There’s a moment in Spider-Man 3 over halfway through the film where it becomes obvious that all involved parties realize they have nothing else to prove and simply let their figurative hair down and had some fun. Real fun. This isn’t a spoiler, but when the film enters Superman III territory and showcases a Peter … Continue reading
There’s something so 1998 about a courtroom movie that hosts a supposed battle of wits between a crafty psychopath and an out-of-his-league-yet-still-somehow-capable young hotshot attorney. And the people bringing you Fracture have no problem with that. They’re banking on people wanting to relive the days when theaters were filled to the brim with simple, undemanding … Continue reading
There are some pretty gnarly sights in Johnny To’s Election (most of ’em arrive in the massively disturbing final reel), but nothing in that complex, yet streamlined depiction of gangland politics could possibly prepare the viewer for the unthinkably grotesque set piece he pulls off in Triad Election‘s second act. And it isn’t that the … Continue reading
When Jon Kasdan becomes a successful writer-director (and this seems a fait accompli with those writin’-directin’ genes), he’s going to look back on In the Land of Women and wince – not because it’s bad, but because it is so painfully earnest. The tragicomic tale of struggling screenwriter Carter Webb (Adam Brody) – who flees … Continue reading
I feel like we here at CHUD are on the verge of spamming our love for Hot Fuzz, so I’m going to do my best to keep this brief. But how can we not be ebullient about a movie that meets and exceeds expectations? When a team like Wright, Pegg and Frost go from cool … Continue reading
Midway through the regionally produced good-ol’-boy romp, Redneck Miller, the titular character – a hotshot DJ in some random Carolina municipality where "hotshot" bona fides are easy to come by provided one still has a functional tooth or two – breaks up the near rape of his mistress by a bunch of hoods looking to … Continue reading
There’s nothing worse for a genre filmmaker’s career than to attain geek deification with one’s first picture. While the initial adulation is wonderful, expectations set in as soon as the second movie is announced. Give ’em enough time, and they’ll start writing the next one themselves – either in their heads or as fan fiction … Continue reading
I hate nostalgia. It’s an awful quality in human beings, and it’s getting worse as we go further into the 21st century – we’re getting nostalgic for things that happened this week, it seems. No nostalgia drives me as nuts as that for bad things from the 80s, especially bad movies and TV shows. But … Continue reading
Lonely Hearts is not a bad movie. It’s more often than not a pretty good one; well made and filled with some excellent performances. Yet the movie never quite clicks, perhaps because it insists on telling two stories – one that is dramatic and one that slowly peters out, neither of which complement each other. … Continue reading