There is a specific type of indie romantic dramedy that has popped up over the last few years that owes a deep debt to the work of John Cassavetes. He brought a cinéma vérité style to American independent films that added a gritty realism to a genre that had only ever been light and fluffy. […]
Old Mill Stadium 16 & IMAX
Posted inCulture
Brobusters
Your childhood is perfectly safe
We should get the elephant in the room out of the way first. “Ghostbusters” 2016 is a reboot of the classic 1984 film and the less classic 1989 sequel (plus numerous video games and an animated series). The four new Ghostbusters are also women played by Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon. […]
Posted inCulture
Murder Party 2016
Vote no on “The Purge: Election Year”
You had one job, “The Purge: Election Year,” just one. You either needed to be a schlocky gorefest that painted America as a candy-colored nightmare of xenophobia and fear or a smartly satirical look at the worst case scenario of Trump’s America. You failed at both, “Purge,” and I hope you feel bad about it. […]
Posted inCulture
Irreverent Commentary Makes Bad Movies Hilarious
MST3K is back without missing a beat
Bendites who miss Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) are in for a real treat. For those few unfortunate individuals who have never seen the cult classic television show, it starred Joel Hodgson as a janitor trapped on The Satellite of Love by a couple of mad scientists who wanted to rule the world. Along with […]
Posted inCulture
Lively Up Yourself
“The Shallows” swims in deep waters
Saying that “The Shallows” is the best shark movie since “Jaws” isn’t saying much. Mainly because there aren’t that many good shark movies, but also because it’s not. It is definitely better than the “Sharknado” movies, but “Deep Blue Sea,” “Open Water,” and maybe even the goofy-as-all-hell “Shark Night” are more fun. “The Shallows” follows […]
Posted inCulture
Aliens vs. Teenagers
No matter who wins, we lose
When “Independence Day” was released in 1996, there was something refreshing about a movie that chose to blow up most of the world before saving it. The heroics of Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum mattered little because millions of people were already dead. While there were plenty of disaster flicks before “ID4,” the novelty of […]
Posted inCulture
Swimming in Place
“Finding Dory” packs a Pixar punch
It is difficult to go into a film released by Pixar Animation Studios without abnormally high expectations. While not every single one of their films is an outright classic, they have had only one full-blown misfire in their filmography with “Cars 2.” Even though these are basically categorized as animated films for children, Pixar has […]
Posted inCulture
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 […]
Posted inCulture
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 […]
Posted inCulture
‘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 […]