The most interesting thing about FOUR CHRISTMASES, and it is slim pickings at best, is that from the dull farce that starts it, it so precipitously takes a steep nosedive into melodrama of the most predictable, sloppy sort. Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon, game and able players as are the rest of the veteran cast,… Read More »
OUTLANDER
Beowulf meets Erich Von Danikan in OUTLANDER, a somber tale of Vikings, monsters, and stalwart warriors. Written by some of the same folks responsible for the UNDERWORLD franchise, it boasts the same gray look, spirit, and energy. The sci-fi portion of the script comes early and is then more or less left by the wayside.… Read More »
THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS: CITY OF BONES
And so the search for a blockbuster of a film franchise appealing to the lucrative tween market continues. Alas, MORTAL INSTRUMENTS: CITY OF BONES is too much of a mess to warrant a sequel, even though the young-adult novels on which they are and would be based are bona fide hits with their target audience,… Read More »
THE ORDER
In A KNIGHTS TALE, an odd film of which I am inordinately fond, Brian Helgelend told a serious story with comedy. In his latest effort, THE ORDER, he tells a serious story with tedium. The results are considerably less appealing. Not that I didnt know something was up when this turkey was released without a… Read More »
THE COMPANY
The thing about Malcolm McDowell is his charisma that permeates without overpowering. Even in the small dollops of screen time afforded him in Robert Altmans THE COMPANY, he is undoubtedly the star, the fixed point about which the film revolves. And rightly so. He plays Aberto Antonelli, the artistic director of the eponymous company, The… Read More »
HOSTAGE
There are two things that viewers of HOSTAGE, the latest film starring and co-starring Bruce Willis, can be grateful for. One, most of it takes place is a spectacular mansion that is visually stunning. Two, we dont have to see Mr. Willis naked again. Theres a tattoo on his person that he displayed in THE… Read More »
FANSTASTIC FOUR
It’s Ioan Gruffudd for whom I feel the most sorry. He’s a fine British actor who distinguished himself in, among other efforts, the most recent television adaptation of THE FORSYTE SAGA. In FANTASTIC 4, he’s relegated to the role of an earnest, if super smart, beagle. As the first installment of what the studio… Read More »
THE CAVE
There are so many ways for a film to join the ranks of bad cinema. THE CAVE is daring in doing so in that it isn’t just tedious, it isn’t just silly, no, it goes the distance until it actually becomes a personal affront to the sensibilities of everyone concerned. The first misstep was in… Read More »
V FOR VENDETTA
This is a dangerous film. Based on the graphic novel of the same name by Alan Moore and David Lloyd, V FOR VENDETTA is a medieval mystery play re-imagined for the 21st century and spiffed up with some nifty, but not overbearing, special effects. A political thriller enhanced with a healthy dose of both fantasy… Read More »
FAY GRIM
FAY GRIM dances through so many levels that while one viewing is sublime, several are a giddy revelation, each one more so than the last.