Dane Jackson

Dane Jackson has been writing about movies since high school when he had a monthly column in the school paper about cult movies. His cinematic tastes have matured (slightly) since then.

Movie Review: Transformers: Age of Extinction

Admit it. You already have your mind made up about Michael Bay’s latest installment featuring everyone’s favorite robots in disguise. I could tell you Transformers: Age of Extinction makes Citizen Kane look like Transformers 2 (don’t worry, it doesn’t) and you would still probably stick to your guns. This movie franchise is critic-proof. No matter how hard the movies get sl...[Read More]

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Interview with Emily Matthews, Cinetopia International Film Festival Marketing Director

Watching how Ann Arbor’s (and now also Detroit’s) Cinetopia Film Festival has grown each year has been exciting for a movie buff like me. Realistically, I’ll probably never make it to Cannes or Sundance, so to me, this is THE film festival – and it’s a festival that I’ll never get sick of talking about. When the lights go out and the first week of June rolls by, the p...[Read More]

Five Best Bets for the 2014 Cinetopia International Film Festival

Each year since its inception, the Cinetopia International Film Festival has grown by leaps and bounds. This year finds the festival expanding even more into the Metro Detroit area, which means some of the best films from around the film festival circuit will be available. Unfortunately, that also means you may be forced to make some hard choices. I’d be willing to wager it’s nearly im...[Read More]

A Newbie’s Guide to Film Festivals: 5 Tips to Enjoy the Cinetopia International Film Festival

There’s just something electric about attending your first film festival, especially if you’re a movie buff like me. At last year’s Cinetopia International Film Festival, I finally got to cross “go to a film festival” off my bucket list. Since it was my first time, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Up to that point, my only experience with film festivals was reading...[Read More]

The Five Best Bets for Movie Buffs at Motor City Comic Con

Novi, Michigan – Gone are the days when comic conventions were solely places for fans to search through long boxes for that one issue that completes their collection. Pop culture and movies have long since taken over these events to create massive celebrations of all things geek. While the Mecca for all cons is in San Diego, Metro Detroiters are lucky to have a con of their own – the Motor City Co...[Read More]

Movie Review: The Amazing Spider-Man 2

In the superhero movie genre, the second part in a series is typically better than the original (Iron Man 2 being one of the few exceptions to the rule). That’s because the first movie is burdened with the task of setting up the hero’s origin, while the sequel gets to jump right in. Such is the case with The Amazing Spider-Man 2. The only difference with the Spider-Man franchise is tha...[Read More]

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Movie Review: Bad Words

Jason Bateman has come a long way since the days of Little House on the Prairie and Silver Spoons. Now, with his new film Bad Words, Bateman adds another adjective to his long career – feature film director. While comedies don’t typically get the respect and accolades as other film genres, it’s extremely difficult to make people laugh. Mastering that is challenging in and of itself, an...[Read More]

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The Top 10 Party Movies of All Time

With St. Patrick’s Day around the corner, the Irish are poised to celebrate the arrival of Christianity in their homeland, while Americans are simply looking for an excuse to wear green, eat corned beef, and drink copious amounts of green beer. Sounds good right? To get you in the mood to celebrate the feast of St. Patrick, I’ve compiled a group of movies that will help inspire your party planning...[Read More]

Movie Review: Mr. Peabody and Sherman

I’m typically not a fan of modern cinematic interpretations of classic television. Let’s face it, Hollywood doesn’t really have the best track record with these types of movies. All I have to do is point to films like Land of the Lost, Speed Racer, Rocky & Bullwinkle, and Dudley Do-Right to make my point. Thankfully though, Mr. Peabody & Sherman doesn’t follow suit ...[Read More]

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Movie Review: Thor: The Dark World

With Thor: The Dark World, Marvel continues their movie domination over rival DC Comics, and at this point, I don’t think there’s anything DC can do to catch up. Chronologically, Thor’s (Chris Hemsworth) latest appearance takes place one year after the events of Marvel’s The Avengers. The mighty one has spent his time away from Earth working on restoring peace within the nine realms. This ab...[Read More]

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Top 10 Horror Movie Villains of All Time

October is one of my favorite months and that’s partly due to Halloween and the increased interest in the horror genre. From books to movies to everything in between, in October I’m ready for a good scare. Since folks are typically more acceptable of things that go bump in the night around Halloween, I wanted to offer up my Top 10 Horror Movie Villains of All Time. Some are iconic, and some not as...[Read More]

Movie Review: Escape Plan

It’s safe to say that people already have a preconceived notion about Escape Plan. With its two main stars each in their late sixties, it’s easy to poke fun at this movie – especially when those two stars are 1980s action heroes Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. If you walk into Escape Plan expecting a cinematic masterpiece, you’ll be sorely disappointed. If, on the o...[Read More]

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