They don’t make movies like The Good Shepherd anymore. It feels like it slipped into theaters through a crack in reality, escaping from a parallel world that never experienced the one-two punch of Jaws and Star Wars and rather based its major blockbuster formula on the Godfather movies. But is there another alternate universe that’s … Continue reading
The Good German is an easy movie to admire. Soderbergh is attempting to capture the look and the feel of film from the 40s, and he does it. The Good German doesn’t just imitate these movies, it is one of them; Soderbergh isn’t just aping the camera moves and lighting, he understands it completely and … Continue reading
Here’s a testament to Will Smith’s inherent charisma: I would have despised The Pursuit of Happyness if it wasn’t for him. The film is the story of a man who is essentially dumb, and it has a right wing anti-homeless vibe running throughout it. And that’s not even addressing the movie’s inherently sappy and manipulative … Continue reading
Forty-five minutes into Home of the Brave the movie made its way onto my Worst of the Year list. It could have been placed there within the first fifteen minutes, but I was feeling charitable and decided to give the film a chance to redeem itself. My patience was rewarded with a motion picture that … Continue reading
1. GEEK MONTHLY #1 From the folks at CFQ (primarily well-known nerd entrepraneur Mark Altman, who I have to introduce myself to as if it’s the first time every time) comes a magazine devoted to geek culture and all its incarnations. Thankfully, it’s under the stewardship of genuine good guy Jeff Bond. This issue’s strong … Continue reading
Clapping at the movies never made much sense to me. What’s the applause supposed to signify? “Way to project that film!” But that didn’t stop me from applauding wildly at the end of Jennifer Hudson’s “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” smack dab in the middle of Dreamgirls. My applause was involuntary; it … Continue reading
Here’s my pitch for an Apocalypto video game, which also serves as a synopsis of the movie: We begin the game with a training level so you can get used to the controls. You’re country Mayan Jaguar Paw, and you’re hunting tapir in the Central American jungle. You have to run, jump and use ingenuity … Continue reading
There are a lot of galling things in Blood Diamond, the new Africa in crisis movie, but perhaps the most galling is the way the film insists on making a white guy the lead when the whole thing is the black guy’s story. It’s not even a question – if the film has been set … Continue reading
During Apocalypto’s midpoint climax, you might get a glimpse into how difficult it is to be Mel Gibson. As decapitated human sacrifices are thrown from a Mayan pyramid in delirious slow motion, one wonders how it’s possible to spiritually reflect on such barbarism when it looks so goddamned great. Extrapolate that into a dichotomy — … Continue reading