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The 10 Best Brian De Palma Films
Brian De Palma has become the directorial litmus test of cinephiles everywhere. To supporters, he stands as a startling visual genius with a penchant for set pieces and lurid subject matter. To naysayers, he remains a lowbrow imitator who spends his studio budgets chasing the ghosts of Alfred Hitchcock and Jean-Luc Godard. Great director or high class hack? Inconsistent misogynist or Master of the...[Read More]
Box Office Weekend: Martian Tops Worst Box Office Weekend of 2015
While Halloween weekend tends to be a slower weekend than usual, it proved to be the slowest weekend of the year at the box office (at least so far). So slow, in fact, that the top three films include two winners and two potential box-office flops. The Martian is a worldwide hit, earning an estimated $11.4 million on the weekend, but Goosebumps, with an estimated $10.2 million, has a long ways to ...[Read More]
Movie Review: Burnt
Burnt is a classic story of redemption set amidst the cutthroat world of the culinary arts. That being the case, one can expect this review to be peppered with bad cooking metaphors and references. I apologize in advance. How do you make the perfect film about cooking? Add one dash of a magnetic Bradley Cooper. Stir in two ounces of lovable supporting characters. Drop in one measure of a love stor...[Read More]
Trailer Trashin’: Return to a Galaxy Far, Far Away in the Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens Official Trailer
Happy Halloween, dear readers! Whether you’ll be out trick-or-treating, at home giving out candy, going to parties, or something else entirely, I hope you enjoy the holiday. Now, let’s take a look at the official trailer for the biggest movie of the rest of the year, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Premise: The Force Awakens is set approximately thirty years after the events of Return of...[Read More]
DVD Review: Dope
Great coming-of-age films are a rare find – and unless your name is John Hughes, the chances of even crafting an adequate one are slim. The 2000s have had their occasional successes, from the quotable cult hit Mean Girls (2004) to the indie darling The Perks of Being A Wallflower (2012), but it’s been awhile since something scaled the uniquely relatable heights of The Breakfast Club (1985) or even...[Read More]
Box Office Weekend: The Martian Rides High Again
How does a film that dropped out of first place regain that spot? Put it up against a handful of duds. While some of them failed to make the list (Bill Murray in Rock the Kasbah did not even finish close to the list, and neither did the 1980s cartoon adaptation Jem and the Holograms), even the horror-themed films failed to stop The Martian from riding high at the box office once more with an estim...[Read More]
DVD Review: A Most Violent Year
Self-made businessman Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac) is riding high. As a Puerto Rican success story in 1981, he’s got a thriving business, spiffy threads, and a wife (Jessica Chastain) that’d put Michelle Pfeiffer’s Elvira to shame. He’s achieved it all with a moral code that remains ironclad amidst the city’s growing crime rate. That is, until hijackers begin putting his oil trucks at risk. Th...[Read More]
Box Office Weekend: The Box Office Gets Goosebumps
As we reach the midpoint of October, it seems strange that not only are there a dearth of horror-themed films in theaters, but that of the three in the top ten, two of them are aimed primarily at children. And of those two, both have topped the box office at one point. This week, Goosebumps is the winner. Based on the R.L. Stine series of books for children, the family-friendly scare fest brought ...[Read More]
Movie Review: Crimson Peak
Sure, the story of Crimson Peak is familiar, but the way it’s presented and the places it goes are wholly original. The film is a gothic horror story, set in an imposing 19th-century British mansion plagued by ghosts. We’ve all seen these elements done and done again, but never with the black humor, emotional depth, and ravishing visual beauty that writer-director Guillermo del Toro brings to the ...[Read More]
Movie Review: Bridge of Spies
The Tom Hanks-starring period piece Bridge of Spies is Steven Spielberg’s best and most entertaining film since…well, his last Tom Hanks-starring period piece. In the decade-plus since the delightful Catch Me If You Can, Spielberg’s made good starchy period pieces (Lincoln), dull starchy period pieces (War Horse) and a few old-school adventure pictures that still can’t shake a certain sedateness (...[Read More]
Box Office Weekend: Martian Remains Ahead of the Game
The Martian not only remained the top draw at the box office, its estimated $37 million over the weekend brings its worldwide totals to $227.8 million; enough to ensure the widely acclaimed film is a box office success. Hotel Transylvania 2, as well, entered its second week with an estimated $20.3 million and an even higher domestic gross than The Martian, and almost as successful worldwide. Pan, ...[Read More]
Movie Review: Pan
Every once in a while, life hands you an unexpected treat. In this particular case that treat is the new family adventure film Pan. You likely did not know you were even missing something in your children’s fairy tale catalog. That is, you probably never stopped to think, even after seeing Peter Pan in full on Disney style so many times, about how Peter became Peter in the first place. This ...[Read More]