A Good Day to Die Hard (2013)

I have to say it simply: Die Hard 5 is the ‘Kingdom of the Crystal Skull/Alien Resurrection’ of the Die Hard franchise. Compared to the films that came before it, including the much-maligned Live Free or Die Hard (2007), this entry is absolutely PATHETIC. The entire essence of what made the Die Hard franchise so […]

Fast and Furious 6 (2013)

(Long, drawn-out facepalm). Utterly. Ridiculous. Those two words pretty much sum up this umpteenth sequel in the preposterous Fast and Furious series. It’s not too often that a sub-par genre franchise can dupe me into believing that the longer it goes…the better it gets. Now, right off the bat, I’m NOT a fan of this […]

The Big Red One (The 2004 ‘Reconstruction’ version of the 1980 film)

I’m almost ashamed to admit that in all my cinematic travels, this World War 2 classic has escaped my attention till now. What’s even stranger is that WW2 is one of my favorite historical time periods and some of my most rewatched films (Saving Private Ryan, Empire of the Sun, A Bridge Too Far, The […]

Vanishing on 7th Street (2010)

Over the last few years, director Brad Anderson has steadily crept into my cinematic consciousness with his limited but impressive filmography. The first film of his, that I saw, was Session 9 (2001), a micro-budgeted psychological/haunting thriller that was better than it had any right to be. The next film I took in was The […]

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Having thoroughly enjoyed J.J. Abrams rebooted take on the Trek franchise with 2009s Star Trek, I was definitely looking forward to seeing what he would pull off with an expansion of the ‘new’ universe. The man certainly has a near-Spielbergian touch when it comes to his cinematic efforts (Just take 2011s Super 8, as a […]

Jack Reacher (2012)

This Tom Cruise action thriller sort of popped in under the radar for me. I’ve never read any of author Lee Childs books dealing with a dangerous and intelligent former military police investigator and his various crime-related adventures. The one thing that did catch my eye was that this flick was to be the second […]

Iron Man 3 (2013)

Seemingly, Marvel Studios can do NEARLY no wrong. Iron Man 3 is yet another testament to the care and understanding that this new studio is putting into its admirably well-thought out series of Phase One Marvel movies (Iron Man 1-2, Thor, Captain America, The Avengers…with Iron Man 3 being the springboard for Phase Two). Now, […]

The Possession (2012)

Well, I do love me a good demonic possession/haunted house flick, and this little offering from Sam Raimis Ghosthouse Pictures qualifies nicely in both categories. The supposedly ‘based on a true’ story follows Clyde, a high school PE teacher, played with impressive depth by the ever-awesome Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Watchmen), as he and his family, […]

Killer Joe (2011)

Wow. Once again Ignorance has served me well. Hmmm….that’s a disconcerting sentence when said out loud. But in the case of Killer Joe…it’s completely accurate. I knew virtually nothing about this flick when it got its initial limited release. This film marks the return of classic film maestro William Friedkin, the man at the helm […]

Oblivion (2013)

Well, Mr. Scientology himself, Thomas Cruise Mapother IV strikes again, once more returning to the ‘hard’ sci-fi genre line-up he began with Minority Report (2002). This time around, he plays a ‘tech’ named Jack Harper, essentially a roving sentry/repairman who’s primary responsibility is to watch out for the fleet of sphere-like automated drones that patrol […]