Movie Review: Lawless (2012)

Lawless is a movie that, for some unknown reason, I kept mixing up with Gangster Squad. I don't know why, hey are clearly quite different movies. Whatever the case may be, Lawless is now in theaters and I should, theoretically be able to differentiate the two now. Lawless is a Depression-era movie that is based on the true story of a trio of bootlegging brothers, bucking Prohibition and making a boat load of cash in the process. It doesn't hurt they were located on the nation's wettest county where law enforcement was more than willing to help move the moonshine.

Blu-ray Review: White Vengeance

Directed and written by Daniel Lee (Black Mask, Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dagon), White Vengeance is a sprawling epic. It is a visual feast that must have been a joy for the director of photography, Tony Cheung. However, for as pretty as it looks and how expertly staged the action is, despite it being based on actual Chinese history, I found the movie to be more than a little on the dry side and awfully difficult to connect with. Clocking in at well over two hours, it became a bit of an endurance test.

Movie Review: The Awakening (2012)

It's times like this that I wish I was able to just sit down and write a review shortly after watching the movie. Sadly, this does not happen all that often. Quite frequently in those intervening hours, days, and sometimes more, the specific deals needed to properly convey my thoughts of a given film fade. I lame some of it on age and some of it on my inability to actually determine what it is I want to say. In this case the subject is The Awakening. It is a movie I quite enjoyed but will likely struggle to say anything worthwhile about. Just a word of warning.

Movie Review: Celeste and Jesse Forever

It was not that long ago that Celeste and Jesse Forever came to my attention. The railed played in front front of some movie I can't recall, but the tailed kind of stood out. It looked to be just another romantic comedy, but there was a twist. Instead of featuring a couple trying to make things work, attract each other, or even in the throes of a break up, this movie is about a married couple who are going through a divorce but are remaining best friends. It is an idea that flies in the face of what is socially acceptable and expected.

Movie Review: The Expendables 2

A movie like The Expendables 2, much like the first one, is pretty much critic proof. You will either like it or you won't, you'll buy into it or you won't. It is clearly a movie made to have fun with and not be concerned with actual quality. Now, this is not to say this is a bad movie, it isn't, it is just a movie that isn't really concerned with believability of plot. With that being said, this second go around is a step up from the first film.

Movie Review: Hit and Run

There are some movies that I go see for irrational reasons. Sometimes it is out of a need for something to do and sometimes it is for someone in the movie (why else would I have gone to Honey in a theater?). Fortunately some of those times result on a surprising experience in the movies. This is not to say I have stumbled across masterpieces in this fashion, but I have been pleasantly surprised on occasion. Hit and Run has proven to be one of those surprises. The reason I went? Some cool cars and Kristen Bell.

Movie Review: Premium Rush

Premium Rush is a film bursting at the seams with kinetic energy. It is a non stop race through the streets of New York. It is a movie that takes the typical chase formula and does a little tweaking, making it feel fresh and exciting. In short, this is a better movie than it had any right to be. I went in hoping for a fun diversion and what I got was something more. I am not saying it is a great film, but there is enough quality that it cannot be ignored.

Movie Review: Ek Tha Tiger

I have come to learn that Bollywood films are something of an acquired taste. They are a vastly different beast than Hollywood films. They mostly ignore genre boundaries, usually adding in comedic elements to romances or romantic and comedic elements to action films, not to mention the musical numbers. They will never be my favorite kind of movies, but there is still a lot to like. The latest film I have had the chance to see was Ek Tha Tiger, an action film from the Yash Raj production company.