There is a lot to admire about this dark, smart and gritty science fiction thriller. In some ways, it deserves the accolades it is earning. Yet while I watched District 9, I thought it was a very good film of this type, but I also found it to be unpleasant and in need of more likeable characters. [Read more →]
Before we begin let me say I love, perhaps to an unhealthy extent, the following hobbies: Dungeons & Dragons, Warhammer 40K, reading graphic novels, and fantasy football. I love the Phillies and Flyers too, but fantasy baseball/hockey isn’t my thing. Finally, this isn’t just a review — it’s also a public strategizing session. [Read more →]
During a Q&A at a preview screening of Julie and Julia, Julie Powell (the real life Julie from the film) was asked if this film was “food porn.” Powell did not think so, and I agree with her. People who like lingering shots of voluptuous food will enjoy Julie and Julia. But you do not have to like cooking at all to love this story of two women with similar names and similar desires who triumphed over similar challenges. [Read more →]
“Just what America needs, another quirky comedy,” says Michael Cera to Charlyne Yi when he hears about her new documentary. Part documentary, part mockumentary, part performance art and wholly enjoyable, Paper Heart is quirky and original, and very different from the slew of romantic comedies dropped on America this summer. [Read more →]
I just watched Schindler’s List again. It’s a film that tutors you in subtle response. I first saw it in 2002, when I was 26; I thought it good but too discreetly brutal, not quite as blood-spattered as I’d expected. My next viewing, in 2007, was very different: I’d seen enough cinema to be stunned by Spielberg’s craft, but I must also have grown subtler in my moral reckonings: the film seemed very brutal, visceral. I wrote a post about it on my notorious blog. [Read more →]
Summer movies, including G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, are categorical: comedy or action (in this case action); R or PG-13 (PG-13); solid film or an incoherent pile of explosions clipped together (solid film); enjoyable or crap-tac-u-lar (enjoyable). I’ll grant you G.I. Joe isn’t great; it’s not Star Trek, but you get your ten bucks worth. I particularly like all of Dennis Quad’s Joe lines such as, “There are still a lot of Joes out there.” This is a super-short review, but I feel anyone who has read this blurb knows if they’ll like the movie, and knowing is half the battle!
The first thousand times I saw Adolf Hitler shout “Nine! Nine! Nine! Nine! Nine!” followed by Brad Pitt’s “Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes!” during TV commercials for Quentin Tarantino’s Nazi-killing summer blockbuster Inglourious Basterds, I didn’t even notice that “Bastards” is spelled wrong and that “Inglorious” has an extra “u”. The second thousand times I saw the trailer for the still unrated movie, I started fantasizing about going into the Tarantino killing business. I’m well into my third thousandth viewing of this movie ad, which ranges from 30 seconds to two minutes depending on whether you’re watching cable or commercial TV or the Internet, and the disturbing thing is that I’m bound to see it at least 5K times before this movie opens in theaters on August 21. It’s everywhere, this trailer. And the more I see the trailer the less I want to see the movie. [Read more →]
“You should know up front, this is not a love story,” a lugubrious voice intones at the start of (500) Days of Summer. I had been anxious to see this film since viewing the first trailer, and this seemed a promising start. (500) Days of Summer has some great gimmicks and many enjoyable moments, as it takes a fresh look at the course of a relationship. But the relationship between Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Summer (Zooey Deschanel) is ultimately not compelling enough to sustain the film and seems unworthy of such scrutiny. [Read more →]
I really enjoy bagpipe music. Groups like Flogging Molly, The Dropkick Murphys and The Pogues have a resonance with me. On August 3rd I saw The Tartan Terrors perform at Musikfest. They were hysterical and awesome.
When Adam Sandler and writer/director Judd Apatow were roommates and struggling comics, Sandler would entertain himself by making prank phone calls. Apatow found them so amusing that he videotaped them. Funny People begins with this real footage, and then we see present day comic star George Simmons (Sandler) sadly watching his younger self. Like the opening, Funny People is hilarious in parts and surprisingly moving. Funny People‘s only flaw is that with a running time of two hours and twenty six minutes, it needs another edit. However, Apatow gets excellent performances from the talented pals who often populate his films, and despite its length, this entertaining film is worth the ticket price and the time. [Read more →]
I know you’re not supposed to formally review a play your friends class put on for a single performance at the end of a semester. But given all the blogging sh*t that goes, I feel I should point to something worthwhile. And The Peculiar City of Wholman Lunk is an excellent play from a rising talent.
One would think that the author of the international bestseller “Me and God” would have a better answer to a philosophical inquiry about the afterlife than “Hell is other people.” But reclusive author Arlen Faber (Jeff Daniels) is more misanthrope than spiritual guide, or so it seems. While the plot of The Answer Man is a bit too predictable, the characters are quirky and likeable and the sparkling performances of leads Jeff Daniels and Lauren Graham are hard to resist. [Read more →]
Evvery year tons of cool movies slip through the non-mainstream theaters unnoticed. Many of these movies are good, but have a narrower range of appeal than say Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. When I was an undergraduate back at Drexel I used to review those “Ritz” movies all the time. Now, if I see two a year I’m thrilled. Moon starring Sam Rockwell is one such movie. [Read more →]
As Professor Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) says to the advanced potions class, “Let the brewing commence.” And with that, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and company are once again battling dark forces in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, based on the penultimate book in J.K. Rowling’s series. Harry and his friends are growing up and falling in love, Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) is still mentoring Harry and quidditch makes its long awaited return. Casual fans of the Potter film series (like me) will enjoy the darker story. It may not be the best in the series, but Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is fun and enjoyable. [Read more →]
Apparently, I am not the only reader who thinks Jane Austen’s novels could use a little more excitement. Last month, I reviewed Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which I loved. Today, via USA Today, I got the news that Quirk Productions is negotiating a movie deal for the surprise best seller! And there are more monster novels on the way. [Read more →]
Everyone and their cousin had reviews out before I went to the midnight premier with a few thousand other people in King of Prussia. And the odds are you’re only reading the reviews to find out if your favorite scene from the book made it into the movie: my two favorites didn’t. The bottom line is everyone has made their opinions and decided whether or not to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Instead of driving home a series of points about why you should see it, I just want everyone to know that Harry Potter 6 reminded me of Star Wars Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back.
WARNING: This post is full of spoilers.
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The advertisements for Humpday may suggest a comedy about gay porn, but do not let that influence your decision to see this film. Writer/director Lynne Shelton will tell you that the “sexy hook” is a red herring, and that the film is about many other things. Humpday is screamingly funny in places, and it made me squirm with discomfort and laugh at the same time. Part of the funny comes from the serious emotions these likable characters feel. Unlike the immature stock characters in The Hangover, I know people like these guys; their complaints are uncomfortably familiar. Humpday is a small film. It may not change your life, but it is funny, original and real. [Read more →]
10. Harry admits he learned all his tricks from the Amazing Kreskin.
9. Harry’s latest supernatural power: levitating his pants.
8. Harry enters the 21st Century by trading in his broom for a vacuum cleaner.
7. Lord Voldemort is revealed to be Dick Cheney.
6. Harry is stripped of all his Quidditch medals when he tests positive for steroids.
5. Harry uses his cloak of invisibility to sneak into the girls’ locker room.
4. Harry is dating Susan Boyle.
3. Like in Star Wars, it turns out Harry Potter and Hermione Granger are brother and sister.
2. Alone, late at night, Harry likes to play with his magic wand.
1. It turns out Harry Potter and Ron Weasley are brother and sister.
Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.
This review maybe a little late, but my girlfriend isn’t — life is good.
I’ve been a Dillinger fan since Professor Don Riggs of Drexel University explained the “Dillinger Relic” in Science Fiction Literature class, and the publication which shared its name, DR. This interest was backed up in several interviews with Kurt Vonnegut where he discusses his adoration for the America bank robber. So, Public Enemies was pretty much a sure thing for me. While a violent action film, the movie carries a significant moral question that is present but not overwhelming.
Can you think of anything more hilarious than three adult men waking up in a trashed Las Vegas hotel room with a tiger, a baby and no memory of the previous night’s drunken revelry? Unfortunately, director Todd Phillips and writers Jon Lucas and Scott Moore could not. Although The Hangover has a few laugh-inducing scenes, we do not really care about the story or the characters. But the biggest problem with this film is that it is just not that funny. [Read more →]
