Comic book heroes like Spider-Man and The Hulk get all the press. Hey, what about the little guy? Harvey Pekar is the ultimate little guy not just in the comics world, where his American Splendor has been an underground phenomenon for decades, but in real life, as he has held down a steady gig as […]
Usually sequels offer something for fans of the original. At the very least, they have similar themes or offer the same characters and activities that made the first movie successful. That’s why I’m having a hard time trying to figure out who would possibly enjoy the direct to video American Psycho 2. American Psycho (based
From the opening scene, showing drops of blood on a pristine white surface, we know we’re in for well, not your ordinary slasher flick. Turns out the “blood” is a berry sauce being applied to a plate of haute cuisine. And the mind games of American Psycho have only just begun. Steeped in controversy and
“Tokyo Sonata” left me feeling drained, like my inner organs were exposed to the relentless vacuum of deep space. One of the festival organizers, seeing me leave, asked how the film was, and I responded with a heavy heart. She sympathized, having recommended several of her friends to go see it on its opening night,
It’s a little sad to think that many kids today know Alice in Wonderland only from its references in The Matrix. Good news then that kids can see the definitive film version of the classic Lewis Carroll story, Disney’s animated 1951 version. For the uninitiated, this musical rendition takes young Alice on a whirlwind ride
Since Alien and its sequel Aliens received universal praise, Fox just had to make a trilogy (which later became a quadrilogy). Trilogies (and especially quadrilogies) can pose some risk since a premise can lose its edge and outlast its welcome. Ironically, Alien 3 doesn’t suffer from the trilogy syndrome as much as it suffers simply
In Aliens the sequel to the 1979’s Alien Sigourney Weaver reprises her role as Lt. Ripley. In the first film, she was the soul survivor after her crew discovered deadly aliens during a space expedition. At the end of Alien, she expelled a creature through the air lock and put herself into hibernation. Aliens opens
I’m not entirely sure how to begin a review of the highly anticipated (at least for me) fourth installment of the Alien series except to say what a letdown. Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley died in Alien3, the movie that was supposed to put the nail in the Alien coffin, but thanks to the miracles of
One of Fassbinder’s crown jewels, Ali Fear Eats the Soul is as powerful as any film he ever made, despite its pedestrian premise. In ’70s Germany, fiftysomething Elli (Brigitte Mira) enters an ethnic bar to get out of the rain. Here she meets a young man named Ali (El Hedi ben Salem), a Moroccan guest
I’d like to tell you that I checked this film out because it was nominated for the most Academy Awards in history (14 in 1950). I’d like to tell you that I checked out this film because it won Best Picture. I’d like to tell you that I checked out this film because I liked
