We love you. We want to take you home and cuddle with you. The following reviews are the opinions of the editors of CHUD.com and are by most accounts bang on.

BOOK REVIEW: BLONDE, THE

Buy it!: Amazon.com: The Blonde: Books: Duane Swierczynski Publisher: St. Martin’s Minotaur Pages: 240 pages AUTHOR WEBSITE: Secret Dead Blog Duane Swierczynski’s The Blonde is a crazy kick in the face chase action comedy. It took me by the balls and threw me against the wall again and again with each development and twist. Jack … Continue reading

BOOK REVIEW: CASINO ROYALE

BUY IT AT AMAZON: CLICK HERE!PUBLISHER: PenguinMSRP: $13.00PAGES: 192 There’s great fun to be had in reviewing an icon of literature. Especially if one, like me, has somehow managed to never read that piece of literature before. I don’t know how I’ve done it, but despite a childhood of reading and a series of creative … Continue reading

REVIEW: RUNNING WITH SCISSORS

Running With Scissors reminded me a lot of Terry Gilliam’s Tideland in that it’s about a group of mostly repulsive characters and how they collectively abuse a child, and how it’s supposed to be funny and/or uplifting and meaningful. I blame The Simpsons – they’ve so moved the goal post when it comes to dysfunctional … Continue reading

REVIEW: PRESTIGE, THE

I figured out the ending of The Prestige about halfway through the movie. I don’t tend to be the brightest guy when it comes to solving cinematic puzzles like this, so this probably means that either the film is incredibly obvious or that it just plays extremely fair, giving real clues and not pulling the … Continue reading

REVIEW: FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS

I wonder when Clint Eastwood decided to make a companion film for Flags of Our Fathers, his movie about the famous photo of the flag raising at Iwo Jima in WWII. Did he decide to make the other film (Letters From Iwo Jima, a look at the bloody battle from the Japanese point of view) … Continue reading

REVIEW: MARIE ANTOINETTE

Sofia Coppola’s movies are open and sparse, focusing on the things unsaid and the moments in between the momentous. It’s almost as fascinating to see what effect this sparseness and openness has on the audience; Coppola’s films end up being as much about what the viewer brings to the experience as what’s going on up … Continue reading

REVIEW: TIDELAND

Tideland will go down in history as one of the most stunning mistakes of the first decade of the 21st century. It’s a movie that fits perfectly in the Terry Gilliam oeuvre, except for the fact that it is a dismal, rank bore that so misses the thematic mark that it becomes a complete nightmare. … Continue reading

REVIEW: INLAND EMPIRE

This film is playing at the 44th New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center. It’s playing Sunday, October 8th at 8:30 and Monday, October 9th at 11:30am. For information on how to get tickets, click here. Be aware that even if a show is sold out there will be a Rush line, where you may … Continue reading

BOOK REVIEW: MAD DOGS

BUY IT AT AMAZON: CLICK HERE!PUBLISHER: Forge BooksMSRP: $24.95PAGES: 336 Mad Dogs by James Grady is a slam dunk of adrenaline that does not stop to let you breathe and you’ll beg it to keep going harder and harder until you’re gasping for air. It is an insane comic drama and it kicked my ass. … Continue reading