Smoldering with intensity and punctuated by fits of extreme violence, DRIVE is nearly perfect. Ryan Gosling has about a page of dialogue in the whole movie, but words do not always equal acting. The way he carries himself, the way he stares people down, all tell you that underneath the seemingly mild-mannered nice guy, is … Continue reading DRIVE

The biggest sin a movie like Priest can make us to do stuff we've seen thousand times before...done better. The idea of a priest vampire killer with cool religious weapons (throwing stars shaped like crosses, rosary beads, etc) works when the movie focuses on those fresh ideas. But it falls from grace with every cliche … Continue reading PRIEST

Like the victims of a virus for which there is no cure, this movie takes sick quickly, then coughs and splutters its way to a messy death. But unlike those victims, the movie doesn't die quickly, even though it has flatlined long before the credits roll. It seems difficult to make a dull picture about … Continue reading CONTAGION

The director Godard famously wrote that "all you need for a movie is a gun and a girl"... as demonstrated in this brooding, robbery-gone-wrong L.A. noir, descended from BREATHLESS, but by way of the Coen brothers for its black (no, make that blood-red) humor. It's a strange combo. On the one hand, we have Ryan … Continue reading DRIVE

Mildly clever. Some very funny scenes. A likable cast. You'd have to be an idiot to not like OUR IDIOT BROTHER. That's the thing. I liked it. I didn't love it. It's an inoffensive cute comedy about the one brother among four siblings who always tries to put out the good vibe, but invariably botches … Continue reading OUR IDIOT BROTHER

The biggest surprise of the summer? I went bananas over APES! A well thought out, carefully paced franchise reboot that actually gets it right. The star of the movie is not James Franco or Freida Pinto but Andy Serkis and the FX team. Caesar is one of the more memorable creations Hollywood has offered up … Continue reading RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

Well, it's no APOLLO 13. And yet this latest "found footage" thriller succeeds on its own terms with an authentic look and exceptional sound editing. Minimal acting from a trio of unknowns combined with multiple film stock choppily assembled gives the story a realistic feel. But at times the jump cuts and shifts from black … Continue reading APOLLO 18

Premiering on a weekend when, felicitously (from a marketing standpoint), an Australian bodyboarder died after his legs were bitten off by a shark, this Doomed-Teens-On-Vacation-At-The-Lake tale begins in wholly conventional fashion: rockin' half-naked young bodies, a tense encounter with locals at the rural general store, the black guy gets it first, etc. But then SN3D … Continue reading SHARK NIGHT 3D

A debt isn't merely a financial obligation. It gnaws at the psyche and your emotional well being until it is paid or resolved in some meaningful way. Resolving THE DEBT is what drives the three main characters in John Madden's great new thriller. Based on an Israeli film, three Mossad agents are tasked with tracking … Continue reading THE DEBT