I hate documentaries. They have an agenda, they’re preachy and too damn… based in reality. Can’t a man go to the cinema anymore and watch aliens blast the hell out of New York only to have Snake Plissken kick their butts and send them cryin’ back home to mama? (Damn, somebody make that movie and [...]

I don’t remember liking the TV show at all as a kid. I only saw reruns, but the show seemed dated even in the 1970’s. I never saw the “Get Smart” film “The Nude Bomb,” and I don’t care to. Let’s forget the 1995 “Get Smart” series starring Andy Dick ever existed.
I kind of liked [...]

I can’t tell if this is supposed to be a spoof or what. Some scenes look shot-for-shot identical while others appear completely off the wall. The original “Commando” is a childhood staple of mine. It boosted Arnold Schwarzenegger’s star power and set a new standard for 80’s action carnage. I’d like to know the “why?” [...]

I’ve put my reputation on the line many times defending M. Night Shyamalan’s work. The twist in “The Sixth Sense” got me and I immediately doubt anyone who said they saw it coming. I consider “Unbreakable” an unsung masterpiece; although, many didn’t get it because they were expecting either a twisty thriller or a traditional [...]

One built monsters (and a few heroes) for a living. The other was a creature of grace and beauty. They both passed this week. Here are their tributes…
First, Stan Winston. He was the creator of such creatures as Alien, Predator, The Terminator and the dinosaurs from “Jurassic Park”…

I declare Cyd Charisse one of the most [...]

Tony Jaa’s acting debut in the original “Ong Bak” made him an overnight sensation and boosted Thai cinema into the limelight. It also set a new standard for stunts and hyper-realistic, martial arts combat. His follow up, “The Protector (Tom Yum Goong)” showcased the two best martial arts scenes I’ve ever witnessed. If this promo [...]

The creators of “Lightning Bug” seemed to have in mind a bittersweet, sentimental film designed to please the indie crowds at film festivals. They got the bitter part right.
The film centers around a sweet teenager named Green (Bret Harrison) who grows up in an Alabama trailer with this single mom and little brother. His not-too-bright [...]

Too soon. That was the general consensus when a new “Hulk” movie was announced to release only five years after Ang Lee’s now-reviled bomb. I don’t remember hating Ang Lee’s film that much. It showed flashes of brilliance, but imagine the powers that be, only five years later saying, “We’ve done it again, started all [...]

I love martial arts films. Doesn’t matter if you do, you’ll still like this one. It’s got fuzzy animals talking. Jack Black plays a panda and Angelina Jolie, a tiger. Tigress, rather.
I don’t have to convince most of you to see this one. If you have kids, you’re already locked in. It’s an animated film, [...]

What’s with the French these days? If this film and “À l’intérieur (Inside)” are any indication, France has reigned supreme in the horror genre for the last year or two. I say that because we are just getting them now on DVD. I include the recent release, “The Strangers,” in that category, which is a [...]

I can imagine the pitch for this. Some writer walks into a producers office and says, “Let’s redo ‘Karate Kid’ with some excessively attractive stars, current pop music and set it in the ultra-popular world of mixed martial arts (MMA)!”
Jake (Sean Faris), a tough-yet-honorable kid with a troubled past, moves to Orlando with his mom [...]

A knuckleheaded Tae Kwon Do instructor, Fred Simmons (Danny McBride), battles his white-trash wife’s infidelity, his own ineptness and a boozed-up Chuck Norris-style villain in search to find some dignity in his sad, miserable life.
This one showed promise, but only managed to elicit some chuckles and mild amusement. It tried to be a martial arts [...]

I can think of a lot of alternate titles for this one: “Indiana Jones and the Pointless Sequel.” “Indiana Jones and the Search for a Quick Buck.” “Indiana Jones and Increasingly Unaffordable Health Care Plan.” Okay, those were a bit mean, but they summed up my feelings when I heard Spielberg was directing another sequel [...]