3 of the best ‘Star Wars’ documentaries were made by a fan (Movie commentary)
I don’t mean to rain on the parade of fans who are excited for the Sept. 16 release of the “Star Wars” saga on Blu-ray, but I’m not getting too worked up about it. As […]
Movies
‘X-Files’ flashback: I want to believe the 2008 film is great, but it’s probably just OK (Movie review)
I think the second “X-Files” movie, 2008’s “I Want to Believe,” is a nice thank-you letter to fans, who are given one last chance to follow Mulder and Scully into the darkness (plus: Hey, there’s Skinner!). It […]
In ‘Our Idiot Brother,’ the idiot is the smart one, and so is this refreshing comedy (Movie review)
In a scene from “Our Idiot Brother,” title character Ned (Paul Rudd) is counting his cash on the subway and he hands it to a stranger to hold onto while he cleans up a coffee spill. If […]
10 movies John wouldn’t mind seeing this fall (Commentary)
I’ve done the hard work of perusing Entertainment Weekly’s fall movie preview and watching the trailers, and I now present the top 10 movies to see this fall:
Perfect casting, frenetic pace help ‘30 Minutes or Less’ deliver (Movie review)
Is it possible for Danny McBride to not be funny? Playing a criminal who is tailing the unfortunate pizza-delivery guy whom he forces to rob a bank by strapping a bomb to him in “30 Minutes […]
How did the apes get that way in the first place? ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ has the answers (Movie review)
A cool thing about science fiction novels is that not only do they explore future possibilities, they also inspire other writers’ imaginations; sometimes one writer’s little idea leads to a whole line of fictional exploration […]
‘The Change-Up’ delivers lots of crude laughs, but it’s mostly a throwaway (Movie review)
“The Change-Up” has many of the things I look for in a blockbuster comedy: Jokes involving poop, pee, genitals, breasts and sex, plus copious dropping of f-bombs at important corporate meetings and in front of babies. […]
‘Crazy, Stupid, Love.’ And ‘cute’ and ‘smart’ and ‘funny’ (Movie review)
I love a lot of scenes, a lot of moments, a lot of lines from “Crazy, Stupid, Love.,” the best movie of 2011 so far. But one line delivery is sticking with me: Robbie (Jonah Bobo), the […]
Final ‘Harry Potter’ film ‘Deathly Hallows Part 2’ stylishly, bleakly goes through the motions (Movie review)
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” was my least favorite of J.K. Rowling’s books because the goal-oriented plot left little room for surprises: Harry and his friends need to destroy a handful of Horcruxes — […]
‘Horrible Bosses’ a humorous escape from behind the desk (Movie review)
The new classics of 2011 aren’t as elaborate as the great comedies of years gone by; rather, the joke tends to be right there in the title: “The Hangover Part II,” “Bad Teacher,” and now “Horrible […]