Summer and popcorn movies go hand in hand. Popcorn movies aren’t a bad thing, unless the filmmakers pee in your popcorn. Nothing is worse than soggy, rancid popcorn passing itself off as the real thing. Read the rest of this entry »

As someone who experienced rather than lived through the seventies, it was difficult to see the proverbial forest from the trees. At the time, I didn’t realize that the music I loved, the clothes I wore, the films I rushed out to see and the television shows I stayed home to watch were lame.
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Memory can be a tricky thing. Just ask Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce). The victim of a vicious attack, Shelby has lost his short term memory. He has no problem remembering events before the attack, but can’t tell you what happened ten minutes ago. That means every time Shelby goes to sleep, he wakes up a stranger in a strange land. Read the rest of this entry »

Movies about writers are so rare that to find two of them in wide release at the same time must be one of the signs of the Apocalypse. There aren’t many movies about writers because the art of writing is boring. Most of us would rather see a movie based on a great book than see a movie about a great writer. Read the rest of this entry »

While wrapping up production on “Flesh for Frankenstein,” director Paul Morrissey secured financing for another film. He decided to lend his personal tough to the Bram Stoker legend of “Dracula,” which seemed like a natural follow-up to “Flesh for Frankenstein.” Morrissey secured the services of most of the previous cast, and set out to create a “Dracula” that would turn the legend upside down. Read the rest of this entry »

How else do you explain Exorcist: The Beginning, a belated prequel (shades of Alien Vs. Predator) that serves no purpose except to exploit the good will of the original? Read the rest of this entry »

“Deuces Wild” is so mind-numbingly bad you wonder if any of it is supposed to be taken seriously. The sophomore effort of director Scott Kalvert, who hasn’t been behind the camera since 1995’s “The Basketball Diaries,” “Deuces Wild” plays like a junior high school drama production of “West Side Story” minus the music, or the talent.
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Somewhere in the middle of the Iraqi Desert, four American soldiers have taken leave from the Gulf War in a quest to find Saddam Hussein’s private stash of stolen Kuwait gold. Their plan seems foolproof. A quick in and out and they can give up their day jobs after the war. Read the rest of this entry »

When director David Cronenberg makes a point, it’s usually with a red hot poker. Cronenberg’s A History of Violence is another searing convergence of shock and awe, horrific images of violence smothered in hot, consensual adult sex, all guaranteed to make you feel queasy and uncomfortable. Read the rest of this entry »

In the sideshow that is her life, single mom Sammy Prescott has become a master juggler. She’s so busy juggling the men in her life that until recently she has had little time for self reflection. Sammy is so afraid that if she drops one ball her whole life will come crashing down. Read the rest of this entry »