Archive for November, 2007
Exorcist: The Beginning
The Devil’s In The Details
**1/2 out of *****
I was lucky that my friends Dad owned a video store when I was a young lad, or I never would have been able to rent the original Exorcist on VHS when I was 13 years old. I was a scary movie veteran by this point, […]
The Village
Tennants Required
*** out of *****
First off, my apologies to any readers of this review who notice any vagueness that may be peppered throughout. Writing up any movie by M. Night Shyamalan always poses a problem for any reviewer. Most people know that his movies are structured so that the last 15 […]
The Chronicles of Riddick
Space Well Spent
***1/2 out of *****
Several years ago, little-known director David Twohy and his cast of relative unknowns emerged from the Australian desert with a nifty little sci-fi movie called Pitch Black. It was basically a retread of a passé theme (stranded humans try to outrun hungry aliens) but was done with enough […]
Spiderman 2
Arach-tastic
**** out of *****
I remember watching an old Spiderman T.V series when I was but a wee lad of about 4 or 5 (that would make it around 1980). I don’t really remember being that impressed; indeed, about the only thing I can remember is wondering to myself how come Spiderman’s suit had […]
Around The World In 80 Days
Mouse Express to Nowhere
** out of *****
If the American box office results for Disney’s latest child-friendly flick are any indication, the company that bears Walt’s famous name is in trouble. Boardroom mutinies, disappointing box office for many of their recent movies and a general public opinion that equates ‘Disney’ with ‘corporate merger’ rather […]
Godsend
Return to Sender
**1/2 out of *****
Movies can usually be categorized into one of several columns, from soul-shattering perfection down to absolute, brain-numbing crap. There is lots of variety in between these two extremes, but my favorite has always been the underdog movie - a film that has a modest budget, B-list stars and […]
Van Helsing
Van-dalising Tradition
** out of *****
As I’ve said before in other reviews, people love being scared by monster movies. It’s something deep down that we all share, a common theme spanning generations. Monsters, when done right, have the ability to invade pop culture and live forever. Three of the most […]
Hellboy
Hell Yeah
**** out of *****
Years ago, when Guillermo del Toro (Devil’s Backbone, Blade II) wanted to make a film version of Mike Mignola’s cult comic book Hellboy, no one would give him a chance. Comic book adaptations had peaked with Superman II, they said. His plans were further derailed when Joel Schumacher […]
50 First Dates
You Always Get A Chance To Make A First Impression
***1/2 out of *****
Smartly embracing his one marketable talent since his inauspicious early days on SNL - his hilarious, hyper-active overreactions - Adam Sandler took the ball and ran with it, playing pretty much the same character in every movie he did. This […]
Peter Pan
Captain Hook, Line and Sink Her
***1/2 out of *****
It’s almost a shame that the gargantuan Disney marketing machine spewed out its version of Peter Pan in 1953, which was inevitably soon followed by the Collector’s Edition, and the Super-Deluxe Version with a free McDonald’s coupon, and then the Super Deluxe Extended Collector’s Edition that […]
