J. Edgar vs. Melancholia: Which movie should you watch while high?
J. Edgar and Melancholia open in more theaters today and both are causing quite a buzz among critic circles. Kirsten Dunst already snagged an award at Cannes for her portrayal of Justine in Melancholia. She’s simply a girl coping with her troubled relationship with her sister and the threat of a new mysterious planet about...
Movies to watch Anna Faris in besides What’s Your Number
It’s unfortunate that Anna Faris had to be in a something like What’s Your Number?. The premise is standard “girls night out” movie fare: Ally (Faris) finds out from a reliable source (Marie Claire magazine) that if she crosses the threshold of 20 sexual partners, then she is going to never get married. With that...
Moneyball: A Great Underdog Story with Brad Pitt in a Windbreaker
It’s not often we see Brad Pitt portray a real person. And when I saw “real person,” I mean a REAL PERSON. In the highly-lauded-before-it-has-even-officially-opened-in-theaters movie Moneyball (based on the book “Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game” by Michael Lewis), he portrays Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A’s who is...
I Don’t Know How She Does It: Great For Working Moms, Bad For The Self-Absorbed
The not-so-anticipated Sarah Jessica Parker vehicle, I Don’t Know How She Does It based on the book by Allison Pearson is not Sex and the City 3 — although it makes for a great anthem for working moms. In this case the workaholic mom (Parker) “does something at a bank” and, inevitably (predictable spoiler alert),...
“A Good Old Fashioned Orgy” vs. “Shark Night 3D”: Which One is More Worthy?
It’s Friday. That means that you have to make one the most important decisions of your week: which movie should I watch in the theaters this weekend? The Debt is currently playing in theaters (read my interview with director, John Madden here) and although I love the Nazi-hunter/espionage/I Know What You Did Last Summer appeal...
Colin Farrell Really Sucks in “Fright Night”
Watching Fright Night made me come to the conclusion that this whole vampire thing is gonna go on for a while. So I am just going to give in and try to endure it — at least until Breaking Dawn Part 1 (that is guaranteed to be a colossal vampire orgy of suck that I...
“Bellflower”: I Don’t Get It
I don’t know where to begin with Bellflower. I don’t even know how to summarize it. When talking about it with one of my fellow movie writers, he said, “I think it’s one of those genre films.” What genre is it? I’m not too sure, but my guess is that it might fall in that...
‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ Has Some Simian Swagger
It’s been a couple of days since I have seen Rise of the Planet of the Apes and I would like to share a couple of tweets/Facebook status updates/Google+ updates that I posted in regards to the movie: If there was an Oscar for the Best Simian Swagger, it would go to Caesar in Rise...
‘The Change-Up’: A Body Swapping Movie For People Who Think Their Lives Suck
I wasn’t a fan of The Change-Up — but that doesn’t mean it was the worst movie of the year. It doesn’t even come close. It was, at most, mediocre raunchy fun with gags that get old before they escape the lips (or bowels) of the normally funny cast. The Change-Up gives an adult makeover...
‘The Devil’s Double’: Having a Body Double Isn’t All Fun and Games
After watching The Devil’s Double, I wondered, “What if an actually Iraqi actor was cast in the dual role of Latif Yahia/Uday Hussein?” Then I wondered, “What if they cast Zac Efron in that role?” Casting Englishman Dominic Cooper in the role of Uday Hussein, sadistic son of Saddam Hussein and his body double Latif...
Battle of the Genre Mash-ups: ‘Attack the Block’ vs. ‘Cowboys & Aliens’
So, Attack the Block spreads its infectious cult flavor to San Francisco (it exclusively opens at AMC Metreon on July 29) and Cowboys & Aliens also opens in theaters nationwide. A.T.C. has been making its rounds throughout the country and has slowly been building its army of “blockheads” (I got recruited when I saw it...
8 Things that I Learned from the ‘Adjustment Bureau’
The Adjustment Bureau is one of those “regular people in a heightened reality” movies — like Inception but not as good. The movie was not hideous (it helps that Matt Damon and Emily Blunt are the leads) nor was it terrible (except for the predictable happy ending tied in a nice bow) it was tolerable...
