In Hollywood, most filmmakers only have enough clout based on their previous movie to do their next thing. For their first movie Blood Simple., Joel and Ethan Coen spent about a year or so traveling around and meeting with potential investors by showing them a promo trailer. They only had $1.5 million which was stillContinue reading “‘Raising Arizona’ Brings The Coens Brothers Their First Mainstream Hit”
Category Archives: Movie Reviews
Oscar Predictions – Who Gets The Gold?
While the Oscars have lately become the whipping boy for a lot of the public, people still tune in. Some people look at the infamous “Oscar Slap” in which Will Smith walked on stage to slap Chris Rock after he made a joke that upset Jada Pinkett Smith as a staged event to beef upContinue reading “Oscar Predictions – Who Gets The Gold?”
‘Bodies Bodies Bodies’ Is Bad Bad Bad
Gene Siskel, the late film critic for the Chicago Tribune, once said that he looks at each movie and asks himself this question – Is this film more interesting than watching a documentary of the same actors having lunch? I’m sure if Siskel, who passed in 1999, was still alive today, he would have probablyContinue reading “‘Bodies Bodies Bodies’ Is Bad Bad Bad”
Why ‘Scream 3’ Deserves A Second Chance
Scream VI premieres this weekend in theaters. After the surprisingly well made fifth movie, it seemed that no one but Wes Craven could helm the franchise that rejuvenated the slasher genre in the mid-1990s for better or for worse. And early reviews for the sixth one are very favorable. Craven, along with screenwriter Kevin Williamson,Continue reading “Why ‘Scream 3’ Deserves A Second Chance”
‘Empire Of Light’ Dims On Viewers As Obvious Oscar Bait
A movie like Empire of Light makes me wish the filmmakers went back and tried to make the movie better. On the surface it fails because we’ve seen this story so many times before that when the two characters, Hilary Small (Olivia Colman) and Stephen Murray (Michael Ward), meet, we know everything that’s going toContinue reading “‘Empire Of Light’ Dims On Viewers As Obvious Oscar Bait”
‘Marcel The Shell With Shoes On’ Looks At Internet Fame And Traumatic Events With An Open Eye
I hadn’t heard of Marcel the Shell, a popular YouTube creation, until a story was done on CBS last year. Since 60 Minutes favors heavily into the plot of the movie, it seems fitting they’d mention it for publicity. But aside from that, it’s a great family movie, the likes of which aren’t seen muchContinue reading “‘Marcel The Shell With Shoes On’ Looks At Internet Fame And Traumatic Events With An Open Eye”
‘The Big Lebowski’ At 25: A Cinema Icon, A Religion And Lifestyle (But That’s Just Like My Opinion, Man)
At 73, Jeff Bridges has been acting most of his life. Despite an uncredited role when he was a child in 1951, his life as an actor mainly started in 1970 and he’s in the sixth decade of his profession. While it looked like cancer would sideline his career, he recovered and appeared in Hulu’sContinue reading “‘The Big Lebowski’ At 25: A Cinema Icon, A Religion And Lifestyle (But That’s Just Like My Opinion, Man)”
‘Babylon’ Is A Bloated Blue Bad Bacchanal Of Hollywood’s Baby Days
Babylon is a bloated three-hour plus movie in which Damian Chazzelle attempts to make a David O. Russell movie that quickly turns into Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story. I didn’t really like it. I didn’t really see anything good about the movie. This is the type of movie that a director makes after they winContinue reading “‘Babylon’ Is A Bloated Blue Bad Bacchanal Of Hollywood’s Baby Days”
‘Innocent Blood’ French Vampire Hunting Mafia Goons? Fuggetaboutit!
Some directors have one movie that they can’t seem to break free of. When he was planning to do a music video for “Thriller,” Michael Jackson seeked out John Landis following the success of An American Werewolf in London. Jackson hadn’t seen The Blues Brothers, National Lampoon’s Animal House or Kentucky Fried Movie, his previousContinue reading “‘Innocent Blood’ French Vampire Hunting Mafia Goons? Fuggetaboutit!”
Why The Ending Of ‘The Departed’ Is Perfect And Should Be Left Alone
Warning: This contains spoilers. Throughout his career, The Departed is the only movie Martin Scorsese has directed that won Best Picture. It also earned him a well-deserved Oscar for Best Director. But there is one gapping flaw some fans of both the movie, Scorsese, Boston and mob crime movies in general have hated. At theContinue reading “Why The Ending Of ‘The Departed’ Is Perfect And Should Be Left Alone”
Zane Says 