Through most of film history, audiences have been attracted to films based on true stories. They want to see something that really happened and feel like they were there. Though these films often exaggerate or change certain parts of events for drama, the point is usually to dramatize the plot while sticking loosely to details for better cinematic effect....
Stepping up to the box office four years after “Taken,” “Taken 2” had the potential to improve upon the foundation laid down by its predecessor. At least it did until Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen co-authored what, as film critic Kenneth Turan notes, appears as more of a remake of the 2008 blockbuster than its sequel. Whereas “Taken”...
Director Genndy Tartakovsky (creator of Dexter's Laboratory and Samurai Jack) introduces audiences to the latest and rather unfortunate spin on the classic exemplar of vampire legends, Dracula. Instead of stalking the night for warm-blooded victims and beautiful young women, this modern-day Count Dracula (voiced by Adam Sandler) is presented in a kid friendly package along with a menagerie of...
The undeniably talented Ira Glass, known for his work on “This American Life,” a radio show about real people and their real lives, has taken his work to the big screen with his film, “Sleepwalk With Me.” The film follows comedian Mike Birbiglia, fictionalized as Matt Pandamiglio, as he attempts to make a career as a comedian. However, the...
Just see this movie. Really, if you are a fan of action movies or just want to have some solid entertainment for an hour and a half, treat yourself to “Dredd 3D.” I know the 1995 Judge Dredd movie was terrible and that you probably aren’t familiar with the comic series, but trust me: this is how you do...
On a cozy island located near New England, 12-year-olds Sam Shakusky and Suzy Bishop have begun writing letters to one another. On the surface, Sam and Suzy appear to be much like any ordinary child their age living in a small town community. Sam is an intelligent and ingenuitive "Khaki Scout" in a local summer camp, and Suzy is...
“The Dictator” is the first feature written by Sacha Baron Cohen that is not focused on one of the personalities that he created on “Da Ali G Show.” Also setting it apart from his former ventures of “Borat” and “Brüno” is the actual format of the film. While his two previous movies ran more like grandiose episodes of a...
Like every other Tim Burton movie, “Dark Shadows” features charismatic, quirky and energetic characters against a drab, dark and washed out backdrop.
In the film, Burton favorite Johnny Depp is bathed in a gallon of makeup in order to become Barnabas Collins, a 16th century aristocrat who lives in a large mansion and runs a profitable fishing business in the...
“The Five Year Engagement” is a new romantic comedy by director Nicolas Stoller, known for “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” (2008) and “Get Him to The Greek” (2010). The film features returning star Jason Segel and British actress Emily Blunt. The pair take on dynamic characters threatened by a variety of hardships during their difficult engagement. Filled with colorful settings, quirky...
If anything can be said of “The Avengers,” it's Joss Whedon doesn't mess around. The cult favorite and multi-talented director took the gargantuan task of assembling the Avengers and transformed it to one of the best comic-book movies ever made.
When Joss Whedon signed on to direct the epic, he was fulfilling the dreams and fantasies of comic book devouring...