As the summer of sequels continues, it take more and more blockbuster magic to impress. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer already had a knock against it, being the sequel to an incredibly mediocre super-hero first installment. While all the same actors are reprising their roles for the sequel (even the terribly miscast Jessica…
Category: Movies
3 x 3 – Capsule reviews of Pirates 3, Shrek 3 and Spidey 3
You know it’s summer when the blockbuster sequels come out to play. Already the news stories have trumpeted which movie had the biggest opening, and which one came along to knock it off the top. In a three-in-a-row trifecta, this summer sees the return of the third installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean, Shrek,…
Waitress – Movie Review
When you see what looks like a romantic comedy, with lead actors possessing a lot of charm and good comic timing and what looks like a pretty good script, what’s not to like? Keri Russell (TV’s Felicity herself) takes the lead again as a cute Southern waitress with a genius for making pies (one of the…
Hot Fuzz – Movie Review
After making a successful rom-zom-com (that’s a “romantic zombie comedy” for the unenlightened) in Shaun of the Dead, where do collaborators Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and (director) Edgar Wright head next? Hot Fuzz is a buddy cop movie. However, this isn’t just any ordinary Bruckheimer/Bay-type movie. In fact, it pays homage to those movies (including…
Grindhouse – Movie Review
Despite being born in that decade, I am not a fan of the 70s. I’ve never really understood the Hollywood fascination with the movies of that period, either. Ever since director Quentin Tarantino came on the scene, there’s been an association between the low-budget exploitation films of that era and a certain cinematic cool. Now…
300 – Movie Review
Can a movie be too epic? Can there be too much heroic slow motion, or bombastic dialogue? If you’ve seen previews of this grand adaptation of Frank Miller’s comic book you’ll know exactly the kind of visual spectacle you’ll be getting from 300. Its the screen adaptation of a comic book retelling of the famous…
Zodiac – Movie Review
What do you expect from a movie about a serial killer? Discordant violin music? Tense chase scenes? It puts the lotion in the basket? Well, none of those things appear in Zodiac, director David Fincher’s new movie about the real-life murders that occurred in 1970s San Francisco. Focusing more on the investigators, the movie is…
Bridge To Terabithia – Movie Review
The Bridge to Terabithia is the latest big screen adaptation of a beloved children’s book from the folks at Walden Media. Their other successes have included the first Chronicles of Narnia movie, as well as Holes, Because of Winn-Dixie, and the far less successful Hoot. Following in Narnia’s footsteps, Terabithia tells the story of…
Music and Lyrics – Movie Review
I consider myself a non-fan of romantic comedies. Two attractive people meeting and eventually falling in love under incredibly contrived conditions after “overcoming” a series of coincidental obstacles is not my idea of a good movie or even a comedy. However, I have always made the exception for one Mr. Hugh Grant, who (ever since…
Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture 