Category Archives: movie review
Saturday At The Movies: G.I. Jane (1997)
Over the last few weeks, this column has seen two different reviews of the new G.I. Joe: Retaliation film – one by “Joe” fanatic, Andy Burns, which you can read here and one by regular Los Angeles cinema-goer, Emily McGuiness, which you can check out here.
It’s safe to say that the two movies in the franchise are pretty cheesy viewing. In private circles, I’ve been known to mercilessly rip the first flick – yet I still have an interest in viewing the second. Call it nostalgia for the cartoons I watched and the action figures I collected and played with as a kid.
Still, as we’re experiencing military grandstanding in North Korea, active operations in Afghanistan, and political machinations back home in North America, it’s a great time to curl up on the couch, ditch the cheese, and watch a great G.I. film that carries a weighty and important philosophy.
I’m talking, of course, about the underappreciated G.I. Jane.
Eric Bana and Olivia Wilde Deliver In Deadfall
I always love it when a film sneaks up on you. I think I’ve said that before and it remains the case with a small movie called Deadfall. You likely havent heard of it, as it had a minimal release before making it’s way onto Blu-Ray/DVD a few weeks back. However, with a solid cast and an intriguing story that kept the Queen and I guessing all the way through it, Deadfall is a film that definitely deserves a wider audience.
Check out the trailer and then find out why after the jump!
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The Not-So Great and Powerful Oz?
Taking on the daunting task of living up to an immortalized legend of a film is no easy task. However, Disney is the one to do it if every there was a studio that could. They took on The Wizard of Oz with the same flair they approached the very successful Pirates of the Caribean movies. The result? OZ: The Great and Powerful – a gluttony of visuals and effects that quickly turns into a stomach ache only a quarter of the way through the movie. There’s not much of a plot to speak of, but I will summarize after the jump. And be warned – there will be spoilers!
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Red Dawn? More Like Red Don’t
Some things should left alone. LIke 80′s films. Just let them be, studios. And that’s exactly what happened when MGM put their remake Red Dawn on the shelf back in 2009 while they dealt with financial hardships.
On the shelf is where it should have stayed. Watch then trailer below and then find out why after the jump.
Celebrity Skin: Andy Burns Reviews Collaborator
What’s with our obsession with celebrity? The whole TMZ, Perez, gossip sites that so many of us venture to regularly to get our fix – why do we do it? Is it the glamour? I suppose. Maybe we all have a little voyeur in us? Could be. Or maybe we just like watch a train wreck.
In his new film Collaborator, actor/director Martin Donovan shines a subtle light on the power of celebrity and how it can save and ruin lives. Check out the trailer and then read our review after the jump!
Danielle Panabaker Delivers In Girls Against Boys
You probably haven’t heard about Girls Against Boys, an under the radar vengeance flick directed by Austin Chick and staring Danielle Panabaker and Nicole LaLiberte as two young women out to even the score against some very bad men. The film had a very limited release and is out on DVD/Blu-Ray/VOD today.
Do not miss it. Stop reading, go and order this asap and watch it. Or check out the trailer below and then read a glowing review.
Your call.
Saturday At The Movies: Zero Dark Thirty
I couldn’t wait until I saw this movie. It was closure in a way, a horrendous deed was done and for once the bad guy got caught. The historical drama, Zero Dark Thirty, directed by Kathryn Bigelow, written by Mark Boal and produced by Bigelow, Boal and Megan Ellison, centers around the events leading up to the discovery of Osama bin Laden’s hideout and his execution. Now there has been a lot of controversy with critics saying that the film did not give enough factual information, or that it downplayed the horror of torture. Maybe the critics are right, but who cares? For me, it was important to see this film. Why? One good reason; a group of terrorists known as al-Qaeda, were given an order from Osama bid Laden to attack and murder American citizens. I wanted to see how we finally caught the monster and this film does a good job in telling the story. Learn more after the jump.
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Saturday At The Movies Bonus – A Revelation: Silent Hill:Revelation Sucks
Here’s a little insight into my brain. I don’t like writing negative reviews. There are ways to be clever about doing them, of course, where you can spill massive amounts of vitriol at a band or a film or a book. There’s even some art to it. But often it feels like a waste of time to put effort into something that is based on negativity.
But sometimes I can’t help myself.
Twenty-seven minutes of my life. That’ what I lost trying to watch Silent Hill: Revelation.
You’ll only have to lose two watching the trailer. It’s pretty decent. Check it out and the read what little I can say about this film after the jump.
