Archive for the Tag 'David'

2012 – Reviewed by David

I would never accuse disaster master Roland Emmerich of possessing nuance, or even style, for that matter, but he who gave us Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow sure knows how to put on a show. I mean, in 2012, his latest end-of-the-world extravaganza, he destroys the White House with nothing less than an [...]

THE BOX – Reviewed by David

I never much cared for director Richard Kelly’s Donnie Darko, with its trippy time travel and cryptic-creepy rabbit, and liked his nonsensical Southland Tales even less. His seeming need for his films to be illogical eventually plagues The Box, too, turning what starts out as an intriguing and easy-to-grasp sci-fi parable into yet another mind-bending [...]

LAW ABIDING CITIZEN – Reviewed by David

The trailers for Law Abiding Citizen made it look like an exciting action thriller, but it’s actually a lethargic revenge fantasy, one that expects us to buy macho man Gerard Butler as an ingenious mastermind.
Butler is the title guy, an enraged engineer who, ten years after witnessing the murder of his wife and daughter, and [...]

COUPLES RETREAT – Reviewed by David

I’m pretty sure everyone associated with making Couples Retreat signed on to it mainly so they could go to Bora Bora and soak up some sun, because the actual movie feels like an afterthought, a flat and frequently unfunny high-concept comedy that literally overstays its welcome.
Concocted by stars Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau, it sends [...]

SURROGATES – Reviewed by David

Surrogates is a super slick serving of sci-fi nonsense starring Bruce Willis and directed by Jonathan Mostow that tries to sell us on the idea that there ain’t nothin’ like the real thing, baby, when it comes to humanity yet ends up being about as emotionally warm as an iceberg.

WHITEOUT – Reviewed by David

This isolated-location thriller starring Kate Beckinsale (Underworld) and directed by Dominic Sena (Kalifornia) didn’t get much love from critics or audiences when it was dumped into theaters last fall, but it actually proves to be a decently entertaining time-killer.
Beckinsale plays a U.S. Marshall stationed at an Arctic research station who, a mere two days before [...]

PANDORUM – Reviewed by David

The exotic-sounding title of this seriously second-rate spaceship flick starring Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster refers to a fictional but violent psychological condition that sets in after too much time in suspended animation. I experienced some violent feelings of my own as the end credits rolled–and had a few choice words–having plunked down $10 to [...]

FAME – Reviewed by David

I’m not overly familiar with the 1980 version of Fame aside from its hit title song, but I do know it was rated R, which alone gives it an edge over this slick, but bland PG revamp that, despite periodically producing a beat you can dance to, acts too much like a soap you’d see [...]

CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS – Reviewed by David

I don’t know if anyone was exactly hungering for a film version of Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, but this one from directors Chris Miller (Shrek the Third) and Phil Lord is a well-rendered and fairly entertaining CGI effort that might literally make you hungry.

A PERFECT GETAWAY – Reviewed by David

A Perfect Getaway doesn’t quite live up to the second word of its double-meaning title, but it’s still a nifty little thriller from writer/director David Twohy (Pitch Black) that manages to surprise just enough to make watching it worthwhile.
The setup posits the possibility that one of three couples–newlyweds Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich, free-spirit types [...]

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