Category: Movie Reviews

This superhero adventure continues the recent trend in comic book screen adaptations in which the protagonist comes to play a critical role in the outcome of a significant historical event. Here, we have Marvel’s Captain America (Chris Evans) called upon to save the day during World War II when a cosmic cube called the Tesseract, […]

BIG BUDGET FILMS Tower Heist (PG-13 for profanity and sexuality) Revenge comedy about a group of swindled investors who enlist the assistance of a trash-talking, petty thief (Eddie Murphy) to burglarize the condo of the Wall Street titan (Alan Alda) behind a billion-dollar Ponzi scheme which left them penniless. Ensemble includes Ben Stiller, Matthew Broderick, […]

Who really wrote the works of William Shakespeare? That nagging question has remained the subject of speculation among academics for centuries, with authorship of his poems and plays being alternately attributed to dozens of others, most notably, Christopher Marlowe, William Stanley, Sir Francis Bacon and Edward de Vere, aka the 17th Earl of Oxford. The […]

When three best friends meet for drinks after work one evening, each shares a tale of woe worse than the next about his boss from hell. Dental hygienist Dale (Charlie Day) complains about how Dr. Julia Harris (Jennifer Aniston) has been pressuring him to sleep with her, despite the fact that he’s in love with […]

Fair warning: This revealing expose’ is not for diehard supporters of Sarah Palin. For the damning bio-pic essentially paints the former governor of Alaska as less of a Mama Grizzly Bear than a power-hungry witch who goes to great lengths to crush her adversaries of any nature, political or personal. Sarah Palin: You Betcha! is directed […]

BIG BUDGET FILMS Johnny English Reborn (PG for mild violence, rude humor, brief sensuality and brief profanity) Rowan Atkinson reprises the title role in this James Bond parody in which the bumbling, British spy attempts to redeem himself by foiling an assassination attempt on a head of state by a team of bloodthirsty assassins. With […]

Joe Swanberg is a leading force in the Mumblecore movement and the brains behind such offbeat, character-driven dramas as LOL and Nights & Weekends. The innovative writer/director/actor’s latest, low-budget offering is Art History, a daring film within a film which pushes the genre’s envelope even further. This atmospheric mindbender features a cast of just five, […]

After graduating from Wiley College (of “The Great Debaters” fame) back in the 1930s, Conrad “Prof” Johnson (1915-2008) briefly embarked on a promising career as a jazz musician, joining big band orchestras led by the likes of Count Basie and Erskine Hawkins. However, he decided to come off the road in 1940, right after meeting […]

When Pastor Alex Kendrick read a report back in 2003 alleging that movies had become more of an influence on impressionable young minds than the church, he decided to do something about it. He and his brother, Stephen, co-founded Sherwood Pictures in order to make their own faith-based films. Operating on a modest budget under […]

BIG BUDGET FILMS 50/50 (R for sexuality, drug use and pervasive profanity) Bittersweet dramedy about a 27 year-old writer (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who learns what’s most important in life after being given a 50/50 chance of beating a rare form of spinal cancer. With Anjelica Huston, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard and Philip Baker […]

Clarence Reid is a legendary songwriter who wrote R&B hits back in the 60s and 70s for everyone from Sam & Dave to KC & the Sunshine Band. What many people don’t know, however, is that he also donned a flamboyant costume, periodically, to perform raunchy rap tunes as his irreverent alter ego, Blowfly. With […]

Annie Walker (Kristen Wiig) has been in a tailspin since her bakery failed during the recession. And she’s currently in danger of losing the job she got at a jewelry store only because a member of her mother’s (Jill Clayburgh) support group took pity on her. Annie’s problems at work stem from her bad habit […]