Category: Monday Morning Movie Reviewer

Every now and then there’s a movie that slips through the cracks. [Okay, it’s pretty often…but hey, I’m one of the 10 people in America who saw Old Boy, that counts for something, right? No? Well okay then…] And what better way to catch up on crappy February releases–I mean, “forgotten gems from earlier in…

A typical lazy Vince Vaughn programmer (a guy donates sperm and fathers over 500 kids due to an error at the clinic and they want to know his identity) except that it feels a little bit quieter and moodier. It’s hard to say if this is because the film is trying to be honestly more…

This is the rare sequel that I think is almost exactly as good as the first one. Even though it’s slightly different (it’s less about the games themselves and more about the revolution against the oppressors who institute them), there’s no real dip in quality. And for a monstrously successful sequel to a film that…

A great movie that some people may never check out because of reports of the film’s brutality. Yes, it is hard to watch in certain sections, but I think you’ll survive if you watch it. One woman sitting in the row behind me cried through about three quarters of it—-to the point of distracting other…

This one will probably be forever known as the “long French lesbian movie” and, on paper, it sounds like the ultimate cliche to have a three-hour French film centered around a young woman’s sexual development with other women. Oh, and some of the scenes are steamy enough that the film has an NC-17 rating, and…

This deceptively simple tale of one man (Robert Redford in arguably the best performance he’s ever given) lost at sea and scrambling to survive is every bit the pared down, beautifully minimalist against-the-odds survival story that Gravity is. Now of course the box office for All is Lost won’t be anything close to Gravity, but…

A little rough around the edges, but it certainly won me over. It’s quite possibly the first gay-rights and “AIDs movie” that I think even rednecks might enjoy and that’s no easy feat. It’s as much about the struggles to get the best drugs past a sham-FDA as it is HIV. What Works: Matthew McConaughey’s…

This movie about four old friends (a sourpuss Robert DeNiro, a spry Morgan Freeman, a likable Kevin Kline, and Michael Douglas in smooth ladies man mode) getting together in Las Vegas for the bachelor party of Douglas’ character certainly knows what the older folks want to see. And knowing your demo is key to any…

Now that Thor is out, nobody really cares about this movie anymore, but if I have to watch it, then you have the option to read a review about it…That’s the deal. What Works: This movie is based off the enormously popular Ender’s Game books the controversial author Orson Scott Card started all the way…

So pretty much anyone who went to a theater this weekend happened upon Thor 2 and even though the film broke records, cemented Marvel’s place as a kingmaker, and raked in money hand over fist, I can’t help but ask an all-important question: “Is the movie good?” Now true, there aren’t many Marvel fans that…

I skipped this documentary in theaters, but luckily CNN is somehow airing docs that only just recently left the multiplex. [I’m talking this film and “Pandora’s Promise” only just left screens in August and they’re now on a basic cable channel, which is unheard of and better than Netflix.] What Works: The film is an…

This will go down as one of the all-time biggest bait-and-switches in movie history. You’ve got an excellent cast (Brad Pitt in ambiguous mode, Penelope Cruz as the sexy fiancee, Javier Bardem in colorful mode, Michael Fassbender as the compromised hero, and Cameron Diaz as the villain), a prestige director, and the first original screenplay…

A total bomb of a movie that had a pitiful 2 million dollar opening weekend (the worst of the year for a wide release). I’m not sure why people were so disinterested in seeing the story of Julian Assange and Wikileaks, and I guess this means people really aren’t interested in whistle blowing or the…