Movies

A century of suspense: All 52 Alfred Hitchcock films, ranked

A century ago, Alfred Hitchcock quietly (indeed, soundlessly) started his career with throwaway rom-dram “The Pleasure Garden.” Fifty-two years and exactly 52 films later, he

READ MORE

‘Final Girls’ (2015) makes fun of old tropes, unfortunately shepherds new one

“The Final Girls” (2015) continues the grand tradition of making fun of slasher movies, something that has always happened to some degree even within serious

READ MORE

‘Blues Brothers’ (1980) is an absurdly bombastic crowd-pleaser

“The Blues Brothers” (1980) has such massive set pieces and action sequences that the belly laughs have little chance at being equally big. But it’s

READ MORE

‘The Fly’ (1986) is a classic fairy tale … in reverse and inside out

“The Fly” (1986) is writer-director David Cronenberg’s most mainstream piece of body horror, but that’s a contradiction because body horror will never be a mainstream

READ MORE

‘Poseidon Adventure’ (1972): When playing follow-the-leader, pick wisely

While “Jaws” (1975) is considered the first blockbuster because of the sheer amount of money it made, plenty of films before it had buzz, long

READ MORE

‘Fantastic Four: First Steps’ is a fantastic bore

It’s a year ending in 5, so that means it’s time for another “Fantastic Four” movie so Fox (and now Disney) doesn’t lose the license.

READ MORE

‘Conjuring’ saga applies wallpaper as fast as it peels in ‘Last Rites’

The Smurl family home in “The Conjuring: Last Rites” includes peeling wallpaper in the stairwell, an accidental metaphor for the way the film uses top-shelf

READ MORE

I’m not scared of clowns. Can I still enjoy ‘It: Chapter Two’ (2019)?

“It” – in all its incarnations – strikes me as Stephen King’s (and the adapters’) attempt to expand the themes of “Stand By Me” (the

READ MORE

‘Collateral’ (2004) injects intimate moral philosophy into a crime thriller

Not merely an outlet for Katie Holmes to scout future exes, “Collateral” (2004) is an expert portrayal of strong and weak personalities interacting, and the

READ MORE

‘House of Wax’ (2005) doesn’t melt under pressure to be a good romp

“House of Wax” (2005) falls on the right side of that line with horror movies where you generally know what’s going to happen. On one

READ MORE