Author Archive
Film Review – The Lone Ranger
Here is one of those instances where I wish I could say a film turned out to be a pleasant surprise, but to do so would make me a liar. On the surface, Gore Verbinski’s The Lone Ranger has all the ingredients of a summer…
READ MOREFilm Review – The Purge
The Purge is an ugly, vile, and miserable film that essentially argues that all humans are evil. It hides behind the guise of social satire, but doesn’t have anything insightful to say. Instead, whatever message it has gets bogged down by a ludicrous home invasion…
READ MOREFilm Review – After Earth
Strange how M. Night Shyamalan’s very name now comes with a certain connotation. Since Unbreakable (2000) and Signs (2002) came out over a decade ago, his work has become less and less successful critically. It got to the point that when the trailer came out…
READ MORESXSW Film Review – Kilimanjaro
When our relationships come to an end, we fill our time with activities to help us move on. Some get on an exercise program, others take up hobbies they’ve never tried, and some jump right back into the dating scene. We try to do anything…
READ MOREBlu-ray Review – 3:10 to Yuma
At first glance, Delmer Daves’s 3:10 to Yuma (1957/Criterion spine #657) appears to be as straight as an arrow. If we’re examining it from merely a narrative standpoint, that may be true. A simple premise, a specific goal, with events that lead into each other…
READ MOREFilm Review – The Iceman
Who has a more intimidating face than Michael Shannon? This is an actor who just breathes intensity. He twitches and sneers with scary effect, often appearing as though he can barely hold his rage in. Heck, this guy just recently proved he could recite a…
READ MOREFilm Review – Graceland
Ron Morales’s Graceland (2012) is a mostly effective thriller hailing from the Philippines. Being Filipino myself, I’m glad to see films from there making their way to the States, because at this point (at least in the mainstream) they are still few and far between.…
READ MORESXSW Film Review – The Act of Killing
There are few films that have legitimately left a chill down my spine. The Act of Killing (2012) is one of them. This is a haunting, disturbing, and eye-opening documentary that looks into the minds of mass murderers. Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer (and co-directed by…
READ MORE