Pages

Friday, December 29, 2017

Gina Carano Plays A Post-Apocalyptic Bounty Hunter In This 'Scorched Earth' Trailer



If you’ve ever wanted to watch a direct-to-video post-apocalyptic western starring former MMA champion Gina Carano directed by the guy who helmed Sliding Doors, today is your day. Take a gander at the trailer for Scorched Earth, which delivers just what I promised.

Thursday, December 28, 2017

The Top 15 Movies Of 2017



Every year, I debate whether or not to make a year-end best-of list. I hate ranking movies (or giving them grades for that matter), and where a movie falls, or even what’s included, varies day-by-day, even hour-by-hour depending on my mood and what I remember.

'Mom And Dad' Trailer: Nicolas Cage Sings The Hokey Pokey And Smashes A Pool Table With A Sledgehammer



Somehow, and I’m not sure how this happened, I never knew that what my life really lacked was Nicolas Cage, screaming “The Hokey Pokey,” while smashing a pool table with a sledgehammer. I know, I know, that should have been obvious from the word go, but it took this Mom and Dad trailer to make me see the light. But now I have, and it is glorious.

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

'In The Fade' (2017) Movie Review



I’m here all day for Diane Kruger fighting Nazis. The only problem with Faith Akin’s In the Fade is that, instead of focusing on that part of the story, it turns into a middling Law & Order episode.

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

'Molly's Game' (2017) Movie Review



As a writer, Aaron Sorkin has an ability to make me care about topics I don’t usually give two shits about. I’m not particularly interested in the d-bags who created Facebook, but The Social Network makes that story as compelling as it’s going to get. The same goes for Steve Jobs (Steve Jobs), Sabermetrics (Moneyball), and Tom Cruise as a lawyer (A Few Good Men). His directorial debut, Molly’s Game, for which he also wrote the script, follows a familiar pattern.

'Den Of Thieves' Trailer Is The Most Macho Thing You'll See All Day



I should know better by now, I really should, but I can’t help but be irrationally excited for Den of Thieves. I know, I know, it’s a mid-January action movie that looks dumb as shit and macho beyond belief, but it also looks 100% my jam. Watching this new trailer, I can’t help myself, I giggled and clapped the entire time.

Friday, December 22, 2017

'Love And Saucers' (2017) Movie Review



Earnest is the best way to describe David Huggins. He’s an affable elder gentleman who works part time in a Hoboken deli, spends his spare time painting, and, oh yeah, lost his virginity to an extraterrestrial. Documentaries are often only as interesting as their subjects, and Brad Abrahams’ Love and Saucers: The Far Out World of David Huggins certainly has an eccentric focus.

Thursday, December 21, 2017

'Downsizing' (2017) Movie Review



It’s easy to describe most of Alexander Payne’s filmography as “white dudes learn an important lesson: the movie.” And to that end, his latest, Downsizing, feels right at home among titles like Election and Nebraska. Where it stands out is that it finds the director splashing around in the science fiction pool for the first time. The film bears an intriguing satiric premise, tips its hat to all manner of interesting thematic concerns related to that conceit, and begins with promise, only to shit the bed in complete, spectacular, baffling fashion.

The 2017 Seattle Film Critics Society Award Winners



It’s award season, mother fuckers! I’m fortunate enough to be part of the inaugural class of the Seattle Film Critics Society (they shot down my name suggestion: Seattle Movie Nerd Party Club). We’ve voted on and handed out awards a few times under this moniker, but before now it’s been a loose collection of like-minded film weirdos, not an actual group with like officers, by-laws, and things like that. I wrote about the nominees the other day, but now the final votes have been tallied and the winners are here. Drumroll please…

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

'Sicario 2: Soldado' Trailer Starts A War With Everyone



Do we really need a sequel to Denis Villeneuve’s 2015 cartel thriller Sicario? Especially one without the lead character or director from that film? Probably not. But that’s not going to stop Sicario 2: Soldado from happening, and thanks to this first trailer, I’m here for it’s DTV vibe and promise of excessive violence.

Thursday, December 14, 2017

The 2017 Seattle Film Critics Society Awards Nominations



As 2017 wraps up (high fives to everyone for making it through this clusterfuck of a year!) it’s that time where groups and guilds and collections of people who watch a lot of movies get together to vote for the best of the year. I’m fortunate enough to be a part of a couple of these groups (because my opinion is the best one, obviously), including the newly minted Seattle Film Critics Society.

'The Shape Of Water' (2017) Movie Review



Guillermo del Toro’s latest, The Shape of Water, reminds me of so many of the director’s other films. It contains lush, gorgeous, fantastic elements that astound, tease the imagination, and take your breath away. But it also contains flat, bland, lame-ass choices and needless grandstanding that kills momentum and waters down the impact of what’s otherwise a lovely love letter to classic movies and sweeping cinematic romance.

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

This 'Annihilation' Trailer Leans Heavy On The Sci-Fi Action



According to one of the producers, we might not be smart enough to understand it (we’re just dumb old movie fans after all), but I’m still rather jazzed about Alex Garland’s Annihilation. The adaptation of the first book in Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach trilogy just dropped a new trailer. Check it out below.

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

'The Post' (2017) Movie Review



Steven Spielberg’s The Post doesn’t surprise anyone. One, it tells a famous, well-known story; two, it’s obvious from moment one where it’s heading; and three, it’s not trying to pull a Houdini and execute any startling narrative gymnastics. It also won’t surprise anyone that The Post is excellent, occasionally thrilling, and watching Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, and Spielberg together is like watching a goddamn symphony.