Movie Review: Rush
Given that both the gasoline-powered internal combustion engine and the motion picture camera came to be at almost the same time, and given that both cars and movies have gone on to hold such special places in American culture, it’s no wonder that Hollywood has had a long love affair with automobiles and racing. From the silent film Racing Hearts (1922), to Disney’s Herbie franchise, t...[Read More]
Trailer Trashin’: Colin Firth is out for Revenge in The Railway Man
The September holding pattern continues as nothing much is happening in movie-land at the moment. But that will change next week, when Rush, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, Don Jon, and Metallica: Through the Never all open. In the meantime, this week’s new installment of Trailer Trashin’ examines our first look at the upcoming war drama The Railway Man. Premise: During World War ...[Read More]
Trailer Trashin’: The Future of Law Enforcement Lacks Substance in RoboCop
We’re in a bit of a lull as far as movie releases are concerned right now, as we wait for the award season films to start rolling in. Of course, this also means we’ll start getting trailers for the movies coming out in 2014. In this week’s installment of Trailer Trashin’, I take aim at the first trailer for next year’s remake of the 1987 Paul Verhoeven masterpiece Rob...[Read More]
Trailer Trashin’: Another Crack at Teen-Lit Jackpot in Divergent
Hello again, dear readers, and I hope you all enjoyed your long Labor Day weekend. Now that the end-of-August releases have landed with their customary thud, we can leave the summer movie season behind and look forward to the fall and winter releases. In the meantime, this week’s new Trailer Trashin’ takes a look at the first teaser for the upcoming sci-fi book adaptation Divergent. Pr...[Read More]
Trailer Trashin’: Mount Vesuvius Goes Boom in Pompeii
It’s the last week of August, and that means the end of the summer movie season is finally here. But as any educated consumer of film can tell you, movies that emphasize spectacle over substance are in no way limited to the summer months. And this week’s Trailer Trashin’ is a great example of this, with our first look at this coming February’s historical action-adventure Po...[Read More]
Movie Review: The World’s End
I am a huge fan of Edgar Wright, the English director who helmed Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007), and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010). Wright is responsible for some of my favorite comedies, and he is a director whose work I will always support. Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz are the first two parts of a thematic trilogy; one not connected by characters or narrative, but instead by sh...[Read More]
Trailer Trashin’: It’s Raiders of the Lost Art in The Monuments Men
At long last, this Friday sees the American release of The World’s End, my last must-see film of the summer. And with the end of August less than two weeks away, it’s high time we start looking ahead to the movies coming our way in the fall and winter. In that spirit, this week’s Trailer Trashin’ column looks at what could be one of the big films of the Christmas season, Ge...[Read More]
Trailer Trashin’: The Mighty Avenger Returns in Thor: The Dark World
Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium opened this past weekend, and while it hasn’t received the near-universal acclaim of its predecessor District 9, by most accounts it is pretty good. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get out to see the movie over the weekend, but I plan to see it sometime this week. This week’s new Trailer Trashin’ column takes another look at one of my most ant...[Read More]
Trailer Trashin’: They Messed with the Wrong Mexican Again in Machete Kills
First off, let me apologize to you, dear readers, for getting this week’s column to you so late – it’s been crazy busy on my end, and this got away from me. In happier news, over the weekend, I finally saw The Wolverine, and I have to say that I liked it more than I thought I would. More importantly, this week finally sees the release of Elysium, which I am planning to see as soon as I...[Read More]
Trailer Trashin’: Keanu Reeves Leads Japanese Warriors in 47 Ronin
[dropcap]I[/dropcap] spent a lot of time at the movies this past weekend. On Friday, I finally got to see Pacific Rim again, and it was just as much fun seeing it a second time. And on Sunday, I saw The Conjuring with a friend, and while I’m certainly not an authority of any kind on horror films, I thought it was quite good. We’re almost to the beginning of August, and the summer movie...[Read More]
Trailer Trashin’: The Hangover Meets Red in Last Vegas
The 2013 summer movie season continues on, with this week seeing the release of The Wolverine. It’s been getting some fairly good buzz, and I’m actually interested in seeing it. In the meantime, this week’s Trailer Trashin’ column looks at the upcoming comedy Last Vegas. Premise: Billy (Michael Douglas), Paddy (Robert De Niro), Archie (Morgan Freeman), and Sam (Kevin Kline)...[Read More]
Movie Review: Red 2
The action-comedy RED (2010), inspired by the limited comic book series of the same name from DC’s Homage Comics imprint, was an unexpected and pleasant surprise for moviegoers when it came out a few years ago. It successfully took what could have been a one-note joke of a concept – elderly spies having to come out of retirement – and turned it into a fun, entertaining movie. And thanks to t...[Read More]