In The Spotlight
The Fighter
Out of all of David O. Russell’s films, which include “Three Kings”, “I Heart Huckabees”, and “Flirting With Disaster”, this may be one of the most accessible to a regular audience. And strangely, it’s one of his most character-influenced. This is a film about people; and more specifically, family. It’s got a boxing background story, but it’s not really about boxing. Maybe that’s why it was called “The Fighter” instead; then again, we already have a film called “The Boxer”. In any event, Russell’s mark isn’t exactly all over this picture--but it’s still very well made, and it’s extremely well ...
Tron Legacy
In 1982 we were introduced to a different kind of science fiction action film: a computer action film. These days, that may sound either common or at least, somewhat exciting. But back in 1982, computers were fairly unknown and computer games were extremely rare. But Disney was willing to shell out for a film called "Tron", which was about computers and computer hackers and computer games. It revolved around very basic colors and designs, but make them look very unique even if the story seemed lethargic and 4-bit. The film gathered some good reviews at the time, and eventually became ...
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1
The Harry Potter series has dominated this past decade in book and film, and it’s finally coming to a close next summer with the concluding part of the final entry, “The Deathly Hallows.” I’ve been a fan of the book series; but the movies have been an up and down thing for me. Some of them, like “Prisoner of Azkaban”, “Order of the Phoenix”, and especially the last film, “The Half-Blood Prince”, have been rewarding movie going experiences. “The Deathly Hallows”, unfortunately, is piled in with the other movies as sloppy, slow, and in this case, overly brooding. The film starts ...
Jackass 3-D
Celebrating their 10th anniversary, the Jackass crew is back. I always find it tricky to actually review a “Jackass” movie because these aren’t really “films”, per se. There’s no storyline or plot or theme or even acting. Just about everything in a “Jackass” movie involves extremely dangerous, extremely stupid, and almost always disgusting stunts and pranks. But as much as they may seem classless and gross, I enjoy the hell out of them. And “Jackass 3-D” is no different. For those who are fans of the series, you will not be disappointed. Everyone gets their turn, including Johnny “Pretty Boy” Knoxville ...
Best Worst Movie
In 1990, a little movie appeared on HBO's schedule an awful lot called "Troll 2". Bearing no resemblance and having nothing to do with the 1986 "Troll", there was already something off about this movie. But that title was just one of the many, many things wrong with the film. First, there were no actual trolls in it (they were referred to as "goblins" which is a different race in folklore); second, the film up and down, left and right (B,A,B,A select start) was just downright...terrible. But there was something about it that was highly amusing, too. Lines like "You can't ...
Movies
Star Trek Beyond
The third installment of the rebooted “Star Trek” franchise takes the...
Independence Day: Resurgence
Back in the spring of 1996, I was a junior in high school, and I was intrigued by...
10 Cloverfield Lane
“Cloverfield” was a 2008 monster movie that wanted to be part “Blair...
The VVitch
“The Witch” is an ambitious horror film that is billed as “A New...
More Movies...Music
Green Day: 21st Century Breakdown
15 years ago, I reluctantly plucked the new Green Day album off the shelves at Venture...
Kaiser Chiefs – “Off With Their Heads”
They’re not blazing a trail. They’re not bringing rock and roll to a...
Ben Folds – Way to Normal
Ben Folds was a nerdy teenager’s best friend and when you’re going through...
Shiny Toy Guns – Season of Poison
I was first introduced to this band through FIFA 07’s soundtrack, featuring...
More Music...Entertainment
Chapter 27
“The first thing you probably want to know is all that stuff about my dad and...
Life of Pi
“Religion is for people who are afraid of going to hell. Spirituality is for...
Carnage
“I wish we could have met in a different way,” is a comment paraphrased...
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