Let me begin this review with a quick public service announcement. If you intend to see Sinister, for God’s sake don’t watch the trailer. It will suck the scares right out of the movie. When I see a horror movie, I want to feel frightened. I want to hunker down in my seat, biting...
Read more »
If you are lucky enough to live in a city that has been blessed with the arrival of an Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, you probably already know that they feature some truly unique events for the movie lover. There’s a reason the brand is consistently referred to as some of the best theaters in the...
Read more »
I should be a millionaire right now. Thirty-five minutes into this purported suburban romantic comedy, I muttered to my companion, “I’ll bet you a million dollars this movie was written by a couple of middle aged guys.” Fifty-five long minutes later the movie was finally over and there were the writer credits: Ian Helfer...
Read more »
Looper offers stylish escapism for the thinking man. A twist-laden plot rife with time-travel and sci-fi elements teases the intellect, and demands a second viewing to put all the pieces together. Even if you think you have the plot figured out, you most likely don’t. It would be a shame to ruin the fun...
Read more »
I’ve been obsessed with cults ever since I fled to my car during a three-day Landmark Forum course and had twelve messages from them waiting on my answering machine by the time I got home. I read everything I could about cults and found that the weekend course I had just attended was started by a...
Read more »
When I see the words “based on true events” my interest is immediately piqued. Deep down, I know that term is used very, very loosely, but for some reason it amps up the fear factor on almost any horror film I watch. I can be watching the most mundane, run of the mill movie,...
Read more »
One of the reasons so many of us in the local film community were excited to hear that Alamo Drafthouse was setting up shop in Kansas City is that they host such unique events. In addition to the regular movie offerings a variety of theme nights and special menus are featured on a regular...
Read more »
As it happens, I believe I have identified the longest sentence David Foster Wallace ever wrote1. It occurs early in his last, unfinished novel, The Pale King, starting toward the end of Chapter 2, around the bottom ⅓ of page 21, and ending the chapter on page 24:
Read more »
You’d think that a movie starring funny girl next door Rashida Jones (Parks and Rec) and SNL alum Andy Samberg will be a raucous R-rated romp full of the gross out gags and antics we’ve come to expect from the genre. Surprise, you’re wrong. Celeste and Jesse Forever takes a twist on the romantic comedy, defiantly rejecting the...
Read more »
David Koepp is best known as a writer (Panic Room, Angels and Demons), but he occasionally forays into the world of directing, with mixed reception from audiences (Stir of Echoes, Ghost Town). Koepp attempts to tackle the tired car chase genre in Premium Rush … aka The Secret Life of Bike Couriers. He manages...
Read more »
There’s, to my mind, three ways in which the angriest of us can make an argument, and they’re usually limited to personality type. The first, and most admirable, is violence, which has three subcategories: 1) the promise of threats; 2) a swift uppercut to the opponent’s jaw or unmentionables; and 3) a swift uppercut...
Read more »
Dax Shepard: Okay, I’m writing this vehicle — hmm, vehicle — what do you want to be? Kristen Bell: I’ve always wanted to work in conflict negotiation, or something with horses. DS: Perfect! I’m playing a badass driver/action hero with a heart of gold and a great left hook. you can always be arguing...
Read more »
Reprising her role as Marion from 2007′s 2 Days in Paris, Julie Delpy directs, stars in, writes, edits, and possibly caters this sequel. Marion’s an artist living in New York with her partner Mingus (Chris Rock) and their two children from previous relationships. Marion’s family, specifically her father Jeannot (played by Delpy’s actual father...
Read more »
When plans were announced to remake the sci-fi classic Total Recall (1990), they were largely met with skepticism. Most people still hold the original in high regard, so why mess with a good thing? Adding fuel to the fire was the questionable choice of replacing Arnold Schwarzenegger with Colin Farrell this time around. One...
Read more »
Klown is a Danish film based on a popular television series (Klovn) that ran six seasons before things wrapped up in 2009. Now the co-creators who also starred in the series bring their ribald brand of comedy to the big screen in a madly inappropriate take on the classic road trip film. Frank (Frank Hvam)...
Read more »
Real life couple Zoe Kazan (It’s Complicated) and Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine, There Will Be Blood) bring the story of Ruby Sparks to the bigscreen, and you can win tickets to an advance screening of the fantasy/romance film. From Fox Searchlight: “Calvin (Paul Dano) is a young novelist who achieved phenomenal success early...
Read more »
Blue Sky. Big Blue. Big Magic. Fans of AMC’s smash-hit “Breaking Bad” will recognize these phrases as the street names of the crystal methamphetamine manufactured by chemistry teacher Walter White and drug dealer Jesse Pinkman. One of the greatest television dramas and character studies in the history of the medium is sadly in its...
Read more »
I’d almost forgotten that the last time Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn teamed up was in 2004′s Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, and if you asked me why I like that movie so much and am pretty indifferent on The Watch, I’d be hard-pressed to explain why. Both have very simple premises, feature largely...
Read more »
There’s no question that Beasts of the Southern Wild is one of the most beguiling and original movies you will see this year, if not this decade. The film cannot be pigeonholed into any particular genre; it’s whimsical and dreamy at times, but devastatingly sad in others. Like Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life, there...
Read more »