Smith gives a dogged effort in ambitious ‘Dogma’ (1999)
Kevin Smith Week (Movie review): Smith makes his Catholic faith funny and fascinating in his overlong but engaging fourth film.
Smith keeps indie vibe with emotional ‘Chasing Amy’ (1997)
Kevin Smith Week (Movie review): After two straight-up comedies, Smith gets nuanced in his exploratory film about a romance that can’t possibly work.
No soph slump for Smith with hilarious ‘Mallrats’ (1995)
Kevin Smith Week (Movie review): The budget and scope increase for Smith’s second film. Luckily the laughs don’t decrease in what is now a nostalgic gem.
Smith’s ‘Clerks’ (1994) the pinnacle of DIY filmmaking
Kevin Smith Week (Movie review): “Clerks” was revolutionary. For me, hearing a detailed discussion of a “Star Wars” plot point in a movie was mind-blowing.
‘Death of ‘Superman Lives’’ (2015) chronicles unmade film
Superhero Saturday (Movie review): We never got Burton’s vision of Superman. Maybe it’s better that we got this compelling documentary.
‘Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope’ (2011) is too basic
Superhero Saturday (Movie review): It’s nice to have a Spurlock documentary of Comic-Con. But it could’ve dug a lot deeper into the event.
‘Live Free or Die Hard’ (2007) delivers new-century thrills
Throwback Thursday (Movie review): The fourth entry has new-century extreme-action elements. But it’s joined by a compelling plot about digital information.
‘Daredevil’ (2003) looks particularly mediocre
Superhero Saturday (Movie review): In the wake of the Netflix series, this Ben Affleck-starrer looks particularly mediocre.
‘Mallrats’ reviews
John’s “Mallrats” flashback review, Aug. 2, 2021 “Mallrats” — Brodie (Jason Lee) might just be the most heroic character ever to grace the screen. His philosophy in life is to just do and say whatever he wants, and in the fantasy world of Kevin Smith, he gets away with it all. This colorful (especially the
‘Clerks’ reviews
John’s “Clerks” flashback review, Aug. 1, 2021 “Clerks” — Kevin Smith’s black-and-white debut film is a day-in-the-life tale of a convenience store clerk and all the people and situations he encounters. It’s the reality of the film that makes it so funny, and the social commentary so vivid. The “Star Wars” references are just icing