So, The Lone Ranger, yeah… Pirates of the Old West… Johnny Depp, Buster Keaton, old-age make up… and so forth… a mystic loon with a dead bird on head, etc… Armie Hammer, “what’s with the mask?”, yes, that’s his real name and his real jaw… blah blah… ‘30s radio show, ‘50s TV show, Clayton Moore, … More The Lone Ranger: Embrace the New Dominant Paradigm!

Fans of “coming of age” films, like myself, know there are several subsets within the genre. For example, I’ve always been partial to the “British Prep School Coming of Age Film” (of which, I guess, in many ways the Harry Potter films are a very long, goofy entry. There’s a thesis for future essay: “Harry … More Interview: The Way, Way Back Co-writers/directors Jim Rash and Nat Faxon

Forget the whole 3D added-value deal–for the price of a single World War Z movie ticket you get at least three movies in one: World War Z Film One–The Book Adaptation: The first World War Z is the book lover’s worse nightmare: a complete and total failure to capture even a fraction of the rich, dark pleasures … More Behold the Three-Headed World War Z!

It took until mid-June, but this movie season finally has what every summer needs. After a May filled with passable-but-uninspiring fare like Iron Man and Star Trek, dumb-fun stuff like Fast and Furious 6, and universally-agreed-upon whipping boy After Earth, in The Man of Steel we finally have a blockbuster everyone—fans, critics, geeks, and mainstream … More Whose Man of Steel is This, Anyway?

* Your results may vary. I admit I was getting nervous. More and more often in recent years, I’ve gone to see big-name “comedies” that everyone else thought were “heeee-larious,” but I found at best amusing, at worst, hateful and horrifically unfunny. We all know humor is a personal, subjective thing, and that it thrives … More No Joke: This is the End is the Funniest Film I’ve Seen in A Very Long Time *

Two summers ago I was knocked out by the DIY micro-budget science-fiction film Another Earth and the thoughtful, creative integrity and energy of its makers, writer-director Mike Cahill and writer-star Brit Marling. When I interviewed the two back in 2011, I was further impressed and inspired by their story: Marling, an economics major, had met … More Interview: The East Writer-star Brit Marling and Writer-director Zal Batmanglij

Last year, while watching 21 Jump Street, I was impressed by the handsome, charismatic young actor playing the eco-minded high-school drug dealer, and scribbled in my notes, “It looks like this kid stole James Franco’s DNA.” Of course, by the end of the movie, I’d realized how true that was: The actor was in fact … More Interview: Dave Franco, Co-star of Now You See Me

“… So shut it, hatas.” – Signed, the Pinkett-Smith Family, M. Night Shyamalan, and Justin Bieber There are films that fail because of shoddy production, lazy film making, and a general pandering lack of cohesive creative vision. Films that don’t try, that don’t care, that have nothing but obvious, greedy contempt for their audiences. And … More "After Earth is the Best Film of the Year, Maybe the Best Science-Fiction Film Ever…"

What Maisie Knew updates to present day Henry James’ 1897 novel about a young girl used as an emotional pawn between her divorced parents. As directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel (co-directors of The Deep End, Bee Season) from a screenplay by Nancy Doyne and Carroll Cartwright, the new film navigates with rich emotional … More Interview: What Maisie Knew Co-directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel

The other day, after surviving a screening of Hangover III and faced with writing about a “comedy” so completely humorless that its relentless ineptitude felt like it had to be intentional, I had a moment of clarity about the film, the franchise, and its hack auteur Todd Phillips (Old School, Hangover I and II, Due … More The Hangover III: Shut Up and Give Us Your Money