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In Theaters…

The Avengers — The Avengers is a spectacle to behold; it’s thrilling, funny, and actually musters up quite a bit of unexpected character development.

The Cabin in the Woods — While the charm of the movie’s originality is undeniable—and it’s penchant for juvenile humor is greatly appreciated—there’s something a little forced about the whole thing that (in my mind, at least) doesn’t elevate it to the eschelons of cinematic gold that movies like Tucker & Dale vs. Evil are able to obtain.

The Hunger Games — There’s emotional gravity to spare, and even the stoniest heart will find him/herself practicing the three-finger salute on the way home from the theater.

The Grey — The Grey is a movie that’s a much better bargain than it might appear to be on the surface.  Not only do you get a bone-chilling action flick, but you also get something completely human (and it’s not often that these two things are successfully intermingled).

 Click here for more theatrical reviews.

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Available on DVD/Blu-ray Disc or as a Download…

War Horse — In essence, War Horse is a World War I movie that doles out hope and horror in equal measure.

Lunopolis — Thankfully, Lunopolis is a movie that manages to efficiently balance its perceived shortcomings (again, extraordinarily limited monetary backing) with its strengths (an intellectually engaging plot).

Hobo With a Shotgun — The movie makes use of just about every page in the grindhouse playbook, and there’s no one better suited for the role than the tight-jawed, crow-footed Hauer.

Moneyball— It doesn’t get much better than Moneyball.  It’s candid, engaging, and crisply written.  At the risk of sounding cliche, one might even say it’s a homerun; or grand slam; or any other number of baseball analogies that suggest its superiority.

Click here for more DVD/Blu-ray/Download reviews.

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Blast from the Past… (movies that are 5+ years old)

Commando — Its wise-cracking protagonist survives impossible odds, and the only thing the audience really cares about is what it is that finally breaks the needle off of the “awesome” scale: the corny dialogue or the unfathomable body count (or, more than likely, some combination of the two).

Surviving the Game — The thing straddles an ambiguous line that finds it being only mildly thought-provoking and comically stupid in equal proportions.

Black Dragons — The most terrifying thing about the film is how much effort it takes to stay awake for the duration of its 64-minute run-time.

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Recent Ramblings…

From Television to Movies: Does it Work? — We’ve all seen them. Memorable television programs that some Hollywood guru said, “Wow! Golly! This ought to be a movie.”  Long-running series that kept their audiences glued to the small screen year after year must be compacted into 120 minutes or so.  Do they always translate into big-budget mega-starring films?

George Bailey, Please Come Home — This is not necessarily the American Everyman story but it has its roots in the iconic American Dream story we all know so well.

1941: The Movie, Not the Year — Although it’s not one of [Spielberg's] major financial or critical successes 1941 has become a sort of cult film, one you enjoy because it didn’t take itself too seriously.

Click here for more ramblings.