From the category archives:

Film

Underworld: Awakening: An Appreciation

January 27, 2012
Thumbnail image for <i>Underworld: Awakening</i>: An Appreciation

I have never liked the term, “guilty pleasure,” because it implies that people should feel a certain degree of shame over liking something that, for whatever reason, they feel that others would judge them harshly for liking. And then of course there is the subset of that attitude–hipsterism, which attempts to justify liking something one [...]

Read the full article →

Handing Over the Reins: Arthur Christmas

December 4, 2011
Thumbnail image for Handing Over the Reins: <i>Arthur Christmas</i>

I walked into Arthur Christmas with only the vaguest of expectations. I knew it was CGI animation, I knew it was British, and I was fairly certain it might have something to do with Christmas, but that was about all. As I’m a fan of animation and Christmas movies, and, as some of you might have [...]

Read the full article →

“Together Again”: The Muppets

November 22, 2011
Thumbnail image for “Together Again”: <i>The Muppets</i>

There was never a time in my life in which I wasn’t a Muppet fan. My earliest memories involve watching The Muppet Show or Sesame Street with my mom and grandparents, playing with my Kermit doll (which I took with me everywhere), going to see The Muppets Take Manhattan in the theatre (my mom cried at Kermit [...]

Read the full article →

The Vampire Next Door: Fright Night (2011)

August 21, 2011
Thumbnail image for The Vampire Next Door: <i>Fright Night</i> (2011)

I’ve been excited to see Fright Night for months, not because I’m a horror fan–actually, I tend to avoid horror movies whenever possible, with a few exceptions–not because I’m a fan of the original film of which it is a remake–I’ve never seen it–but because of the cast–dear god, this cast! If Anton Yelchin, Colin [...]

Read the full article →

Monster Mashup: Cowboys and Aliens

August 6, 2011
Thumbnail image for Monster Mashup: <i>Cowboys and Aliens</i>

I happen to be a sucker for the literary mashup concept of conflating two genres that aren’t meant to belong together but when they do often make a sort of bizarro almost-sense. Based on a graphic novel by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, Cowboys and Aliens may not be the first cinematic genre mashup, but, as far as [...]

Read the full article →

“Star-Spangled Man”: Captain America: The First Avenger

July 31, 2011
Thumbnail image for “Star-Spangled Man”: <i>Captain America: The First Avenger</i>

In keeping with this action-packed, 1940s-set pulp extravaganza, I’m going to cut right to the chase: Captain America: The First Avenger is yet another Marvel triumph–a tightly and cleverly composed, superbly acted whiz-bang blast of old fashioned cinematic escapism that sits comfortably inside and takes full advantage of the Marvel filmverse canon while also managing to [...]

Read the full article →

Opening at the Close: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

July 16, 2011
Thumbnail image for Opening at the Close: <i>Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2</i>

How best to express and summarize my emotions for a film that is not just a film but the culmination of a worldwide phenomenon–one of the most popular and beloved long-form stories to be found not only in film history but literary history, as well; a saga I have loved on screen and adored on [...]

Read the full article →

Unsung Hero: Green Lantern

June 18, 2011
Thumbnail image for Unsung Hero: <i>Green Lantern</i>

Upon leaving a packed screening of Green Lantern last night after the film ended, my friends and I struck up a spontaneous conversation with two other moviegoers, all of us completely baffled as to why most reviews of the film have been so virulently harsh. Look, this is never going to be on my list [...]

Read the full article →

“Happy Birthday, Robert!”: Stephen Sondheim’s Company

June 17, 2011
Thumbnail image for “Happy Birthday, Robert!”: Stephen Sondheim’s <i>Company</i>

Two months ago, in April, I was ecstatic to learn that Neil Patrick Harris would be playing Bobby in a gala concert production of Stephen Sondheim’s Company, with music performed by the New York Philharmonic. What most people don’t realize about Neil Patrick Harris is what a brilliant stage actor he is, on a level [...]

Read the full article →

A Love Letter to the Movies: Super 8

June 11, 2011
Thumbnail image for A Love Letter to the Movies: <i>Super 8</i>

Have you ever started to fall in love with a film before the opening credits even began rolling? From the moment the old Amblin logo with the iconic image in silhouette of Elliot riding a flying bicycle, with ET in the front basket, graced the screen before Super 8 started, I knew I was in [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries