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Superficial all the way down to its bitter core, Joshua Michael Sterns’ anemic exposé of Apple founder Steve Jobs (Ashton Kutcher) engages in abject hero-worship while pretending to plumb the depths of a controversial man who helped pave the way for the Information Age. Is disappointing to see the life of such complex figure reduced … Continue reading
Three years ago, Kick-Ass lit up a small number of screens like a cinematic firebomb tossed into unsuspecting megaplexes; audiences were caught off guard by the sight of a then-unknown Chloë Moretz swearing like a sailor with Tourette’s Syndrome while slicing and dicing street thugs at the encouragement of a demented Adam West-esque vigilante father … Continue reading
Boasting a strong comedic cast in a dull, unfunny, uninspired, and formulaic comedy, We’re the Millers is one of this summer’s biggest missed opportunities. It somehow The central idea should have been a rich vein of comedy gold: A 40ish pot-dealer past his slacker prime named David (Jason Sudeikis) gets rolled by hoodlums and winds … Continue reading
South African writer-director Neill Blomkamp became a big blip on the radar with his feature-length debut District 9. A hefty slice of sci-fi message movie that put a compelling and effective spin on apartheid, it was a message movie that went down easy and managed the tricky alchemy of melding such a weighty subject to … Continue reading
Let’s face it: Old man Logan took a serious cinematic beating in his first solo outing, X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), most of it from the writer and director rather than the villains. It was a hard enough flop to strike down a planned series of Origins films (which thankfully resulted in X-Men: First Class and … Continue reading
Much like its 2010 predecessor, based on Warren Ellis and Cully Hammer’s comic book about elderly secret agents forced out of retirement after they’re targeted for elimination, Red 2 is free from lofty expectations. Red was a surprise sleeper hit that earned points from a smart script, fantastic casting, and the novelty of watching Helen … Continue reading
Geek-auteur Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim is no more or less bombastic than this summer’s other event-film spectacles, but damn if it isn’t a lot smarter, more fun, and less heavy-handed than most of what’s come down the pipe. Some of its intricacies may be lost on mainstream moviegoers, but for those of raised on … Continue reading
Familiar and tad predictable, yet funny and satisfying, The Way, Way Back is a breezy throwback to Meatballs era of coming-of-age comedies, and a refreshing bit of counter-programming in a summer full of bombastic big-budget event movies. The movie was produced, written, and directed by actors Nat Faxon (Bad Teacher) and Jim Rash (Community), the Academy … Continue reading
The inevitable comparisons of Roland Emmerich’s White House Down to the recently released Olympus Has Fallen are unavoidable. Both use the same premise with only minor variations; the difference is that the former skates by thanks to a little humor, more likable characters played by a more charismatic cast, and a surprising amount of relative … Continue reading
Marc Forster’s long-awaited, loose adaptation of Max Brooks’ cult novel, World War Z became notorious last year when the release date was pushed by several months, weeks worth of footage filmed in Bulgaria was scrapped, and the script was extensively rewritten in the middle of production. Surprisingly, the seams in the story remain hidden, but it … Continue reading
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