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Interview with Kevin Hart and Regina Hall, the co-stars of About Last Night
This Valentine’s Day the remake of the classic romantic comedy, About Last Night descends on theaters. The film, from director Steve Pink (Hot Tub Time Machine), is more of a reimagining of the 1986 and actually has more in common with the David Mamet play Sexual Perversity in Chicago on which both films are based. The new contemporary version two couples as they journey from the bar to the bedroo...[Read More]
Trailer Trashin’: The Sentinel of Liberty is Back in Captain America: The Winter Soldier
First off dear readers, I have to apologize to you for not bringing you my promised Super Bowl movie spot roundup last week. Unfortunately, the first part of last week ended up being crazy busy for me, and it got away from me. But I can tell you that the spot for Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier was by far my favorite. In the meantime, we got a new trailer for the upcoming superh...[Read More]
Pre-Code Hollywood 2: Music, Comedy, Action and Adventure
Pre-Code Hollywood studios spent millions transitioning their medium to sound and other new technologies that brought about major advances in photography, lighting, and set design. But there were still five million unemployed people in the United States and many more just getting by. The studios were losing money, many of them going bankrupt. By 1930 the breadlines were longer than the ticket line...[Read More]
Pre-Code Hollywood: Gangsters, Monsters, and Dames
I must have been about 12 years old when I first saw Tarzan and His Mate. I loved the Tarzan movies. Tarzan was the undisputed King of the Jungle and was the greatest, Cheetah was man’s best friend, Boy was annoying, and Jane was the Queen of the Jungle and a young male’s introduction to the allure of the female. The uncensored version, with a naked Jane silhouetted while changing clothes in a bac...[Read More]
Trailer Trashin’: Sam Rockwell and Olivia Wilde Live It Up in Better Living Through Chemistry
Hello again, dear readers. It’s the last week of January, and that means that we’re almost halfway through the early-year movie doldrums. This week’s installment of Trailer Trashin’ takes a look at this spring’s upcoming comedy-drama Better Living Through Chemistry. Premise: Straight-laced pharmacist Douglas Varney’s (Sam Rockwell) uneventful life spirals out of...[Read More]
Trailer Trashin’: Nick Frost Gets His Groove Back in Cuban Fury
Let me start by apologizing for my longer-than-expected absence, dear readers. I’ve been very busy lately, and there’s been a serious lack of trailers which I felt compelled to write about. But I’m finally back, and this week I’m revisiting the upcoming British comedy Cuban Fury. Premise: Former teen salsa champion Bruce Garrett (Nick Frost) is now a sad-sack engineer. But ...[Read More]
Trailer Trashin’: Johnny Depp Goes into the Machine in Transcendence
Happy New Year, dear readers! For all of you who celebrate Christmas, I hope you had a good one, and it’s at last time for us to ring in 2014. This slightly belated first Trailer Trashin’ column of the year takes a look at another of my anticipated films of this year, Transcendence. Premise: Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) is the foremost researcher in the field of artificial intelligenc...[Read More]
Hustlin’ His Way to the Top: The Films of David O. Russell
It’s a very exciting time to be a film junkie. Gone are the days when a film’s art house appeal meant it had to be subtitled. Now we have our very own cadre of American filmmakers all jockeying for the spot of top dog. David Fincher, Darren Aronofsky, Quentin Tarantino, the Coen Brothers, and P.T. Anderson are all in contention for the title of our generation’s greatest director. However, there is...[Read More]
Trailer Trashin’: The King of the Monsters Returns in Godzilla
Hollywood is being good to us this December, dear readers. This past weekend brought us The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – which is a lot of fun, and I definitely recommend it – and this week sees the release of American Hustle and Saving Mr. Banks, both of which I’m quite looking forward to. And in even more good news, this week’s Trailer Trashin’ column is one I’ve bee...[Read More]
The Detroit Film Critics Society Announces 2013 Awards
The Detroit Film Critics Society is pleased to announce the best of 2013 in ten categories. The society was founded in Spring 2007 and consists of a group of twenty Michigan film critics who write or broadcast in the Detroit area as well as other major cities within a 150-mile radius of the city including Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing, and Flint, Michigan. Each critic submitted their...[Read More]
The Five Best Martin Scorsese Films
Hollywood has always had a peculiar way of treating its artists. Usually after celebrating an initial spark of genius, the studios, media, or loyal fans often watch the once promising talent fizzle out with a bang, or more times, with a quiet whimper. Either way, it remains a difficult feat to stay relevant in Hollywood. Martin Scorsese is an example of the rare filmmaker who has been working for ...[Read More]
Trailer Trashin’: Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is Back in The Amazing Spider-Man 2
We’re another week closer to Christmas, and I was very happy to see Frozen take the top spot at the box office this past weekend. In the meantime, this week’s new Trailer Trashin’ examines yet another of next year’s big upcoming films – The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Premise: Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) continues to struggle with balancing his life as a high school student an...[Read More]