Monthly Archives: August 2014
Hercules (2014)
You would think that a film about Hercules would contain fantastic battles, wondrous adventures, dastardly villains, outrageous monsters and an epic, grand feel. You would be wrong. Here’s a film about one of the most famous fictitious heroes in history, and they make just another generic swords-and-sandals movie. I have a great film-making challenge for […]
Lauren Bacall (1924-2014)
Goodbye to a Hollywood legend. “You know you don’t have to act with me, Steve. You don’t have to say anything, and you don’t have to do anything. Not a thing. Oh, maybe just whistle. You know how to whistle, don’t you, Steve? You just put your lips together and… blow.” —- Lauren Bacall […]
Teacher’s Pet (2004)
Teacher’s Pet is as frantic, manic and hyperactive as its characters. One of the more bizarre of the Disney animated films, it appeared briefly in movie theaters in 2004, and just as quietly left. It’s fast-paced and often hilarious, and is short enough to end before it overstays its welcome. […]
10 Recommended Science Fiction/Fantasy Films from 1982…Besides “E.T.”
In the late seventies and early eighties, Hollywood seemed to be bursting at the seams with films depicting the supernatural and the fantastic. That being said, 1982 was an especially prolific year for science fiction and fantasy films. One film in particular, though, broke box-office records and won the hearts of audiences and critics alike […]
Robin Williams (1951-2014)
Robin Williams, the Oscar-winning actor and legendary comedian, has died. He was 63 years old. According to the coroner’s office in Tiburon, California, the cause of death is believed to be suicide by asphyxiation. Robin Williams was a true chameleon, able to play a Russian immigrant, an animated genie or fruit bat, a sleazy Cadillac salesman, […]
Boyhood
Most films tell us a story, Boyhood shows us a life. Over the course of several years, filmmaker Richard Linklater shot a film that would chronicle a young man’s evolution, from age six to eighteen. The film is not only an astonishing work of art, rich with humor and drama, but it’s a living, breathing […]
Planes: Fire & Rescue
If Planes: Fire & Rescue feels like a quickly-produced Pixar rip-off, that’s because it is. Like its predecessor, last year’s Planes, this film was released by DisneyToons Studio, and does not have the Pixar stamp of quality on it. Disney, in their quest for the almighty dollar, took a hint from Cars and Cars 2, […]
Life Itself
When I was in junior high, I fell in love with the movies. I had always liked movies, but around twelve years old, something changed. I realized, of course, their importance as an art form, as a way to understand a little bit more about the world around you, but I also saw how fun […]
Begin Again
One of the many great little touches to Mark Ruffalo’s performance as Dan, a down-and-out music producer/executive in Begin Again is the way he begins the film in a drunken stupor; half-awake to the world. He has just lost his job as a partner at a successful record label. He’s separated from his wife […]
Guardians of the Galaxy
The best compliment I can give Guardians of the Galaxy is that it looks and feels like a comic book. Many (no, almost all) of the many comic-book movies don’t try to capture the atmosphere of the comic book. Most, even the good ones, just get the characters or the costumes, but not the mood […]
Top Shelf Movies 