MOVIE REVIEW – GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
James Gunn not only got it right, but he’s possibly pulled off the best Marvel movie yet.
Reviews
DVD, BLU-RAY & STREAMING – CHEAP THRILLS
There is so much wrong going on in “Cheap Thrills,” but none of it is the acting, writing or production.
MOVIE REVIEW – EDGE OF TOMORROW
This is a well-tuned machine that provides a fun trip to the movies that can be enjoyed by just about anyone young and old.
MOVIE REVIEW – THE FAULT IN OUR STARS
Hollywood makes quick work of cannibalizing sister medias in order to shorten the costly creative process.
SHORT FILM REVIEW – E.M.M.A.
When shorts are in the hands of seasoned and learned professionals, they can be a great encompassing example of artistic capability. Such is the case with “E.M.M.A.” by Stephen Herman at Broken Box Inc.
MOVIE REVIEW – THE BIG ASK
Characters make you laugh and cry and laugh again. And in the middle of it all is a very compelling and touching story about friendship.
DVD, BLU-RAY & STREAMING – BIG BAD WOLVES
The filmmakers have not opted for the straight forward horrific narrative, but tease us with twisted dark humor that makes us chuckle and gasp at the same time.
MOVIE REVIEW – NEIGHBORS
“Neighbors”, the newest Seth Rogen vehicle starring Seth Rogen as Seth Rogen, is a crude college(ish) comedy with enough dick jokes to make “The Wolf of Wall Street” look like “Bears”.
MOVIE REVIEW – BACKMASK
A careful blend of humor and horror is what made the “Nightmare on Elm Street” and “Scream” franchises so successful, and “Backmask” has captured that lightning in a bottle.
SHORT FILM SHOWCASE – HORROR
Justin Bowler reviews two indie horror shorts screened at The Phoenix Film Festival’s International Horror & Sci-Fi Film Festival
SHORT FILM REVIEW – THE CARRIAGE OR: DRACULA & MY MOTHER
I love shorts and indies because they are willing to try new things. The vision of the filmmaker is often refreshing and innovative. That is exactly the way I would describe Ben Gordon’s short film: refreshing and innovative.
MOVIE REVIEW – LOCKE
Movie Guy Justin Bowler reviews “Locke”, which was the opening night film at The Phoenix Film Festival.
DVD, BLU-RAY & STREAMING MOVIE REVIEW – CUJO
My 16-year old niece (who, I will be the first to admit, is smarter than the average teenager, but yet still representative of her age group) and her friends can tell you that a scary dog is referred to as Cujo. But they have no idea why.
MOVIE REVIEW – ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE
I’ve never seen a vampire resemble what I would actually imagine a person with all the time in the world would resemble until I saw this movie.
INDIE REPORT – CROSSLAND
Indie films tend to fall into one category: Indie Films. “Crossland” is the well-earned exception. Not just an indie film, but a FOREIGN-HORROR-INDIE film.
MOVIE REVIEW – THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
It’s [Wes Anderson’s] best movie since “The Life Aquatic” and arguably his third best with that and “Rushmore”. He’s honed his peculiar craft and brought together an endlessly enjoyable menagerie of pathos and comedy buttressed by talented collaborators.
OSCAR NOMINEE REVIEWS – CAPTAIN PHILLIPS, THE WOLF OF WALL STREET & PHILOMENA
Rounding out the last of the Oscar-nominated Best Picture films, Movie Guy Paul Preston reviews “Philomena”, “The Wolf of Wall Street” and his pick for best of 2013, “Captain Phillips”
OSCAR NOMINEE MOVIE REVIEW – NEBRASKA
One of Alexander Payne’s great strengths as a filmmaker is in showing how great drama is always meshed with surrounding comedy.
OSCAR NOMINEE MOVIE REVIEW – DALLAS BUYERS CLUB
Matthew and Jared are going to win the Oscar. But, I’m not on this bandwagon! Let the review begin.
OSCAR NOMINEE MOVIE REVIEW – 12 YEARS A SLAVE
We want new stories. Enter a film about American slavery based on a book written in 1853. Sure, the story isn’t new, the subject matter is familiar, yet the execution is completely innovative.
OSCAR NOMINEE MOVIE REVIEW – GRAVITY
In a movie age where more and more is being thrown on the screen – more computer effects, bigger armies of monsters and baddies, numbingly epic running times – “Gravity” shows the beauty that can result in paring down.
OSCAR NOMINEE MOVIE REVIEW – AMERICAN HUSTLE
I do not have a degree in film or writing, and do not have any authority to speak on film theory. That being said, I will expunge those thoughts and focus on what I am good at… judging people.
OSCAR NOMINEE MOVIE REVIEW – HER
HER has more in common with CASABLANCA than THE TERMINATOR. But it is a love story between a man and an artificial personality designed to learn and empathize with him.
NEW ON DVD & STREAMING – HERE COMES THE DEVIL
Here Comes The Devil taps into some real fears and uses surprisingly realistic dramatic turns, but there are dark forces at work in this shocking horror film from Mexico.
INDIE REPORT – BESTIES
I love indie films because they tackle subject matter in a new and refreshing perspective, since they are not victims to the constraints of Hollywood box-heads (You know who you are, Box-heads).
MOVIE REVIEW – INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2
I am a fan of director James Wan. He is a great young director with a particularly good eye for horror, a great sense for creating tension, and knows how to scare an audience. Unfortunately, he doesn’t demonstrate ANY of his talents in “Insidious 2”.
NEW ON DVD – QUICK TO DUCK
The great thing about indies is that they are experimental in nature. They aren’t as polished and high budget as blockbusters, simply because they don’t have the money. But, they allow the filmmaker to explore and try new things never done before. Robin Mountjoy attempts just that.
MOVIE REVIEW – HELL BABY
Our Indie Report critic Justin Bowler was tasked with seeing “Hell Baby” for review. We believe he was not sober during the screening.
INDIE REPORT – FAVOR
Paul Preston reviews the new film from Paul Osborne, “Favor”, in all its sick, twisted glory.
MOVIE REVIEW – AFTER EARTH
It seems like the career of M. Night Shyamalan has gotten to the point where “it’s not embarrassing” is high compliment.
MOVIE REVIEW – FAST & FURIOUS 6
The filmmakers have wisely taken a “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach here.
MOVIE REVIEW – EPIC
The characters were creative and the universe that formed around them was charming, but nothing was committed to.
MOVIE REVIEW – STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS
This movie held my attention with its intense action scenes from the moment it started, its characters were real, learning and evolving, making decisions that I could understand and follow. In short, it was masterfully executed in all areas of review.
MOVIE REVIEW – THE GREAT GATSBY
They say the devil is in the details, and it certainly was with this film.
MOVIE REVIEW – IRON MAN 3
A single question can sum it up: What is the price tag on being a hero?
MOVIE REVIEW – PAIN & GAIN
In the end, Bay has a made a film struggling with the fact that it’s a Michael Bay film. It’s fun to watch the best parts peak through Bay’s usual main ingredient – excess.
MOVIE REVIEW – THE BIG WEDDING
It’s like having an orange popcicle, the mild orange taste is pleasing enough, but no one ever spends much time thinking about it afterwards, its banished from our thoughts because while the taste is good, it’s also unremarkable.
MOVIE REVIEW – OBLIVION
Honestly, I’m trying to remember what happened during the mid part of this movie other then a few hazy isolated moments of plot development
NEW ONLINE – DEWITT & MARIA
A fresh and unique look at a romantic comedy that a studio could never achieve
MOVIE REVIEW – OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN
The dialogue was it’s only strong area, but liking the film because of that would be akin to thinking a park bench a good snack because someone spilled your favorite espresso on it.