Now Playing: ‘Machete’ Slays Me
“Machete don’t tweet” is just one of the hilarious lines uttered by Danny Trejo’s iconic character, Machete Cortez, in this new fun-as-hell sequel from Robert Rodriguez. If you pay attention, you might...
View ArticleNow Playing: Less Is ‘Thor’
I’m completely burned out on Marvel’s one-note Cinematic Universe, and really hadn’t looked forward to the follow-up to ‘Thor’. While I enjoyed what Kenneth Branaugh did with the Norse god, and thought...
View ArticleNow Playing: Hungry for More ‘Games’?
Even though I haven’t read the books, I quite enjoyed the adaptation of the first ‘Hunger Games’ novel. Sure, the story felt like a teen-friendly ‘Battle Royale‘ knock-off, but it established a grim...
View ArticleNow Playing: Anchors Aweigh
‘Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy‘ may not have been a huge blockbuster back in 2004, but grew into a cult classic on home video, with a fan base that endlessly quotes its dialogue. Since that...
View ArticleNow Playing: Don’t Be Afraid of the ‘Marked’
Even though it’s the fifth installment in the franchise, don’t confuse ‘Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones’ as ‘Paranormal Activity 5′. This is more of an off-shoot of the series that exists in the...
View ArticleSundance Journal: ‘The Raid: Berandal’
Although I’m not attending the Sundance Film Festival this year as credentialed press, when the chance came up to see the world premiere of ‘The Raid 2′, as any sane person would do, I took it. Having...
View ArticleNow Playing: Butlerless, Shirtless and Remorseless
Zack Snyder’s ‘300‘ has not aged well. The ode to CGI-assisted color correction and blood-soaked homoeroticism is no longer a technical marvel. Gerard Butler burned away all of his shouty Scotsman...
View Article‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ Review: Patriotic Paranoia, Marvel-Style
The biggest strength of the Marvel Movie Empire thus far has been delivering blockbusters that live up the legacy of their classic characters while still defying expectations. The ‘Captain America’...
View Article‘The Raid 2′ Review: More Violence, More Plot, More Raid
‘The Raid’ (or ‘The Raid: Redemption‘, if you must) was a brilliantly nasty little action movie that came out of nowhere to warm the cold hearts of fans of blood-soaked entertainment. The sequel ramps...
View Article‘Rio 2′ Review: Bird-Brained Family Entertainment
In the grand scheme of animated family comedies, ‘Rio’ fell right in the middle of mediocrity. The movie had cute animals, celebrity voices and a message about individuality. It was everything that...
View Article‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2′ Review: A Sucky Spidey Sequel
In an age when so many Marvel Comics characters are treated to excellent movie adaptations, it’s a real shame that Stan Lee’s poster boy Spider-Man is stuck in such a mediocre franchise. Sadly, as long...
View Article‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ Review: Marvel’s X-cellent Mutant Adventure
By the time the credits roll on the last screening of ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ this weekend, plenty of people in sold-out theaters across the planet will have a new favorite ‘X-Men’ movie. Packed...
View Article‘How to Train Your Dragon 2′ Review: How to Make a Decent Sequel
‘How to Train Your Dragon 2′ might not have the advantage of being a pleasant surprise like the original film, but it recaptures almost all of the charms of its predecessor with ease. The action is...
View Article’22 Jump Street’ Review: Meta Sequel Madness
The ’21 Jump Street’ movie shouldn’t have worked, but then the filmmakers actually made that the main joke. The same is somehow true of ’22 Jump Street’. On paper, it’s a terrible idea for a movie....
View Article‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’ Review: LOUD NOISES!!
‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’ feels like watching all of the previous ‘Transformers’ movies back to back in both the best and worst possible sense. It sure is dumb and action packed, but it’s also...
View Article‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ Review: Apes Go Epic
One horrendous remake and one sequel too far aside, the ‘Planet of the Apes’ series has quietly become one of the most consistently excellent film franchises in La-La-land, and the latest installment...
View Article‘Planes: Fire & Rescue’ Review: Fire the Studio Execs and Rescue the Audience
Released barely a year after the first ‘Planes’ and boasting a running time that barely qualifies as feature length, ‘Planes: Fire & Rescue’ was clearly conceived as a direct-to-DVD cash-grab, but...
View Article‘The Purge: Anarchy’ Review: Binge Now, Hate Yourself Later
When ‘The Purge‘ proved to be an unexpected hit last summer, a sequel was pretty much inevitable. However, the fact that the sequel made it to screens in roughly twelve months should have been a sign...
View ArticleThe Trailer Park: Long-Awaited Sequels
Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen a lot of new movie trailers for sequels, many of them from franchises that movie buffs never expected to see again. ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ After two decades stuck in...
View ArticleThe Trailer Park: Long-Awaited Sequels, The Sequel
Does Hollywood know how to make anything other than sequels anymore? This week’s collection of trailers is mostly for new installments in franchises that nobody actually expected to be continued. ‘The...
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