The newest interpretation of The Great Gatsby is the cinematic equivalent of a peanut butter and pickle sandwich. Disgusting to some, intriguing to others. Only a select few have the palate for it, and even for those few it’s an acquired taste. The first half is stylistically masturbatory on Baz Luhrmann‘s part. The special effects are distracting and superfluous. On [...]

Few movies fill me with as much indifference as the 1974 adaptation of The Great Gatsby. That’s not to say there are no redeeming qualities; the costumes are eye-catching and Robert Redford is hotter than the face of the sun. Still, my non-reaction of “Well, that was a movie” is something I cannot ignore. Especially since it’s not the first time [...]

There are certain movies that just stick with me. I have not seen Honey, I Shrunk the Kids in over a decade, but scenes of kids swimming in French onion dip and standing alongside an enormous Oatmeal Creme Pie still run through my head on a regular basis. This past weekend, I saw Little Shop of Horrors for the first [...]

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers as well as several descriptions of violence and gore. If that’s not your thing, navigate to another article. I’ll try not to take it personally. I don’t know why it took me so long to watch The Evil Dead. During my junior year of college, I lived with a friend who attended the live musical, read [...]

SPOILERS AHEAD You’re in Denver. Someone in Florida steals your identity. What do you do? If you’re Sandy Patterson (Jason Bateman), you embark on a journey that involves throat punches, car chases, gunfire, snakebites, and a dead hobo’s pants. The victim of Identity Thief is the stereotypical American protagonist: a middle-class husband with 2.5 kids. (Literally. His wife is pregnant with [...]

As some of you might remember from last week, The Watch left me yearning for some more substantial entertainment. I vowed I was going to see something that enlightened me, impressed me, surprised me. Then I remembered The Campaign had been released; I immediately reneged on my vow. I’m sure my fellow Will Ferrell aficionados will not hold this decision [...]

For one reason or another, I continue to take a mild interest in the work of Ben Stiller. I suppose it all started with cult classics like Heavyweights, Reality Bites, and  Zoolander. I admired his total commitment to buffoonery; he seemed to have a knack for portraying zany characters. While  it’s true that he still dedicates himself to silliness, I cannot [...]

Last week, I touched on the hype surrounding The Dark Knight Rises. In the course of those seven days, the hype turned into tragedy. The events of Aurora are no less devastating today as they were when the news broke. Personally, the shooting affected the way I approached the film. My eagerness turned into hesitation, my excitement into paranoia. I [...]

So, The Dark Knight Rises. Have you heard of it? It’s supposed to be amazing, flawless, brilliant, exciting, masterful, adjective infinitum. I cannot and wish not to argue with those claims. I am building up  movie ticket funds and an appetite for Milk Duds at this very moment. However, if you’re even the slightest bit invested in pop culture, you’re probably [...]

Wes Anderson has been my favorite director for a number of years. His films are perhaps the most artistic and beautifully composed I have ever seen. His retro soundtracks, his trademark use of slow-mo, and his vintage color palettes are just some of the elements that delight me. What really bowls me over, however, is Anderson’s unparalleled devotion to the [...]

I must commend Magic Mike on a couple of things. First, it provides straight women and gay men with a mainstream source of unabashed, sexually charged entertainment.  Similarly, it tries to combat the typical proliferation of female objectification in popular culture. Pandering to the female gaze is a type of fan service I can stand behind. Yet, as laudatory as [...]

It’s about time, Pixar. I’ve been a devotee of the animation studio since I was a wee tot. Well, five. That’s how old I was when Toy Story was released. I can honestly say I’ve enjoyed all of their features. Recently, however, I was getting pretty antsy for a change. I had seen movies about lost fish, elderly widowers, neglected [...]

Have you ever watched a movie and swear you’ve seen it before? The Duplass Brothers’ Jeff, Who Lives at Home is one of those déjà vu flicks. The main character, Jeff (Jason Segal), is a thirtysomething stoner who, you guessed it, lives at home. He has no job, seemingly because he is too busy philosophizing about destiny and fate. Meanwhile, his [...]

I’ll admit it. I am a bit of a movie snob. I prefer indie darlings over blockbusters, understated character studies over action-packed thrillers. My favorite directors are Wes Anderson and Stanley Kubrick, two hipster-approved auteurs.While these examples support my snobbery, I still own a few DVDs that are just begging to tell of my low-brow teenage years. These flicks cannot [...]

A few months ago, if you asked me whether I thought another Snow White reboot was necessary, I probably would have said no. Another damsel-in-distress plot did not seem appealing. Then I started seeing more and more promos for Rupert Sanders‘ Snow White and The Hunstman that suggested this damsel tale had a little more to offer. Don’t get me wrong. Before [...]

I love many things in life. Naps, unsweet tea, fancy nail polish. Most of my loves have no place in cinema. At least, that’s what I thought. In The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, my fondness for British actors and my soft spot for the elderly combine. The end result is two hours of pure charm. The premise of Marigold is simple. Sonny [...]

Bully is a riveting, pathos-driven documentary about bullied teens. I will say, point blank, it is one of the most significant documentaries I have ever seen. It is also one of the most depressing. Teary-eyed parents speak in the past tense about their tormented children. An eleven year-old boy speaks about what he and his friend “would have” done, no [...]

Tim Burton is quirky. I said it. Just in case there was any doubt whatsoever: that man is quirky. Now there is no need for you to see Dark Shadows; you can spare yourself from 113 minutes of a film desperately trying to prove what I just stated. At the risk of sounding too harsh, let me backtrack a bit. [...]

By now, I should know what to expect from a Lasse Hallström picture. Though I will not go so far as to call him the Nicholas Sparks of directors, I will say that his works are formulaic in the same sense. (Perhaps this comparison is not entirely unfounded; Hallström did direct Dear John, after all.) There are bound to be [...]

When I first saw Say Anything…, I thought to myself, “Gee. John Cusack is a dead ringer for Edgar Allen Poe.” Thankfully, director James McTeigue has brought my observation to life with The Raven. Named after the classic work by America’s master of the macabre, The Raven is a fictionalized depiction of the final days of Poe’s life. The beginning of the film [...]