Review: “Lucy”
It's almost impossible to sit through Lucy without pondering what could have been. A ham-fisted fusion of high-concept science fiction and lowbrow action from...
Review: “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”
Say what you want about their production values, particularly the cheesy, rubbery make-up the actors were forced to wear in the older films, but...
Review: “Deliver Us From Evil”
A poor man's The Exorcist grafted to a by-the-numbers police procedural, Scott Derrickson's Deliver Us from Evil gets more mileage from its hybrid premise...
Review: “Snowpiercer”
Adapted from Jacques Lob and Jean-Marc Rochette's obscure 1982 graphic novel Le Transperceneige by South Korean writer-director Joon-ho Bong, the politically charged Snowpiercer is...
Review: “Transformers: Age of Extinction”
As I walked into my screening for the latest Michael Bay explosion-fest, "Transformers: Age of Extinction," a giant standup poster greeted me, touting my...
Review: “Jersey Boys”
Clint Eastwood may not seem like the best person to direct a musical. When you look back at his filmography, even in recent years...
Review: “The Rover”
Writer-director David Michod's spare tale of hard-scrabble life, brutal and sudden death, and alienation in a collapsed Australia is as frustrating as it is...
Review: “22 Jump Street”
If someone asked me what the most surprisingly good movie in recent memory has been, I would confidently answer, "21 Jump Street." The film...
Review: “How to Train Your Dragon 2”
It's a rare sequel - animated or otherwise - that expands the story of its predecessor without rehashing it, and an even rarer family-oriented...
Review: “The Fault in Our Stars”
It's easy to roll your eyes when a film's central theme is cancer. While such an affliction is inarguably sad, its handling in the...
Review: “Edge of Tomorrow”
Doug Liman had dropped the radar as a filmmaker for most of the past decade, but with the surprisingly smart and suitably bombastic science...
Review: “X-Men: Days of Future Past”
Returning as director to the franchise he put on the movie map after an absence of more than a decade, Bryan Singer has turned...
Review: “Godzilla”
It's been ten years since Toho Studios put the Godzilla franchise in mothballs after the release of the sub-par 50th anniversary feature Godzilla: Final...
Review: “Neighbors”
Comedies, perhaps more than any other genre, are subjective. While all can agree that a drama about the loss of a child is inherently...
Review: “The Amazing Spider-Man 2”
Fledgling director Marc Webb displayed promise when the bumpy but enjoyable Amazing Spider-Man hit the big screen in 2012. It was rough around the...
Review: “Oculus”
An atypical horror movie that could have been great but instead settled for mediocrity and recycled tropes, "Oculus" is a frustrating near-miss. By focusing...
Review: “The Raid 2”
Gareth Evans' follow-up to the Indonesian martial arts action cult hit "The Raid" takes an approach almost diametrically opposed to that of its predecessor...
Review: “Sabotage”
A loud, visceral, and messy assault on the senses - and not in a fun way - actor/California governor/actor again Arnold Schwarzenegger's Sabotage delivers...
Review: “Muppets Most Wanted”
The Muppets are some of the most endearing pop culture icons in history. They're just so darn lovable that even in their most kid-centric...
Review: “Need for Speed”
With the popularity of franchises like "The Fast and the Furious," it was only a matter of time before a film adaptation of the...
Review: “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
For years now the whimsical movie stylings of Wes Anderson have regularly been dismissed as something of an acquired taste, as rambling, self-indulgent musings...
Review: “300: Rise of an Empire”
Believe it or not, the pseudo-sequel "300: Rise of an Empire" manages to one-up its predecessor, in the sense that it's even more gratuitous,...
Review: “Non-Stop”
When a film's opening shots consist of its protagonist prepping a hard drink for himself, it's hard to not assume the events that follow...
Review: “Pompeii”
Granted, no one can (or should) go into "A Film by Paul W. S. Anderson" expecting quality film-making, so in a certain sense his...
Review: “Robocop”
If you ask me, the original 1987 "RoboCop" is no classic. It's an entertaining movie, to be sure, but the "classic" status given to...
Review: “The LEGO Movie”
When "The LEGO Movie" was announced, the world let out a collective groan. While the beloved brand has branched out in recent years to...
Review: “The Monuments Men”
A lukewarm effort that fails to adequately plumb the depths of a winning premise, director/actor/screenwriter George Clooney's "The Monuments Men" positions itself to make...
Review: “That Awkward Moment”
When Zac Efron, Michael B. Jordan and Miles Teller feature in what looks to be a standard rom com, you'd rightly hope that these...
Review: “Labor Day”
Jason Reitman showed an amazing degree of emotional acuity with his first three movies: Thank You for Smoking (2005), Juno (2007), and Up...
Review: “Ride Along”
I heard a radio spot on my drive to the screening for "Ride Along" that spoke quite highly of it, in which it called...