I have a confession to make. I have never played Warcraft. Not even 30 seconds of it. In fact, from my perspective, Real Time Strategy (RTS) games seem designed for gamers who enjoy Risk much more than I do. Furthermore, massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) work best for people who actually enjoy playing with […]
Movie Review
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Conscious Uncoupling
“The Lobster” is a singular sensation
“The Lobster” is a romantic science fiction/black comedy about coupling, loneliness and the possibility of getting changed from a human into an animal. Singularly strange, sad and hopeful, there has never really been anything like this movie and probably never will be again. Colin Farrell plays David, a doughy, depressed man whose wife has just […]
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Superhero Fatigue
The X-Men fail to thrill
The last thing the X-Men franchise needed was another origin story. The series, which started with 2000’s “X-Men,” has circled around so many times it almost plays like an SNL sketch mocking superhero films. While “X-Men,” “X-2” and “X-Men-The Last Stand” introduced a large majority of the mutant team, “First Class” and “Days of Future […]
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The Good Fight
Gosling and Crowe aren’t nice guys
Shane Black makes movies people either love or hate. There never seems to be any middle ground. His filmography is filled with smash hits or financial disappointments, nary a mild success to be found. In his early ’20s he sold the script for “Lethal Weapon.” Over the next few years he had his fingers in […]
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Summer Movie Previews—Part Two
Welcome back to Part Two of the Summer Movie preview, in which the month of July is covered. There are a ton of exciting releases not covered here, so look at this as a guide for the huge stuff. Enjoy. July 1 “The BFG” What it’s about: It’s an adaptation of the lovely Roald Dahl […]
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‘Money Monster’ a Forgettable Facsimile of the Real Beast
Too little too late in Foster’s new flick
“Money Monster” is many things but subtle isn’t one of them. The film is well-paced, decently acted, deeply cynical and yet, unbelievably dumb, sometimes simultaneously. The script is somewhat timely while also being so specific to a fictional company and financial catastrophe that it doesn’t say quite as much about the real world as one […]
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Marvel Swings For The Fences
“Captain America: Civil War” is an ideological trip to the MCU
Captain America debuted in Marvel Comics in March of 1941, based on the character of Steve Rogers, a young man whose parents have died, who grew up during the Great Depression. Trying to enlist for World War II to fight the Nazis, he fails to pass the physical requirements, but is invited to take part […]
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Punks vs. Skinheads
“Green Room” paints Portland in a violent light
Jeremy Saulnier’s modern classic, “Green Room,” viscerally punches the audience in the face with every death. The script gives each character at least one moment to be human, even those who wouldn’t deserve it in a lesser film. Nothing is easy here, every choice is fraught with dire consequences and repercussions. There aren’t very many […]
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Hazed and Confused
Linklater sets his sights on college life
If there were a running theme to the films of Richard Linklater, it would have to be the search for meaning. Each entry in his filmography spends at least a little time on the idea that as humans live through defining moments, they tend to miss the true import until either retrospect or nostalgia kick […]
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Sci-fi Chase Film Runs Short on Depth
“Midnight Special” fails to satisfy
“Midnight Special” is an art-house science fiction/thriller/road movie with a stellar cast, interesting director and a script that unpeels layers of mystery throughout its running time. As entertaining and enthralling as the film is, however, all of the disparate pieces don’t add up to a satisfying whole. “Midnight Special” tells the story of a boy, […]