Tag: Studio Film Review

Spare Parts | Review

Parts Per Nil: McNamara Family Value Aesthetic Lessens Impact of Immigration Issues As we meander through the opening credits of Sean McNamara’s Spare Parts, we...

Taken 3 | Review

Taken a Break: Megaton’s Slurpy Finish Brings Euro Schlock to L.A. It should surprise no one that Taken 3 is a laughable, sometimes downright embarrassing...

Unbroken | Review

Run Rabbit Run: Jolie’s Grimly Serious POW Reenactment Beautifully, if sometimes too glossily mounted, Angelina Jolie’s sophomore effort as a director, Unbroken, is too poker...

Selma | Review

Turnin’ the Beat Around: DuVernay’s Poignant, Passionate MLK Portrait Revitalizes Notions of Biopic Eschewing what’s come to resemble a traditional route in downplaying both the...

The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies

An Expected Finale: Jackson Brings Tolkien Saga to Thankful End Upon reaching the end of Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy with the third and final installment, renamed The Hobbit:...

Inherent Vice | Review

The Vice is Right: Anderson’s Inherently Incoherent Pynchon Trip For his seventh film, auteur Paul Thomas Anderson stakes a claim as the first filmmaker to...

Exodus: Gods and Kings | Review

Death on the Nile: Scott’s Biblical Epic Unworthy of the Gods Arriving just in time for ritual slaughter is Ridley Scott’s update on the Moses...

Black or White | Review

Black to Basics: Binder’s Safely Bland Racial Message Movie The latest film from actor/director/screenwriter Mike Binder, Black or White presents us with the possibility of...

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 | Review

The Games They Play: Collins’ YA Dystopia Trudges On and On As is now customary in the designed business model of franchise movie making,...

Interstellar | Review

Don’t Let’s Ask For the Moon: Nolan’s Space Opera for the Ages At last divorcing himself from the omnipotent shadows of Batman, director Christopher Nolan’s...

Fury | Review

This Time, It’s War: Ayer’s Latest Depiction of Men Under Fire At last leaving behind the pulpy, sometimes overly chewy cop action/dramas he’s been churning...

The Judge | Review

I Never Served Time For My Father: Dobkins’ Middling Melodrama Groaning beneath the weight of its desperate grandstanding for awards consideration, David Dobkins’ The Judge...

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day | Review

Privilege Parable: Arteta’s Trifling Adaptation of Famed Children’s’ Novel Perhaps the most curious aspect of the live action Disney version of Judith Viorst’s 1972 children’s...

Annabelle | Review

Rosemary’s Scabies: Leonetti Does His Best James Wan Impression Sure to take its place on future lists of cinematographer’s unfortunate attempts at directing, John R....

Gone Girl | Review

Screens From a Marriage: Fincher Makes Pulpy Lemonade Undoubtedly one of 2014's most anticipated titles, David Fincher’s adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s bestseller, Gone Girl finds...

The Equalizer | Review

Sequelizer: Fuqua Resurrects Vintage TV Series to Maudlin Effect Upon the project’s official announcement, it may not have seemed a necessarily surprising or even awful...

The Maze Runner | Review

Mazed and Confused: Ball’s Lusterless Debut Another Dystopic YA Derivative Pretty teenagers that survive the apocalypse are sure going to have it tough. Or maybe...

This is Where I Leave You | Review

This is Where I Judge You: In the Great Well of Family Drama, Levy Is Dry Based on the acclaimed novel by Jonathan Tropper, who...

As Above So Below | Review

Devil in Distress: The Dowdle Bros. Spelunk Their Way to Hell Known as acolytes of fallen angel M. Night Shyamalan, the output of the Dowdle...

The November Man | Review

Sweet, Silly November: Donaldson’s Espionage Thriller is Overbaked Starting out with a standard template of flourishes one can find in any number of garden variety...

Sin City: A Dame to Kill | Review

Love the Sinner: Miller & Rodriguez Bring Back Hyperstylized Noir with Mixed Results It has been almost a decade since the visually innovative Sin...

The Giver | Review

Tis Better to Give: Noyce’s Adaptation Too Little Too Late in YA Dystopic Cinema In today’s onslaught of dystopic film franchises dominated by adaptations of...

Into the Storm | Review

Storm Drain of the Century: The Disaster Film Gets a Retrofit It’s unclear if there’s any real point to the rather silly conception of...

Get On Up | Review

The F in Funk: Brown’s Biopic Lodged in a White Man’s World For all the preliminary grumbling about white actors portraying Egyptians in a...

Guardians of the Galaxy | Review

Rocket Fuelled; Gunn Pleasures Summer PG-Spot It's the end of the world as we know it. Or so the popcorn films of the summer thus...

Lucy | Review

In the Sky With Diamonds: Besson’s Latest a Crock of Crack-pot Sci-Fi It’s rather a shame to report that Luc Besson’s latest directorial effort, Lucy,...

Tammy | Review

Tammy Girl: Falcone’s Debut a Tepid Turkey Rex Reed might have been better served to save his wayward disparagements about the cinematic talents of Melissa...

Jersey Boys | Review

Jersey Show: Eastwood Plays It Safe with Broadway Adaptation While it earns a great deal of credibility due to the retention of several notable cast...

Edge of Tomorrow | Review

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow: Liman’s Simple Sci-Fi is Lean Entertainment Considerable praise is in order for director Doug Liman and a trio of screenwriters...

The Fault in Our Stars | Review

Never Having to Say You’re Sorry: Boone’s Adaptation Jerks Your Tears Director Josh Boone adapts John Green’s popular 2012 novel The Fault in Our Stars...

Maleficent | Review

Moralificent: Stromberg’s Debut Gets a Dastard Disney Straitjacket Anticipation has been extremely high for Disney’s live action dedication to one of their most enjoyably memorable...

Chef | Review

Mostly Favreau: Actor/Director’s Return to Indie Scene a Pleasant Surprise A thinly veiled allegory for Jon Favreau’s own career, whether he consciously means it to...

Transcendence | Review

The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes: Pfister’s Debut Oversteps Limited Reach Hopes were perhaps set a bit too high for the directorial debut of Wally Pfister,...

Draft Day | Review

Final Draft: Reitman’s By the Numbers Sports Drama Director Ivan Reitman leaves behind the realm of rom-com for a masculine about-face with the football drama,...

Noah | Review

Wrath of a Titan: D’aronofsky’s Demilled Egg Four years after his critically lauded Black Swan, a work of finesse made despite budgetary limitations from Darren...

Sabotage | Review

Treacherous Uncoupling: Ayer’s Latest May is Fun, Brutally Violent Nonsense Okay, so, if you can keep in mind that the outcome of its tizzied, conventional...

Divergent | Review

Dissatisfaction: Burger Launches the Next YA Dystopia to Unwieldy Lengths Director Neil Burger joins genre courting/sci-fi alum Andrew Niccol’s dip into the abscessed pool of...

Need For Speed | Review

On the Road Again: Waugh’s Woeful Film an Offending Lemon Leaving behind the galvanizing propaganda of his Navy SEALs plugged film debut, Act of Valor,...

300: Rise of an Empire | Review

Empire Strikes Back: Murro Piggy-back’s Off Snyder’s Initial Action Epic Though director Zach Snyder may not be returning for director duties of 300: Rise of...

Non-Stop | Review

Murder on the Familiar Express: Collett-Serra’s Airborne Caper a Watchable Throwback Director Jaume Collet-Serra has jumped aboard the Liam Neeson renaissance train, reuniting with star...

Odd Thomas | Review

Odd Man Out: Delayed Koontz Adaptation a Tone Deaf Misfire Filmed way back in 2011 and then delayed indefinitely in 2013 due to legal actions...

3 Days to Kill | Review

Days Go By: McG Can’t Find the Beat in Mottled Espionage Drama Now with a handful of brightly lit baubles of films to his name...

Open Grave | Review

Don’t Fear the Reaper: Lopez-Gallego and the Search for Substance In 2011, some may recall a found footage moon expedition thriller called Apollo 18, the...

Lone Survivor | Review

Casualties of War: Berg’s Brutal Depiction of Failed SEALS Op Career Best For the purposes of context, one may be interested in noting that Lone...

47 Ronin | Review

Rawhide Chew: Rinsch’s CGI Laden Retelling a Cardboard Snooze The story of the 47 Ronin, a Japanese tale based in historical fact that has become...

Grudge Match | Review

Trudge Match: Peter Segal, Cashing Checks At the end of the day, Peter Segal’s latest directorial effort, Grudge Match, may not be the felonious stink...

The Wolf of Wall Street | Review

Greed Is Great: Scorsese’s Latest a Coke Fueled, Orgiastic Comedy Reconstructing the based on a true tale account of one Jordan Belfort’s rise through the...

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty | Review

Life is Like a Box of Chalk: Stiller Revamps Thurber for Hollow Melancholy With its soaring visuals and dizzying soundtrack of expertly placed tunes to...

Her | Review

High Tech Affairs: Jonze Unites Poets & Processors In Her, Spike Jonze’s brainy and big hearted exploration of near future human relationships with techno-intelligence, Joaquin...

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug | Review

Smaug Hat: Jackson’s Second Entry Back on Track Beyond the glaring distraction of the 48fps digital cinematography in Peter Jackson’s first installment of his bloated...

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La cocina | Review

Soap Kitchen: Ruizpalacios Underwhelms & Over Bakes Food Drama Making...

Bonjour Tristesse | Review

Lifestyles of the Rich, Conflicted & Coddled: Dull Vacation...

Most People Die on Sundays | Review

A Month of Sundays: Said Squeezes Magic Out of...