Given how pervasive the term “hipster” has become in the current cultural vocabulary, it’s astounding how few popular artworks have explored this segment of the population in any serious, human capacity (Lena Dunham’s HBO show “Girls” is the only one that immediately springs to mind). As a result, the relatively new social classification has remained […]
Review: “Frances Ha” Read More »
Hello and welcome back to Box Office Beat, the column in which I predict the upcoming weekend’s box office results. After last week’s record-breaking Memorial Day frame, over which my predictions fared pretty well (10.3% off on the mondo-success “Fast & Furious 6,” 2.9% off on “The Hangover Part III,” and just 1.4% off on
Box Office Beat: Weekend of May 31 Read More »
This week on the Critic Speak Podcast, James and I are joined by screenwriter Jeremy Milks to review new theatrical releases “Fast & Furious 6” and “The Hangover Part III,” plus a couple of Steven Soderbergh films now available for home viewing, “Behind the Candelabra” (on HBO) and “Side Effects” (on Blu-Ray, DVD, and VOD).
Critic Speak Podcast: Episode 7 Read More »
“Fast & Furious 6” (or just “Furious 6,” if you go by the title card) is Justin Lin’s fourth film in this cash-machine of a franchise, and by any objective measure, the director has perfected the form. As the series has expanded its focus from street racing to action-heists with street racing involved, Lin has
Review: “Fast & Furious 6” Read More »
I’m genuinely eager to thumb through William Joyce’s picture book “The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs,” the credited source material for “Epic,” just to see how much in common the movie has with the 1996 text. That’s because the movie plays less like an original creation than the result of its (count ‘em)
Hello and welcome back to Box Office Beat, the column in which I predict the upcoming weekend’s box office results. After coming very close to nailing “Star Trek Into Darkness” last week, coming within three percent of its actual gross, I feel pretty good going into this four-day holiday frame. But with three new wide
Box Office Beat: Weekend of May 24 Read More »
“Star Trek Into Darkness” is not a film that will be hailed for breaking any new cinematic ground. Even to this critic, who regretfully hasn’t seen 1982’s “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” which the movie apparently borrows heavily from, the story came across as little more than a chain of sci-fi blockbuster clichés.
Review: “Star Trek Into Darkness” Read More »
This week on the Critic Speak Podcast, James and I split on “Star Trek Into Darkness” (what else is new?), take a break from movies to talk TV including “The Office” finale and the return of “24,” and revisit “The Last Stand” with Arnold Schwarzenegger in conjunction with its Blu-Ray release. Be sure to show
Critic Speak Podcast: Episode 6 Read More »
“Iron Man 3,” co-written and directed by Shane Black, whose quick-witted 2005 indie “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” likely helped lead Robert Downey Jr. score the title role in this star-reviving series, is two movies in one. More often than not, such a critical observation lends itself to a scathing analysis about how a picture doesn’t
Review: “Iron Man 3” Read More »
After his thematically challenging, emotionally taxing first two films, “Shotgun Stories” and “Take Shelter,” one wouldn’t have naturally predicted that budding American auteur Jeff Nichols would next move on to an old-fashioned crowd-pleaser of a boys’ adventure film. But I suppose Nichols needed a break from doom and gloom, just as audiences do, and there
