‘Retribution’ For Wasting Time

Thirty years ago, Liam Neeson had rose from being a character actor in movies like The Delta Force and Excalibur to his Oscar-nominated performance as Oskar Schindler in Schindler’s List. Then, in 2008, he took a chance on a silly action thriller, Taken, where he turns into a vengeful father tracking down his daughter who’sContinue reading “‘Retribution’ For Wasting Time”

‘Cursed’ Is Just That

In theatre, it’s considered bad luck to say the name of the play MacBeth. I also think it’s bad luck to use certain words or phrases in a movie or TV show. Rumor has it that the filmmakers behind In the Line of Fire tried to turn “That’s not gonna happen” spoken by Clint Eastwood’sContinue reading “‘Cursed’ Is Just That”

Richard Lewis: Dark Prince Of Comedy

There’s a saying that’s it better to laugh than it is to cry. Richard Lewis lived a life where he turned his own personal pain and neurosis into comedy. Just like another famous comic named Richard (as in Richard Pryor), we laughed because he made us want to laugh. To call Lewis neurotic with hisContinue reading “Richard Lewis: Dark Prince Of Comedy”

How Spike Lee’s ‘Bamboozled’ Is His Bravest Movie With Social Commentary

Spike Lee is one of those filmmakers who isn’t afraid to make audiences mad. And that’s part of the reason I don’t like some of his movies. He seems to be too busy on his soapbox without being a storyteller. When his movies like Summer of Sam, Oldboy and Inside Man don’t focus much onContinue reading “How Spike Lee’s ‘Bamboozled’ Is His Bravest Movie With Social Commentary”

‘BlackBerry’ Does More Than Just Phoning It In

A movie like BlackBerry might just be the perfect example of why some businesses fail, especially those in the tech industry – lack of communication. This is ironic because the purpose of a BlackBerry was an attempt to make communications easier as the 21st Century was looming. In the 1990s, Mike Lazardis (Jay Baruchel) andContinue reading “‘BlackBerry’ Does More Than Just Phoning It In”

‘Glory’ A Bit Flawed 35 Years Later But Still Moving And Important

Growing up in the South, there was so much Civil War Lost Cause foolishness pushed on us that nowadays, many parents would be opposed to their kids taking a field trip to a war memorial. The Reconstruction Era has been horribly retold to others as a period of failure when instead it was actually aContinue reading “‘Glory’ A Bit Flawed 35 Years Later But Still Moving And Important”

‘Blue Velvet’ Is Chilling Look At Horrors Of Small-Town America We Ignore

With the second part of Dune scheduled for theaters on March 1, it’s hard to believe that someone thought an avant-garde director like David Lynch could make a worthy movie that would appeal to the masses and loyal fans. Denis Villeneuve has more of the abilities to do this. The failure of the movie promptedContinue reading “‘Blue Velvet’ Is Chilling Look At Horrors Of Small-Town America We Ignore”

‘Expend4bles’ Is Detestable

Almost 10 years after The Expendables 3 seemed to kinda wrap the franchise up by adding some new characters, it seemed we had seen the last of them. And the third movie had one hell of a cast that there was no way to top it even though it was flawed. It might have workedContinue reading “‘Expend4bles’ Is Detestable”

‘Talk To Me’ Gets Muddled

Talk To Me might have worked better as part of an horror anthology. There are some creepy moments and surprises that come up on you. Unfortunately, the twin brothers, Danny and Michael Philippou, also known as RackaRacka, can’t maintain the momentum for a full feature movie. Set in the South Australia capital of Adelaide, itContinue reading “‘Talk To Me’ Gets Muddled”

‘Office Space’ At 25: It’s Done More Than Just The Bare Minimum

Office Space is one of those movies whose target audience was a bit too young to fully understand or appreciate the context. Most Gen Xers and Millennials were still in school or college. There might have been some older Gen Xers in the early stages of office work. But the late 1990s weren’t no whereContinue reading “‘Office Space’ At 25: It’s Done More Than Just The Bare Minimum”