Evil Dead, the remake of the cult Sam Raimi film, debuted at the #1 spot at the box-office taking in $26 million.  With an estimated budget of $17 million, the picture should turn in a solid profit for Sony Pictures.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation had a solid weekend with a $21.1 million finish, [...]

Director Brian Helgeland is one of those rare screenwriters who have also cultivated a solid directing career.  Back in the 1970s it was Paul Schrader, best known for his Taxi Driver script, who was leading the scribes turned directors charge, and it’s great to see screenwriter Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout, [...]

John McClane (Bruce Willis) is back to save the day, as well as team up with his CIA operative son (Jack Reacher actor Jai Courtney) in A Good Day to Die Hard. Hitting theaters February 14th, the picture, set in Moscow, centers on a nuclear weapons conspiracy that has huge international repercussions. Director John Moore [...]

With every Wes Anderson outing, one can expect each character (even if they are foxes) to rattle off wittier than thou dialogue, embark on an eccentric (and soul searching) journey for a sense of belonging, and don an eclectic, mishmash of clothing any hipster would love.  Mix in elaborate tracking shots, sumptuous art direction, [...]

We exist in a world where the summer blockbuster has supplanted character driven narratives, an environment where a cinematic roar drowns out the subtlest of whispers.   It’s with great pleasure to know such tales as Monsieur Lazhar, a quiet and intricate study of a selfless teacher, actually exist.  Filmmaker Philippe Falardeau paints his narrative [...]

Lately, I’ve been on a huge Humphrey Bogart kick, with my obsession going to dramatic lengths after my recent purchase of Bertie Higgins’ 1982 CD Just Another Day In Paradise.  For readers under 40 or naysayers of Charmin soft pop music, Mr. Higgins wrote and performed the Top Ten hit “Key Largo,” which featured [...]

Currently in theaters, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL is the fourth installment in the popular action franchise spun-off from the iconic ’70s TV series. This time around, Ethan Hunt and his M:I team are falsely accused of a terrorist bombing and forced to clear their names with benefit of government support. Directed by BRAD BIRD, [...]

Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron), a late thirtysomething beauty who ghostwrites teen lit novels, has a severe case of arrested development.  A city girl living on an impressive Minneapolis high rise, Mavis is floored after seeing a picture of  her high school boyfriend’s (Patrick Wilson, playing Buddy Slade) newborn baby.  Determined to win Buddy back, she [...]

For over 30 years, David Cronenberg has woven tales of protagonists determined to push their sexual and psychological boundaries.  Such a journey can transform them into an entirely different being, but when faced with an entirely new world, they occasionally hide in the shadows, wrestling with their decisions.

From the surface, A Dangerous Method [...]

In his elegiac poem And Death Shall Have No Dominion, Dylan Thomas wrote that ‘though lovers be lost love shall not.”  Such words apply to director Alexander Payne’s subtle and soul stirring drama The Descendants, which gives George Clooney his richest (and most achingly human) role to date.  After his impressive run at dry wit [...]