Forget snowboarding and base jumping. Today’s thrill seeker’s think they invented extreme sports. Far from it. That honor would go to the gladiators of ancient Rome, who were trained with one goal in mind: kill or be killed. As if life in ancient Rome wasn’t harsh and decadent enough, imagine being enslaved and forced into brutal combat for the amusement of the masses. Read the rest of this entry »

When I was a teenager and anxious to take on the world, my mother would always tell me, “Slow down, because when you get older, everything goes so fast.” Yeah, right. Read the rest of this entry »

Let me get this off my hairy chest. Director Peter Jackson has not reinvented or re-imagined King Kong. Jackson has made King Kong. I’m not about to drag out my critic porta-potty and dump on the original. Given the state of the art in 1933, King Kong was and still is a beast to contend with. Read the rest of this entry »

You ever get that creepy feeling that you’re being watched? There is no one else around, but for some reason, the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and paranoia sets in. Is that smoke detector really a smoke detector? Is that unusual hum on the other end of the phone just static (are you listening, Linda Tripp)? Read the rest of this entry »

Delivered with affection and tongue-definitely-in-cheek, “Galaxy Quest” is one big grin of a movie. Arriving amidst the Holiday rush of heavy, dramatic Oscar-contenders, “Galaxy Quest” breaks through with great performances and sharp, witty dialogue. Read the rest of this entry »

Except for that fleeting moment in “Silver Streak” where Richard Pryor teaches Gene Wilder how to be black, I’ve never found the idea of uptight white people getting “Jiggy” with it very funny. In fact, I find the idea offensive, and cringe whenever I see rappers like Vanilla Ice and Eminem, or those “out of control” teens on Jenny Jones, acting like brothers and sisters. Read the rest of this entry »

In “Monty Python’s And Now For Something Completely Different,” there’s a sketch about how the allies created a joke so lethally funny that anyone who hears it dies. The allies planned to use the joke as a secret weapon against the Germans, having it translated one word at a time into and shouted phonetically at the enemy. Read the rest of this entry »

“Don’t Say A Word” could have been a decent thriller if only it had an original thought on its mind. It’s based on the novel by Andrew Klavan, but it feels as if has been pieced together from numerous Alfred Hitchcock movies. Read the rest of this entry »

As “Liar Liar” begins, young Max Reede (Justin Cooper) watches as his grade school teacher scribbles the word “Work” across the blackboard. The subject is what parents do for a living. The usual line-up is unveiled: Fireman. Doctor. Read the rest of this entry »

Ah, Valentine’s Day. Romance is in the air. You’ve already picked out the flowers and candy. All that’s left is the perfect romantic movie. You could rent “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” or “Valentine,” but unless you’re planning a gangland hit or hacking up horny teenagers (okay, who isn’t?), here are some suggestions. Read the rest of this entry »