The Box (2009) Movie Review

If you’re a fan of writer-director Richard Kelly, or even just mildly interested in his career, the trailers for “The Box” might convince you it’s the kind of movie everyone was waiting for him to make. After two confusing and overindulgent films (cult favorite “Donnie Darko”, and the not-so-cult...

November 9th, 2009 | Read More

The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009) Movie Review

“The Men Who Stare at Goats”, starring and produced by George Clooney, is an adaption of Jon Ronson’s 2004 nonfiction book about alleged psychic experiments conducted by the U.S. military. Like “The Informant!”, another Clooney-produced movie, “Goats” is ostensibly based on true events,...

October 24th, 2009 | Read More

The Road (2009) Movie Review

“The Road” is an adaptation of the 2006 novel of the same name by author Cormac McCarthy, whose novel “No Country for Old Men” was adapted into last year’s Best Picture Oscar winner. “The Road” obviously has similar aspirations: It’s a haunting, beautifully crafted film with great performances,...

October 16th, 2009 | Read More

PVC-1 (2007) Movie Review

Somewhere deep in rural Colombia, a gang of brutal thugs invades a family’s home, holding a husband and wife and their three small children at gunpoint. The thugs are after a large sum of money allegedly hidden in the house, but the father swears on his life that his family is poor and have never seen...

October 1st, 2009 | Read More

Boot Camp (2007) Movie Review

In “Boot Camp”, director Christian Duguay has given us a strange mishmash of a film. At first glance, the movie seems to be a well-intentioned exposé of the abuses in juvenile detention camps, so-called “tough love” boot camps where at-risk teens are sent in lieu of rehab or prison. But at some...

August 25th, 2009 | Read More

S. Darko (2009) Movie Review

“S. Darko“ is the direct-to-DVD cash-in sequel to “Donnie Darko“, writer-director Richard Kelly’s mystifying 2001 tale of teenage angst and existentialism with a time travel twist. When news originally broke that a sequel was being made without the involvement of Kelly, “Donnie Darko“ fans...

August 1st, 2009 | Read More

Kill Switch (2008) Movie Review

Formerly one of the top action movie stars of the ’90s, Steven Seagal has spent the last several years phoning it in, starring in a stream of direct-to-DVD movies which, with only a few exceptions, are all terrible. “Kill Switch” is not one of those few exceptions, but it is a rare...

May 24th, 2009 | Read More

Driven to Kill (2009) Movie Review

“Driven to Kill” is Steven Seagal’s second direct-to-DVD film this year. Yes, his second movie released on DVD in the year 2009, and movie #3 is already in the can. There’s really no way to keep track of all the DTV films Seagal has made since his career in theatrical releases...

May 20th, 2009 | Read More

Never Surrender (2009) Movie Review

As the DVD artwork proudly proclaims, “Never Surrender” stars “the world’s top MMA fighters in their first feature film!” In addition to kickboxing champion Hector Echavarria, who not only wrote and directed, but also stars as the lead, the film boasts the presence of professional...

April 29th, 2009 | Read More

Observe and Report (2009) Movie Review

In “Observe and Report”, Seth Rogen (“Zack and Miri Make a Porno”, “Pineapple Express”)plays Ronnie Barnhardt, a security guard with delusions of grandeur. In Ronnie’s mind, he is the law, and the only thing standing between order and chaos at the local mall....

April 14th, 2009 | Read More

Weapons (2007) Movie Review

The first three minutes of “Weapons” are easily the most memorable part of the movie. The opening credits play out over slow-motion footage of a character eating a cheeseburger, and even though the action is mundane, the scene is dreamlike, almost hypnotic. And then, a horrible act of violence...

March 28th, 2009 | Read More

Howard the Duck (1986) Movie Review

One has to wonder if a movie like Howard the Duck really even requires a review. Maybe it’s enough to ask one simple question: Does the concept of a wisecracking duck (or rather, a dwarf actor in an animatronic duck suit) battling the forces of evil while romancing the lead singer of an all-girl...

March 21st, 2009 | Read More