“Evolution,” the new science-fiction comedy from director Ivan Reitman, is preoccupied with childish humor. So when a group of amateur scientists out to save the world from an alien invasion encounter the sphincter of a massive alien blob, you just know something nasty is going to happen. It does. Read the rest of this entry »

Does the world really need another thriller about the reverberations of adultery?

In director Adrian Lyne’s “Unfaithful,” we’re asked to believe that content wife and mother Connie Sumner (Diane Lane) would jeopardize her marriage to successful and handsome husband Edward (Richard Gere) for a fling with womanizing book seller Paul (Olivier Martinez). Read the rest of this entry »

Having run out of time zones, zombie recreationist George A. Romero rips and shreds his way through a whole new vision, Land of the Dead. Like the living dead, zombie movies never die. They may lose favor, but each new generation brings with it an insatiable appetite for rotting flesh. How else do you explain the whole Madonna craze back in the 1980’s. Read the rest of this entry »

War is indeed hell. It’s not pretty. It’s not supposed to be. It’s supposed to be horrendous, gritty, and ultimately, numbing. There’s no method to its madness. In one small insignificant way, it’s like making movies. Lots of action followed by long periods of boredom and silence. Read the rest of this entry »

When thick chunks of ice turn Lake Michigan into a frozen wasteland, and blankets of snow pummel the Chicago pavement, everyone turns to local weatherman Dave Spritz. What Spritz does isn’t rocket science. The people of Chicago know it’s cold and miserable. Spritz, as his Pulitzer-prize winning author father reminds him, just reads the weather. He doesn’t create it, and quite frankly, doesn’t understand it. Read the rest of this entry »

Filled with great conceit and whimsy, director E. Elias Merhige’s “Shadow of the Vampire” is the perfect marriage of fact and fantasy. Genuinely creepy, “Shadow of the Vampire” is scarier than anything else out there. Read the rest of this entry »

Set in dark, smoky rooms bathed in harsh flourescent and neon lights, “Rounders” is a somber, moody character study. It’s about good people who have bad habits, and how their compulsive behavior dictates their destiny. Read the rest of this entry »

In order to understand my review of Paparazzi, you first need to know how I feel about them.
In all of the layers of hell, Paparazzi occupy the basement. Actually, they’re the scum on the floor, making it easier for the basement dwellers to poop on them. I understand being a celebrity comes with restrictions, but freedom to live their private life, out of the spotlight, shouldn’t be one of them. Read the rest of this entry »

Ever have one of those days. You know, one that begins in the toilet and only gets worse as the day drags on?

That’s what happens to Wall Street lawyer Gavin Banek (Ben Affleck) and insurance salesman Doyle Gipson (Samuel L. Jackson). Two diversely different men whose mid-morning collision on the FDR Expressway in New York is about to turn them into the same animal. Read the rest of this entry »

“From Dusk Till Dawn” was the perfect example of what happens when all the right talent comes together to make an explosive film. “Texas Blood Money,” the direct-to-video sequel, is the perfect example of what happens when lesser talent tries to duplicate that formula. Read the rest of this entry »