Having never seen the original TV series, I assume I missed a lot of the inside jokes used in the film 21 Jump Street (2012). Now I’m up to speed. If there was anything to miss in 22 Jump Street, I’m sure I didn’t miss it. Script issues top the list of this film’s problems … Read more
EOT is a sci-fi thriller about time travel and monsters that cost $178 to make. But if you’ve seen the original Starship Troopers (1997), you’ll feel like you’ve been here before. The monsters appear to be close relatives. The movie’s plot also recalls Battle Los Angeles (2011), except that this time the action takes place … Read more
Comedy and westerns have been around for a long time. In the 1930s and 1940s comedy teams like the Marx Brothers, Abbott and Costello, and Laurel and Hardy all strapped on their six guns and mounted up. In the 1950s, the Bowery Boys followed, rehashing the same slapstick. Large-scale “A” films took up the chase … Read more
Some readers may have stopped reading at “1966.” Don’t. This film influenced George Lucas’ Star Wars and was an obsession of sorts for Peter Jackson, director of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Skip to the end if you can’t hang in. The Blue Max was envisioned as a grand epic film typical of the … Read more
Released on the 60th anniversary of the original Godzilla, the one thing I can say about the newest Godzilla is this: it is really loud. Beyond that, it’s mostly special effects. Godzilla doesn’t even make an appearance until over an hour into the two-hour plus run time. And the first time a monster appears, it’s … Read more
Headed for DVD soon, MNO opened the day before Mother’s Day, and the story line opens on Mother’s Day as well. It’s a simple and familiar story told with a lot of good natured humor and cleverness. The pace is steady from the start to the final fade out. It’s all about a 30-something mom, … Read more
At 142 minutes this is the longest Spider-Man movie to date. For some reason it seems like 242 minutes. There’s not a lot of magic created in this film. Not much humor either; just an abundance of angst and emotion. All of this involves lots of talking and on-screen suffering. You’re forced to sit through … Read more
Actor Paul Walker died in a fiery car crash on November 30 of last year when leaving an event in Valencia, Calif. (near the Magic Mountain theme park). Apparently the driver of the Porsche he was a rider in was speeding 100 mph on Valencia city streets before hitting a tree. PW was a big … Read more
Bears is the 2014 annual Earth Day nature film released by Disney Studios. They have released eight of these films so far, with one in the works for 2015. I went to, and reviewed, the first film in 2007, Earth. About 15 minutes into that film I had a strong feeling of deja vu. At … Read more
Almost everybody knows about triathlons, the Tour de France and marathons. All are endurance races that test competitors to their very limits. However, there’s one race that’s been held since 1982, which, until I saw Stephen Auerbach’s documentary Bicycle Dreams, I had no idea existed. It’s the endurance trial to end all endurance trials, called … Read more