Pain and Gain (2013)

Now THAT’S…more like it. As any even remotely consistent reader of my film reviews will note, I have an undeniable ‘Love/Hate’ relationship with Michael Bay, and his flicks. On one hand, I love his slick visuals, his Tony Scott-inspired editing, his hot (but admittedly shallow and sexist) manner of ‘shooting’ women, and of course, his […]

Olympus Has Fallen (2013)

Being that I just recently went to see the OTHER hijacked White House movie, ‘White House Down’, it’s only natural that I would follow it up with this flick. Whenever Hollywood dumps dual genre flicks with competing themes (See: Volcano vs Dantes Peak, Armageddon vs Deep Impact etc), I always get a kick out of […]

Elysium (2013)

Neill Blomkamp did a remarkable thing when he ‘hit it outta the park’ with his first feature film, which was 2009s excellent ‘District 9’. One of the reasons that ‘D9’ resonated with audiences, especially those under the GEEK banner, was that Blomkamp seamlessly and intelligently melded relevant social commentary with a tangible, dystopian look at […]

The Conjuring (2013)

These last few years have seen a decent turn-out when it comes to the ‘Hauntings’ genre of Horror films and this one, while certainly not the most original, is definitely a solid entry that stands on it’s own disembodied feet. The first ingredient to success in this genre (or ANY genre, for that matter) is […]

2 Guns (2013)

I love the R-Rated ‘buddy’ action flicks of the 80s/90s…and clearly, so does this flick. This is most definitely a loving throwback to movies like the ‘Lethal Weapon’ series (87-98), ’48 Hours’ 1-2 (1982, 1990) and the awesome ‘The Last Boy Scout’ (1990). Movies where the quips and one-liners fly unrestrained and the gunfire and […]

G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)

Ok, as sequels go, this one isn’t exactly The Godfather Part 2, despite the fact that, like that classic film, it undeniably improves on the original. A lot. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) was mostly a cheesy, immature joke, punctuated by a shit-load of half-assed CG that had more in common with the […]

The Wolverine (2013)

Ok, for the MOST part…fans of the X-Men films, and obviously fans of the Logan/Wolverine character, can treat ‘The Wolverine’ as a mumbled apology from 20th Century Fox for the debacle that wound up being Gavin Hoods X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009). This one vastly improves on THAT unfortunate piece of shit. Which is NOT to […]

Pacific Rim (2013)

Wow! (Inner 12 year old claps gleefully). It’s true…this flick really IS Guillermo Del Toro having a geek jerk-off session with a hefty budget…and it’s rather great. I haven’t caught myself unconsciously grinning away in the darkness of a movie theatre in a LONG time, but here…it happened…more than once. ‘Pacific Rim’ is a highly […]

Lovely Molly (2011)

Damn. Now that’s an intense, bleak and depressing movie…and I mean that in the best possible way. Holy shit! Much like ‘Mama’, this was another film that I knew VERY little about going in (seems to be my MO these days). Once more…I’m all the happier (or friggin tense and depressed…now) for it. Lovely Molly […]

Evil Dead (2013)

Now, if you HAVE to do a completely unnecessary remake of a classic low-budget horror flick…THIS is (mostly) THE way to go! Holy shit! This version of ‘The Evil Dead’ (1981) goes for the friggin jugular (at times, literally)…and doesn’t let go! I’m a big Sam Raimi/Bruce Campbell fan, and the original Evil Dead series […]