Tom Cruise has grown from a 1980s teen heartthrob to a 1990s acclaimed actor to a 2000s action star to an overall odd celebrity. Maybe it’s the Scientology stuff. The whole Oprah episode didn’t help his reputation. There’s a lot of people who don’t like him even though at 61, he’s still jumping out ofContinue reading “‘Edge Of Tomorrow’ Is ‘Groundhog Day’ Meets ‘War Of The Worlds’”
Tag Archives: movies
‘Self Reliance’ Still Needs Some Help
A movie like Self Reliance only works if the protagonist is both likeable and little bit detestable. I think of Griffin Dunne in Martine Scorsese’s After Hours in which he plays what we think is a hopeless romantic but is actually quite an arrogant selfish person. Even though he’s put through the ringer, you kindaContinue reading “‘Self Reliance’ Still Needs Some Help”
Documentary Is A ‘Sly’ View Of Stallone
Sly is an appropriate name for the documentary on the life and career of Sylvester Stallone. The runtime is about an hour and a half, about half the length of the Netflix documentary on his rival, friend and business partner Arnold Schwarzenegger, but maybe that’s because the “Governator” has had more of a fascinating life.Continue reading “Documentary Is A ‘Sly’ View Of Stallone”
‘Pain Hustlers’ In A Fix For A Good Story
Emily Blunt is one of those actresses whose name, appearance and body of work seems like she should be doing Downton Abbey, The Crown or some other period piece movie or TV show. At one time, she was the contender to play Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But she has proved that sheContinue reading “‘Pain Hustlers’ In A Fix For A Good Story”
‘Straw Dogs’ Has A Better Bite Over Its Original’s Meager Bark
Filmmaker Jean-Luc Goddard once said, “The way to criticize a film is to make another film.” In 1971, when Sam Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs was released during the Christmas holiday season, it shocked audiences and divided them. Based on the novel The Siege at Trencher’s Farm, it starred Dustin Hoffman as a meager intelligent mathematician whoContinue reading “‘Straw Dogs’ Has A Better Bite Over Its Original’s Meager Bark”
‘Ted’ Works Best As Sitcom Parody But Still Feels A Bit Overstuffed
There was a joke on a Family Guy episode in which they did some Seth MacFarlane self-parody with the line is “Yeah, he watched TV in the 80s. We get it.” When Family Guy burst on the scene in 1999 after the Super Bowl, it reflected a growing change in movies and TV that decadeContinue reading “‘Ted’ Works Best As Sitcom Parody But Still Feels A Bit Overstuffed”
‘Tetris’ Still Scores Despite Over-Layered Storyline
Tetris is one of those crazy games that looks so simple but it can be so addictive. All it is stacking block shapes together to make a horizontal line that vanishes. It was a simple game and it was developed by a Russian using parenthesis on his home computer. So, how did something that lookedContinue reading “‘Tetris’ Still Scores Despite Over-Layered Storyline”
Oscars Have A History Of Not Nominating “Sure Things”
I remember less than 30 years ago, they were discussing how they would find five actresses to nominate for the Best Lead Actress category. In the last few years, they’ve had too many, it’s hard to limit. Last year, I though Mia Goth should’ve been nominated for Pearl and Aubrey Plaza should’ve been nominated forContinue reading “Oscars Have A History Of Not Nominating “Sure Things””
Soar High “Flyboy”
In the annals of classic horror actors, you might not expect people to know the name David Emge. He only appeared in about five movies and hasn’t appeared in a movie since 1992 Hellmaster. But it was his role as one of the leads in the horror-satire classic Dawn of the Dead released in 1978Continue reading “Soar High “Flyboy””
Nic Cage Can’t Save ‘Retirement Plan’
The Retirement Plan is another one of those action comedy thrillers where a person is secretly a government agent or in this case retired agent who can kill someone with his bare hands as if it’s nothing. And said agent is estranged from a family member who never knew the truth but needs the helpContinue reading “Nic Cage Can’t Save ‘Retirement Plan’”
Zane Says 