Warfare has evolved in the last thousand years, and even as recently as a few hundred years ago civilians would pack a picnic and sit on the edge of a battlefield to watch the carnage, rooting for their side like it was a gladiatorial combat or particularly aggressive sports match rather than combat to the death. World War II really marked the beginning of civilian targets being acceptable in combat, and by the Gulf War…Read More
Review: The Butler
There have been two major films about the Black American experience released in 2012, 12 Years a Slave and The Butler. The former is about a particularly interesting moment in American history when the North saw blacks as equal citizens while the South still viewed them as slaves, property, second class citizens. It’s a powerful and moving film with an extraordinary performance by Chiwetel Ejiofor as the enslaved Solomon Northup. The Butler is more recent history, focused…Read More
Review: Olympus Has Fallen
The previews looked cool. I mean, it’s an audacious concept to have terrorists storm the White House and take the President of the United States hostage. What could go wrong with a fast-paced action movie that has that as the main plot device? The answer is everything. In fact, Olympus Has Fallen has no redeeming qualities at all. From acting to dialog, set pieces to special effects, exterior shots to the pace of edits, just…Read More
Review: The Losers
Is there something written that good, enjoyable films have to make sense, be internally consistent and not have dumb continuity gaffes? I hope not, because that perfectly describes my reaction to The Losers, yet another Hollywood film based on a graphic novel. This time it’s from Dark Horse comics and it’s about a group of CIA “black ops” bad boys who are left for dead in Bolivia after what appears to be a drug lord…Read More
Review: Alice in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll’s immortal story Alice in Wonderland has been brought to the big screen many times, notably 1951’s animated Disney classic that memorialized the different characters in the story for many adults. With 61 title matches in the Internet Movie Database, it’s safe to say it’s a popular starting point for movie makers. That’s an intimidating challenge, especially for a director like Tim Burton who generally tackles stories that haven’t been shown in film before and…Read More