Every holiday comes with its baggage—the expectations, the pressures put on relationships, the sometimes-painful memories and the hope that somehow, some way, this year will be different. So it is with this Smackdown. Can New Year’s Eve improve on Valentine’s Day, which audiences seemed to like despite the widespread critical takedowns? […]
It’s hard work being a babysitter in Hollywood. Instead of settling the kids down for a night of movies and TV dinners, you’re more likely to be stalked by a sadistic killer (Halloween), have a heart attack (Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead), endure increasingly threatening phone calls (When a Stranger Calls) or find yourself trying to rescue your charge from the Goblin King (Labyrinth). […]
A beautiful, still-single woman decides that all the good guys are taken. The solution? Take one back, and by any means necessary. That’s pretty much the high concept behind both Young Adult, screenwriter Diablo Cody’s new black comedy bravely starring Charlize Theron as a Minnesota high school beauty queen coming back to rekindle the flame with her married-with-baby ex-boyfriend, and My Best Friend’s Wedding, a Julia Roberts vehicle in which she travels back to Chicago to reclaim a sportswriter she never really wanted until another girl (Cameron Diaz) decides he’s marriage material. […]
Who would ever put the enduringly lovable Muppets in a boxing ring and have them fight their way out? Why, Movie Smackdown, of course. In this bout, the Muppets’ new, eponymous movie will trade blows with another showbiz-centered movie featuring Jason Segel and some puppet cast members (albeit in cameos), 2008’s Forgetting Sarah Marshall. […]
Computer-generated effects, 3D, surround sound…. It’s hard to believe there was a time when the biggest challenge in filmmaking was incorporating the sound of characters talking. The 1952 classic Singin’ in the Rain pays homage to that task while showcasing some of the greatest song-and-dance of its era. Why would anyone want to return to such a time, when it was clear, even back then, there was no market for silent films? Frenchman Michel Hazanavicius, the writer/director of The Artist, presents a compelling response and […]
You know that here at The Smack we’re all about looking at movies through different filters. You’ve got your basic Smackdown, where we review two films in competition with each other; then you’ve got your […]
We’re ditching our usual one-on-one combat for this Smackdown to bring you a tag-team match… actually, it’s more like a Battle Royale — both our contenders feature stars playing more than one part. […]
It’s November which means, for Hollywood and department stores, it’s officially the start of the Christmas season. While most of us are still finishing off our Halloween candy, the studios have already started churning out their holiday films in the hopes that one of them will join the ranks of the classic Christmas movie. […]
Everyone likes seeing David whip Goliath, especially these days, with people absorbing the emotional toll of a tanking economy, with limited prospects for recovery. At times like these, we all become like Network’s Howard Beale, shouting, “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore.†Why else does Occupy [your city here] keep rolling? […]
The Big Year takes place in the world of competitive bird watching. Most of us, of course, have no clue whatsoever that there even is a world of competitive bird watching. You should know this film is a comedy, starring Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson.
It’s loosely built around Mark Obmascik’s award-winning 2004 nonfiction book about 1988’s The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession. Again, we’re not kidding, this is a yearly competition where “birders” or bird enthusiasts travel North America and the prize goes to the person who spots the most rare birds. You should also know that Owen Wilson plays the record-holding champion. […]
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