Revenge Review
RATING: (1.5 STARS) For a film as pulpy and hard-edged as Revenge, it’s hard to believe how lifeless the final product feels. This is the first Tony Scott movie that doesn’t feel like a Tony Scott movie on paper, which I was quite excited about, but it could have used an infusion of the energy […]
Beverly Hills Cop III Review
RATING: (1 STARS) Beverly Hills Cop III fucking sucks. After seven years away from Axel Foley, Eddie Murphy put the Detroit Lions jacket back on in an extremely half-baked sequel to the great Beverly Hills Cop II, but it’s pretty clear early on that he didn’t really want to. Apparently a third Beverly Hills Cop […]
Beverly Hills Cop II Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) On the heels of Top Gun, the highest grossing movie of its year, it seems like an odd choice to step in and direct the sequel to an even higher grossing film from a few years ago, like Beverly Hills Cop. Even stranger, perhaps, is that this is a sequel to a […]
The Forgaughtens: The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
The Forgaughtens is a series of posts in which I revisit “forgotten” films that were released between the years 2000 and 2009, or the aughts. All films will be discussed in the context of their release, as well as their cultural relevance today, and at the end of each post, a film will be given […]
Beverly Hills Cop Review
RATING: (4 STARS) I’m not sure there’s ever been a clearer case a film being carried by the charisma of its star than Beverly Hills Cop. This is Eddie Murphy’s film from beginning to end – something that sort of came about by accident. Originally conceived of and written as a dark and gritty Sylvester […]
The Forgaughtens: Vertical Limit (2000)
The Forgaughtens is a series of posts in which I revisit “forgotten” films that were released between the years 2000 and 2009, or the aughts. All films will be discussed in the context of their release, as well as their cultural relevance today, and at the end of each post, a film will be given […]
Top Gun Review
RATING: (3 STARS) I hardly remember it, but I actually watched and reviewed Top Gun almost ten years ago, when this website was in its infancy. After re-reading those 600+ scathing words, I realized I was both very right and very wrong. John at 21 thought Top Gun was cheesy and rote, and he hated […]
The Forgaughtens: Breach (2007)
The Forgaughtens is a series of posts in which I revisit “forgotten” films that were released between the years 2000 and 2009, or the aughts. All films will be discussed in the context of their release, as well as their cultural relevance today, and at the end of each post, a film will be given […]
The Hunger Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) Get a load of the description for Tony Scott’s debut film, 1983’s The Hunger. From IMDb: “A love triangle develops between a beautiful yet dangerous vampire, her cellist companion, and a gerontologist.” Excuse me? A vampire, cellist, AND a gerontologist? They’re all here AND in the same eternal love triangle? Yes, and […]
The Forgaughtens: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
This is the first in a series of posts revisiting “forgotten” films that were released between the years 2000 and 2009, or the aughts. All films will be discussed in the context of their release, as well as their cultural relevance today, and at the end of each post, a film will be given a […]
Syriana Review
“The Beverly Hillbillies” called oil “black gold,” which sums things up quite well. It’s a commodity that people like Daniel Plainview from There Will Be Blood would sell his soul for back at the turn of the 19th century, and in the century between when that film is set and when Stephen Gaghan’s Syriana is both set and released, the […]
American Dream Review
About a decade and a half after producing and directing one of the most powerful and influential documentaries of all time, Barbara Kopple returned to the world of workers’ rights for American Dream. It’s an interesting title that immediately tells the viewer that this film won’t be as tied down to a specific place as its […]
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Review
During the vicious climax of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, a titanic fight has broken out among the entire Pollitt clan over the imminent death of their patriarch, Big Daddy (Burl Ives), and the fate of their 28,000-acre cotton plantation. Brick (Paul Newman) is the film’s male protagonist and overhears his wife, mother, brother, and […]
Rushmore Review
RATING: (4 STARS) With Rushmore, writer/director Wes Anderson beelines it out of Wes Andersonville toward a place that resembles the world you and I inhabit. In Wes Andersonville, individuals are quirky beyond recognition—sometimes overwritten into oblivion. Rushmore‘s lead character, Max Fischer, is a proud citizen of Wes Andersonville, but unlike the director’s other films, this […]
I Know Where I’m Going!
Our film of the week at The Cinessential is Bill Forsythe’s Local Hero. It’s not a film I’m familiar with (though many of my colleagues’ glowing essays have piqued by interest in it), so I instead tackled our related review and wrote about the Archers’ 1945 film I Know Where I’m Going! Click here to […]
Odd Man Out Review
RATING: (4 STARS) It’s finally happening: Director Carol Reed is getting the recognition he deserves. Of course, it’s only 60 or 70 years too late to make a difference in his career. And of course, I’m only referring to the small (but sometimes deafening) community that goes nuts over things like auteurship, black and white […]
