The Smackdown Films — at the highest level of achievement — illuminate, entertain, even influence events. They usually don’t aim that high. Movies mostly reinforce our existing preferences for drama, romance, horror — or in […]
Nothing persists like a good idea. Its power and elegance hold up no matter how it is reinterpreted in movie sequels, prequels and remakes. “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” became a surprise science fiction hit in 1956 and remains a popular model for imitation. You can trace elements of the basic storyline on film and TV today: Bad things happen when you fall asleep. This sturdy premise spawned well-made remakes in 1978 and 1994. Now, a new version of Jack Finney’s tale of alien takeover steps up, “Invasion.” This remake arrives with plenty of drama behind the camera. It offers an otherworldly Smackdown: Does “Invasion” snatch a good idea from the original movie, or lose its identity?
[…]
The Smackdown “Hairspray” sets up a Smackdown! as unsettling as meeting another person with your name: something is familiar, but the other elements don’t quite fit. Mark Twain anticipated this frustration when he said some […]
The Smackdown Sometimes you just need to see a well-deserved butt kicking. On that basis, the Die Hard series generally satisfies because all of the movies are intended to simply deliver what they excel at […]
The Smackdown Real violence trumps reel violence, although maybe not when selling tickets. “A Mighty Heart” opened small over the weekend ($4 million) and may not grow much. Michael Winterbottom directed this real life horrorshow […]
The Smackdown If early audience response counts for anything, bet big on “Ocean’s 13” this summer. Filmmaker Steven Soderbergh (“Sex, Lies and Videotape,” “Erin Brockovich,” “Traffic”) created a popular series combining snappy storytelling and bankable […]
The Smackdown Even though “Knocked Up” is a major summer movie (maybe even the summer comedy), the same could easily have been said about “The 40 Year Old Virgin” in 2005. Both have similar strengths, […]
The Smackdown Leading a directed life–or just being happy–is hard enough without being complicated by some pesky obsession. Now, throw in a quirky twist or two and you describe the structure of many dramas that […]
The Smackdown What a luxury in life– and the movies– to get a “do over.” No mistake remains uncorrected, no last word is ever really final. That’s how it is with the most celebrated screen […]
The Smackdown Apples and oranges. Comparing films, or people — even apples and oranges — forces tough judgment calls. That’s why it feels safer to key our comparisons on hard, irreducible nuggets of experience. Our […]
Copyright © 2024 | MH Magazine WordPress Theme by MH Themes