Dear Readers, Remember me? No worries if you don’t. It has been a slow summer of criticism for me, and for a variety of reasons. First and foremost is that, as I get older, I have less and less patience for the slew of commercial crapola that Hollywood spews out during the warmer months, and so I’ve…
Let’s start with a list. Here are the movies currently playing at my local independent movie theater: Blue Jasmine, Before Midnight, The Attack, Fruitvale Station, and The Way, Way Back. Earlier this summer, it screened The Bling Ring, Frances Ha, and Much Ado About Nothing. Tastes may vary, but I saw most of those, and…
If you ask me – and you’re reading this post, so let’s assume you did – one of the great Hollywood mysteries of our era is why Sam Rockwell is not a bigger star. He’s funny and charismatic, he can do nuanced dramatic roles, and the man can dance like nobody’s business. Most of all,…
Last week, we cast the lead role in Double Down, the upcoming sequel to HBO’s Game Change that will focus on the 2012 Republican presidential primaries. In our poll, the readers spoke loud and clear: Bruce Campbell should get the nod. But now the fun is really beginning. The rest of the Republican field is…
Studio execs call it “counterprogramming.” Summer blockbusters typically dominate ticket sales on the weekend they are released, so when a highly-anticipated movie is being released, other big movies stay out of their way and find their own weekend to dominate. Instead, you’ll often find a smaller movie with a niche demographic opening against the biggest…
It does not take much prompting to get me to talk about Sam Rockwell. I consider him to be vastly underrated as an actor, so I see it as my duty to pontificate on his brilliance when presented with the opportunity. That’s what happened last week, when a colleague popped into my office to ask…
Well, it had to happen. Time relentlessly marches on, and now it is officially awards season again. The critics’ boards are making their choices, Top 10 lists are filling my Twitter feed, and we even have our first front-runner controversy. Of course, all of the awards are just appetizers for the Oscars (which will air…
Considering how deeply “Seven Psychopaths” embraces its meta-ness, it only makes sense to begin this review by comparing it to other movies. Of course, it follows a trend begun by “Pulp Fiction” of violent, funny movies that comment on their own bloodshed. Specifically, it addresses the cyclical nature of violence and consequences – much like…
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