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Film Review - Assault on Wall Street

2013-05-19T00:06:00-05:00

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen an Uwe Boll picture, going to back 2008 when his last theatrical endeavor, “In the Name of the King,” blew in and out of multiplexes with the speed of a spring breeze....

Saturdays with Siskel & Ebert - The Last of the Mohicans / Glengarry Glen Ross / Mr. Saturday Night / Innocent Blood / Laws of Gravity (1992)

2013-05-18T00:01:00-05:00

Film Review - Star Trek Into Darkness

2013-05-17T00:02:00-05:00

I was completely swept away by the 2009 reinvention of “Star Trek” (my favorite film of that year). Director J.J. Abrams approached an impossible creative challenge with startling confidence, restoring awe to a dusty brand name while removing the need...

Film Review - The Iceman

2013-05-17T00:01:00-05:00

What “The Iceman” has to offer, we’ve seen before. It’s a hitman story, a bio-pic of sorts studying the cold-blooded career of Richard Kuklinski, a mafia enforcer who murdered over 100 people during his two decades on the job, dealing...

Film Review - Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay

2013-05-16T00:10:00-05:00

I’m almost embarrassed to admit that my introduction to Ricky Jay was through his acting credits, watching him perform in the films of David Mamet and Paul Thomas Anderson, completely unaware of his legacy as a sleight of hand master....

Film Review - Love Is All You Need

2013-05-16T00:05:00-05:00

Danish director Susanne Bier has built a career out of difficult pictures with hard edges, gracefully exploring the limits of vulnerability with a decidedly humane approach, always aware of natural behaviors that have generated some spellbinding cinema (including 2004’s “Brothers”)....

Film Review - Erased

2013-05-16T00:02:00-05:00

After playing second fiddle to Gerard Butler in last month’s “Olympus Has Fallen,” it’s about time star Aaron Eckhart proved himself in the action arena. It’s only a shame “Erased,” as nondescript a title as can be, doesn’t reveal much...

Film Review - The English Teacher

2013-05-16T00:01:00-05:00

I wish “The English Teacher” was as humorous and mischievous as it believes itself to be. A farce in serious need of speed and content, the picture doesn’t exactly achieves its minimal goals, falling short of its intended satiric aim...

Film Review - Sightseers

2013-05-15T00:01:00-05:00

With “Down Terrace” and “Kill List,” director Ben Wheatley was striving for more of a severe atmosphere of family dysfunction and the dark unknown, creating interesting but indulgent cinema that fell short of its initial promise. “Sightseers” takes Wheatley in...

Minnesota Movie Ads - November 1979

2013-05-14T00:25:00-05:00

Blu-ray Review - The Bletchley Circle

2013-05-13T00:01:00-05:00

"The Bletchley Circle" has an irresistible hook for crime-solving entertainment, following the actions of four brilliant codebreakers from WWII as they reteam to track down a serial killer in their hometown nearly a decade later. I'm surprised this isn't a...

Film Review - Aftershock

2013-05-12T10:49:14-05:00

“Aftershock” is a strange disaster film that desires to merge broad comedy with utter depravity, looking to concoct a pungent brew of exploitation for those who’ve developed a taste for such bitter screen insanity. Unfortunately, the feature is lopsided, unfunny,...

Saturdays with Siskel & Ebert - Krull / Vacation / Staying Alive / Class (1983)

2013-05-11T00:30:00-05:00

Film Review - Peeples

2013-05-10T10:17:46-05:00

The marketing for “Peeples” has been stamped silly with the Tyler Perry brand name, though he only has a vague producer presence here, not a primary creative role. Actually, it’s probably a mistake to have Mr. Madea’s name anywhere near...

Film Review - The Great Gatsby

2013-05-09T15:38:00-05:00

Director Baz Luhrmann is not a miracle man, but he’s successfully restored pluck to fatigued material with his unique brand of cinematic voodoo. He made Shakespeare dizzy with 1996’s “Romeo + Juliet,” sent turn of the century Paris to Mars...

Film Review - In the House

2013-05-09T00:05:00-05:00

Continuing his barbed but playful filmmaking interests as of late, writer/director Francois Ozon works his way to an exploration of voyeurism with his latest effort, “In the House.” Playing to the helmer’s strengths as it details obsession and mental gamesmanship,...

Film Review - At Any Price

2013-05-09T00:02:00-05:00

In the mid-eighties, there was bumper crop of films examining the plight of the red-blooded, family-oriented American farmer as they faced industry demands, corporate interests, and dwindling profits. In 2013, the vocation has changed radically, with little room for a...

Film Review - Java Heat

2013-05-09T00:01:00-05:00

After securing blushes from teen girls worldwide with his supporting role in the “Twilight” series (playing Emmett, the vamp bruiser), Kellan Lutz is looking to break out on his own, accepting starring vehicles that require displays of strength and beefcakery....

Film Review - What Richard Did

2013-05-08T23:26:28-05:00

“What Richard Did” doesn’t move in traditional melodramatic directions, preferring to sustain an air of realism that often results in startling turns of character. It’s a low-key production, perhaps painfully so to some viewers, asking those with patience to stick...

Minnesota Movie Ads - June 1936

2013-05-07T00:28:00-05:00