Opening with a poem recited by con artist historian Ricky Jay, Rian Johnson’s follow-up to his first movie, “Brick,” takes off in the first few moments and heads on a whimsical, and entertaining flight. The movie tells the story of brothers Stephen and Bloom, two life-long con artists. Stephen is the mastermind, working every angle …
You ever have one of those nights where you just don’t want something too deep? Maybe you want to have a nice dinner, enjoy a glass (or a bottle of wine) and watch something that, while it doesn’t make you laugh out loud over and over and over, by the end you’re smiling. If that …
Editor’s note: The Unseen is a somewhat regular column, looking at movies that are out of print, never released on DVD and otherwise hard to find. I think I have underestimated the work of Michael Ritchie. Sure, I enjoyed his later work, (especially “Fletch,” and the original “Bad News Bears,”) but I always thought of …
Spike Lee is a filmmaker who is worth keeping an eye on because he seems able to pull together a great movie when you least expect it. He’s tried all sorts of genres, comedy, drama, musical, documentary…
When writer/director Blake Edwards presented this script to Peter Sellers, the actor was surprised by the script’s length. The whole thing ran only 56 pages. In reality, the script could have been one page long. Hell, it could have been one sentence long. “Peter Sellers goes to a party.” That’s all you need. Because that’s …
Gregory Jacobs’ “Wind Chill,” is a horror movie that slipped out into theaters a couple of years ago. However, I’ve been reading more and more about it recently, (Mr. Peele’s Sardine Liqueour wrote up a very nice review,) and the petigree, (Jacob’s previous film, “Criminal,” was a fun thriller, and two of this films producers …
Finally, a film that lives up to the hype. J.J. Abrams reboot of ‘Star Trek’ is one of the most fun, entertaining movies of the year. The film takes the franchise to the roots, where Captain James Kirk is a mere cadet, joining Starfleet at the beckoning of Captain Christopher Pike.
What happens when the eternal teenager grows up? Kevin Smith burst onto the scene in the mid-90s with “Clerks,” a movie filled with no dirty pictures, but wall-to-wall filth. Smith continued the trend with “Mallrats,” “Chasing Amy,” and then, lesser fare. “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,” is Smith’s second movie that takes place without …
Try to follow this: “Every Little Step,” is a documentary about the behind-the-scenes making of a revival of a musical that is a behind-the-scenes of a musical based on real-life behind-the-scenes about the making of a musical. Got that?
Recreating events from recently past history in a film is a tricky business. If part of your audience remembers the event, the concern is that they’ll be looking at the details and not the overall story. When your film is about a former president, the scrutiny is that much greater.