I’m a die-hard “Star Wars” fan who isn’t looking forward to “Episode VII: The Force Awakens,”which opens on Friday. And it’s extremely weird, awkward and uncomfortable. When people ask me if I’m looking forward to the film, I’ve found the best answer is “Not particularly. I’m a fan of George Lucas’ ‘Star Wars,’ but not so […]
“Trainwreck” (now available from Redbox) is a surprisingly boring theatrical debut from screenwriter and lead actor Amy Schumer, who has shown signs of genius in her half-hour sketch show “Inside Amy Schumer.” It has some nice comedic moments, particularly in the early going, but it becomes almost unwatchably boring about halfway through before recovering slightly with […]
Movie and TV commentary: John Hansen examines the odd trend of fictional cinematic heroes who are initially unwilling to fight for what’s right.
The fifth theatrical release in National Lampoon’s “Vacation” series – which confusingly has the exact same title as the first entry — has enough laughs to be worth a rental (it’s now available from Redbox). But it’s not destined to be a classic in the vein of “Christmas Vacation” (1989), which many people will screen […]
Two new shows I kept on my viewing schedule have already been canceled – “Wicked City” and, for all intents and purposes, “Minority Report,” which had its episode order cut to 10. But the TV networks have kept the best fall show: “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.” I’m setting myself up for more disappointment, perhaps, as I’m now not only […]
On the surface, there’s a lot to like about “Paper Towns” (now available from Redbox), as a group of high school seniors goes on one last (or one FIRST, as the case may be) grand adventure before graduation. Quentin (Nat Wolff) and his friends explore the run-down urban areas of west Orlando for clues left by his […]
“Creed” — the seventh entry in the “Rocky” series — respects its elders while also doing its own thing. As the saga’s first film not written by Sylvester Stallone, and the first not directed by Stallone or John G. Avildsen, “Creed” has a different sense of style. That having been said, Stallone’s Rocky is the heart […]
Rightly ranked by IMDB voters as the best of the “Rocky” sequels (with a 7.2 rating), “Rocky Balboa” (2006) is a beautiful grace note to the fighting portion of the Italian Stallion’s career. (His training career appears to continue in “Creed.”) While the film makes few bones about the fact that a 50-something former champion can’t beat […]
The “Rocky” films never drifted into the arena of spectacle as much as their reputation suggests. Even the most over-the-top entry, “Rocky IV,” includes acknowledgements of the heightened plot, like when the commentators note the bizarreness of the Creed-Drago match. Still, the larger-than-life villainy of Clubber Lang and Ivan Drago changed the perception of the […]
With its montages and Eighties arena-rock songs, not to mention the “U.S. versus U.S.S.R.” foundation that begs for the hoariest of subtexts to be added, “Rocky IV” (1985) is unquestionably the most stylized film in the series up to this point. At first blush, it’s a brainless throwaway movie with a must-buy soundtrack highlighted by Robert Tepper’s […]