Mix together a bag of offbeat characters, desolate streets, a loosely constructed plot, and enough weirdness and you might end up with a Jim Jarmusch film. Mystery Train feels like a Jarmusch film, and like taking a smooth ride where you meet quirky personalities, but it's characters remain inaccessible. Sadly, Mystery Train never quite...
For Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's directorial debut This is the End, the duo got many of their friends together to goof on themselves and the industry that made them famous. But those there's a winking sense of parody to the film, it does give you characters to be interested in, even if it's James Franco (James Franco) or Danny McBride (Danny McBride). Though perhaps...
After the abject failure of Superman Returns, Man of Steel manages to surprise those with low expectations (myself included) with its solid casting and crazy action, but for those expecting the greatest comic book movie of all time, you might need a cold shower. The good news is it's not a complete...
The Only Son is a somber film that's both social commentary on the failure of modernization in Japan in the 1920's and on the inevitable disappointments of life. Legendary filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu's The Only Son provides numerous topics of discussion, all while simply focusing on the relationship between a mother and her son.
Nine years into the future, America has emerged from an unnamed and yet-to-happen calamity. It's reborn with a seemingly God-fearing public and almost no crime to speak of. Except for one night a year, with"The Purge," when it's open season on anyone not wealthy or strong enough to protect themselves. But look on the bright side: Unemployment is only at 1 percent!
Joss Whedon's always had a thing for Shakespeare, staging readings of the Bard's plays at his house with the help of his many actor friends. What better way to spend some of that sweet Avengers money, than by putting that love up on the big screen? Cue his latest film, Much Ado About Nothing.
For years, fans of the cancelled series Arrested Development have been praying for a revival. They wanted to see what the Bluth family's been up to and what kind of hijinks they've pulled. They may have gotten their wish, but at a cost. The fourth season of Arrested Development showcases its wit but doesn't gel with the previous entries.
The Kings of Summer suffers from the over-hype generated by the Sundance Film Festival crowd. The cast is charming, but the story isn't as magical or original as one might think. It still manages to win you over but not with anything you haven't seen before.
Deservedly one of the most unusual and compelling films of the 1970s, Robert Altman abandons conventional narrative and creates something truly creative and personal. Conceived from an actual dream of his, 3 Women resembles a rare opportunity for us to enter a creative mind as though it were subconsciously creating a story that delves into mysterious territory.
Critics and audiences alike have been looking for an excuse to throw verbal tomatoes at M. Night Shyamalan's latest. While After Earth isn't the train wreck many were anticipating, it has a predictable story that fails to hold your attention.
There's nothing quite like a good heist movie, and if you can throw in a bit of sleigh-of-hand all the better. As a film, Now You See Me seems to know it's not supposed to be much more than a good time, and on that count it delivers. And it raises a perfectly valid question: Why aren't more professional magicians bank robbers?
At first glance, Richard Linklater's romantic drama Before Midnight, appears to be about an older man and woman reaching their 40s together. But upon viewing, it's really an examination of a couple as they dissect and figure out their continually budding relationship. It's a beautiful collaboration between the filmmaker and two actors who poured their hearts into...
The are two families at odds in Ordet as a spiritual battle unravels between the Borgens and the Petersens. This film is hard to watch at first; it lacks much action or excitement of any kind. But you may find that it sticks with you in unexpected ways. In a career spanning 45 years, Danish filmmaker Carl Theodore Dreyer gave us only 14 feature films. But if...
When the cheesy action-filled Fast Five came out in theaters a couple of years ago, it completely changed the overall tone of the famous car-fueled franchise The Fast & the Furious. There was a slim chance that the sequel to the 5th movie would match the over-the-top action and tone that made us fall back in love with the franchise. Then Fast & Furious...
When The Hangover hit screens in 2009, it was a breath of fresh air after Judd Apatow and his consortium took over American comedies. This was no feel-good comedy about people learning lessons, it was about guys doing dumb things they couldn't remember while in Vegas. It also launched Zach Galifianakis and Bradley Cooper as movie stars. The second film,...
Compared to Alfred Hitchcock's better-known films, Shadow of a Doubt may not claim as much suspense or plot perfection, but as an overall execution of storytelling, it's as effective as it gets. Hitchcock considered this his best American film, and it is easy to see why. Shadow of a Doubt is an example of a masterful film-making,...
J.J. Abrams continues to ineffectively cloak his movies with lackluster secrets and an overabundance of lens flares, but he can still create fantastic action sequences that will keep your attention. Star Trek Into Darkness marks the second time we see the S.S. Enterprise and its crew together in action, but in some ways plays as if the lessons of...
The latest adaptation of The Great Gatsby retains most of the story generations have fallen in love with. Unfortunately, Baz Luhrmann's gaudy style and fast cuts are too distracting. There's still some magic from the F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel there, but the director can't decide between being over-the-top or toned down.
Loosely based on a real life murder spree in the 1950's, Terrence Malick's Badlands is an classic low-budget film that treats its subject matter with poetic detachment and off-beat humor. On the surface, it can be viewed simply as a looses re-enactment of a real-life murderous couple. We won't find any deep insights on life here, but...
If you're looking for the next Goodfellas with The Iceman, then this film will disappoint you. While you do get stellar performances out of the talent, the movie's timeline and character focus is so imbalanced that it's difficult to really pay attention to the film.
