Peter Berg’s “Lone Survivor” is an interesting war film in that it celebrates America’s elite warriors while also demythologizing them. As much as some critics have questioned the film’s often jingoistic tone, they also often neglect to recognize that with its celebration of its heroes comes a depiction of their frailties. After Berg takes the […]
Review: “Lone Survivor” Read More »
In “2 Guns,” a pair of mismatched lawmen find themselves trading bullets with bad guys and banter with each other, moving methodically towards a climax that sees nearly every character torn apart by gunfire. Does this sound interesting to you? I don’t ask ironically. This kind of plot holds an ample degree of appeal not
“Big” and “loud” are two adjectives that have become synonymous with Michael Bay productions over the years, but usually they refer to cars, shootouts, and alien robots, not actual human characters, as in “Pain & Gain,” the filmmaker’s lowest budgeted film by several fold since his 1995 debut “Bad Boys.” Despite the smaller pool of
Review: “Pain & Gain” Read More »
Hello and welcome back to Box Office Beat, the column in which I predict the upcoming weekend’s box office results. I’m in Hollywood covering the TCM Classic Film Festival, so I’m short on number-crunching time, but I figure I’ll quickly throw together some analysis and figures in hope of sustaining my accuracy from last week
Box Office Beat: Weekend of April 26 Read More »
That “Broken City”’s portrayal of its conservative political candidate as a corrupt snake and its liberal candidate as a JFK-emulating idealist does not even come close to being its tiredest cliche should tell you something about the filmmakers’ capacity for original thought. It’s astounding that this predictable “thriller” about a crooked New York City mayor
Review: “Broken City” Read More »
Hello and welcome back to Box Office Beat, the column in which I predict the upcoming weekend’s box office results. And it’s not just any weekend at the movies, but a four-day one, seeing as Monday is Martin Luther King Day. Between this and posting my Top 10 Films of 2012 last weekend, it finally feels
Box Office Beat: Weekend of January 18 Read More »
“Ted” is the first attempt at live-action filmmaking from Seth MacFarlane, creator of the adult-oriented cartoons “Family Guy” and “American Dad,” and it proves that his efforts should remain relegated to the boob-tube and off the silver-screen. Like MacFarlane’s television shows, “Ted” excels at making irreverent cultural references and observations, which fly fast and furious
Sorry for the one day delay on this column, folks — due to unforeseen circumstances, I was without a computer on Tuesday. But damn, did Frazier hold down the news updates well or what? Make sure to thumb through all of his terrific recent posts if you haven’t already. If you’re going to pick up
Video Minefield: DVD & Blu-Ray releases for April 24 Read More »
