Monthly Archives: June 2011

Sumptuous and strange, Pandora & the Flying Dutchman sets a potentially typical era romance drama adrift in a sea of the supernatural, an unusual mixture of sweeping romance and metaphysical bombast that really elevates the material to a mesmerizing level, assisted by … Continue reading →

Sloppy, schticky, simplistic and painfully lethargic, my 1972 quest begins with a terrible historical musical called 1776. As you might expect, this is a song-filled recreation of the Second Continental Congress in the days leading up to the signing of the … Continue reading →

After sitting through the mind-numbing ineptness of the indie masterpiece Ben & Arthur, I decided to go for a more genuinely praised low-budget feature, one I was inspired to watch because it was filmed and created in the Mile High City, … Continue reading →

There are no filmmakers who take more risks with more eyes upon them and continually turn those struggles into strengths than Joel and Ethan Coen. A movie about a writer in old Hollywood with a surreal non-ending? Go for it! … Continue reading →

A slightly atmospheric but unendingly silly Three Faces of Eve/Sybil jaunt about a frail shut-in named Elizabeth (Eleanor Parker) who lives with her lush aunt (Joan Blondell) and happens to have two other personalities inside her head (a saucy vamp named Lizzie … Continue reading →

One of the most prominent members of the Academy Awards class of 2008 was a film called The Visitor, a miserable, poorly-written, painfully condescending white-liberal-guilt screed about a stuffy rich white guy who learns to get his groove back thanks to … Continue reading →

A passable, watchable documentary about three kids trying to find success in the World Karting Association 11-and-12-year-olds go-kart circuit while also dealing with typical teen problems like anger management and, in the case of female driver Annabeth Barnes, boys and … Continue reading →

An unusual little British slice of magical realism, Looking for Eric follows Eric (Steve Evets), a postman and soccer fanatic whose life is spiraling out of control as he’s dealing with the guilt over abandoning his ex-wife (Stephanie Bishop) while dealing with … Continue reading →

A little bit more shapeless and less compelling than his Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Casino Jack & the United States of Money is still a wonderfully interesting documentary from Alex Gibney about the most infamous lobbyist in American history, Jack … Continue reading →

After feeling that Jesus Franco’s 1962 feature, The Awful Dr. Orlof , wanted to be mature but was hamstrung by its era, it was surprising to find that his other 1962 feature, The Sadistic Baron Von Klaus, was so much more modern in … Continue reading →