Everyone waits until the year is over to compile their “Best of whatever” movie lists. This has become a mundane practice. Time for a bit of a change, kids. ***Being a voting member of one of the accredited film critic associations recognized by the studios for year-end awards, a ton of “For Your Consideration” screeners will be viewed up until Christmas time; all vying for award nods/momentum heading into the 84th Academy Awards*** There will be a steady flow of independent and studio flicks entering the rankings every week through the end of the year. So with very little time scroll down below to see where The Twilight Saga: Breaking  [ Read More ]

Everyone waits until the year is over to compile their “Best of whatever” movie lists. This has become a mundane practice. Time for a bit of a change, kids. ***Being a member of one of the voting accredited film critic associations recognized by the studios for year-end awards, a ton of “For Your Consideration” screeners will be viewed up until Christmas time; all vying for award nods/momentum heading into the 84th Academy Awards*** So as noted just above, the below rankings are going to expand at a rapid pace over the next 6 weeks as studios posture for award recognition from select film critic groups (just in case the note  [ Read More ]

If you were at the November 3 LSU/Alabama college football game at the LSU Stadium in Baton Rouge, LA, you probably got a Batman-laden surprise. For the first time in the franchise’s history, all six Batmobiles and the Bat-Pod are going on a cross-country tour in celebration of the December 4 home release of The Dark Knight Rises, the final film in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. The following vehicles touring the country include: • Batman television series and Batman, The Movie (1966) – driven by Adam West • Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992) – driven by Michael Keaton • Batman Forever (1995) – driven by Val Kilmer • Batman  [ Read More ]

Everyone waits until the year is over to compile their “Best of whatever” movie lists. This has become a mundane practice. Time for a bit of a change, kids. Wreck-It Ralph and A Late Quartet proved that with teamwork, great things can be accomplished. But then there’s Flight, which provide the counter to that statement, by using the “Michael Jordan” theory: One amazing talent (Denzel Washington) can take something decent and transform it in to something excellent. And then there’s even a third ideal: if you hustle (The Man with the Iron Fists), you can earn some respect, despite having flaws. The new releases for the respective week will have  [ Read More ]

Everyone waits until the year is over to compile their “Best of whatever” movie lists. This has become a mundane practice. Time for a bit of a change, kids. Lots of tricks were being played at cinemas on what is considered, “Halloween weekend.” Fun Size was just going through the motions (a.k.a. uninspired play), while Silent Hill: Revelation 3D thought timing would be everything (critical and financial success). Meanwhile, Cloud Atlas read amazing on paper but lacked execution. The new releases for the respective week will have a capsule review at the end of the column. An updated list comes out every Monday. Here’s how things are shaking up so  [ Read More ]

Everyone waits until the year is over to compile their “Best of whatever” movie lists. This has become a mundane practice. Time for a bit of a change, kids. The coaches behind Paranormal Activity 4 became too complacent; for they thought by simply going through the motions, they would achieve success once again. And when considering they have home court advantage (horror flick opening in late October), they need to go back to the creative drawing board. But fear not PA 4 players, because your opening weekend counterpart, Alex Cross, didn’t even deserve to be on the court (in theaters). And then there’s the quiet Cinderella in The Sessions. A  [ Read More ]

Everyone waits until the year is over to compile their “Best of whatever” movie lists. This has become a mundane practice. Time for a bit of a change, kids. Now telling you what flick has the distinct honor of ending Wanderlust’s long reign as the year’s low-light, would take the fun and excitement out of scrolling down the list. But before you do that, take a look at the upper echelon to see where Argo landed. And as for the three other newbies, well, check the capsule review section just after the rankings and then hunt those suckers down (hint: Here Comes the Boom isn’t much higher than Barricade). The  [ Read More ]

Everyone waits until the year is over to compile their “Best of whatever” movie lists. This has become a mundane practice. Time for a bit of a change, kids. Liam Neeson is the star player on a team (Taken 2) that was able to maintain its core players (cast and writers). But then there’s one giant change: A new coach (director Olivier Megaton). And the chemistry and game-plan just never comes together as it once did in 2009. Fortunately, an old veteran coach by the name of Tim Burton, was able to salvage the weekend by going back to what propelled him onto the main stage years ago. Plus, a  [ Read More ]

Everyone waits until the year is over to compile their “Best of whatever” movie lists. This has become a mundane practice. Time for a bit of a change, kids. With just three months left in 2012, the onslaught of holiday/award season flicks are about to hit all of us in the coming weeks. And in preparation for this, yours truly gave this list a thorough vetting to make sure everything is where it needs to be so to speak (i.e. Why did I rank Resident Evil 5 so high initially? Is Wanderlust and Battleship still the worst these green eyes have seen?, etc., etc.). Obviously, this past Friday’s releases (Looper,  [ Read More ]

The acclaimed conclusion to writer-director-producer Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, ‘The Dark Knight Rises,’ will be released on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and Digital Download on December 4, just in time for the holiday season, Comic Book Movie is reporting. The Blu-ray Combo Pack will be sold for $35.99, while the single disc DVD will retail for $28.98. The ‘Dark Knight Rises’ Blu-ray and DVD will feature several bonus features. The superhero film will play in hi-definition on the Blu-ray, which will also take advantage of the IMAX and 35mm formats. It will use the hybrid master to replicate the theatrical experience of integrated film formats. The Blu-ray and DVD will  [ Read More ]

Everyone waits until the year is over to compile their “Best of whatever” movie lists. This has become a mundane practice. Time for a bit of a change, kids. This past week of releases would almost lead one to believe it was amateur hour. And that’s with an assortment of accomplished talent populating these new flicks. End of Watch had the players but the coaching (director) severely held them back. Trouble with the Curve executed a dated and uninspired game-plan. Dredd 3D knew who it was, but ended up getting predictable and forced the issue at times. And House at the End of the Street is now at the house  [ Read More ]

Everyone waits until the year is over to compile their “Best of whatever” movie lists. This has become a mundane practice. Time for a bit of a change, kids. The Master is very similar to the Miami Heat basketball team: It has three superstars (Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson) dialed in and putting on quite a performance. Problem is, everything around them is being executed in sub-par fashion. And then there’s The Queen of Versailles: It has some flashy moves but fizzled-out due to the lack of substance and heart. Also joining the party was a veteran roster in Resident Evil: Retribution, and the high-brow  [ Read More ]

Christopher Nolan isn’t planning on including an extended director’s cut for the Blu-ray and DVD releases of his hit superhero film ‘The Dark Knight Rises,’ Indiewire is reporting. The news comes after reports surfaced that the writer-director-producer of the popular Batman trilogy would add such details as Bane’s origin story to his finale, which already runs for 165 minutes. There was also news that the new version of the movie would be re-released next June, just before the Nolan-produced ‘Man of Steel’ is set to be theatrically released. It wasn’t expected that Nolan would release the extended director’s cut of ‘The Dark Knight Rises,’ as he rarely includes deleted scenes  [ Read More ]

Everyone waits until the year is over to compile their “Best of whatever” movie lists. This has become a mundane practice. Time for a bit of a change, kids. Look, the coach (me) evaluated a lot of players (7 to be exact) since last week’s rankings. So let’s drop the usual metaphoric sports-opening and just get right to where The Words, For a Good Time Call…, Side by Side, The Tall Man and a few choice indie horror flicks landed. Savvy? The new releases for the respective week will have a capsule review at the end of the column. An updated list comes out every Monday. Here’s how things are  [ Read More ]

The box office results for the weekend of September 7th – 9th is easily the worst for 2012. With only CBS Films’ The Words going wide, the little exorcism flick that could in The Possession can tout itself as a repeat box office champ. Hell, it may end up making money (production budget is just $14 million). But as for being a true “box office draw?” Eh, not so much. Here are the studio estimates: 1. The Possession ($9.5 million) 2. Lawless ($6 million) 3. The Words ($5 million) 4. The Expendables ($4.7 million) 5. The Bourne Legacy ($4 million) 6. ParaNorman ($3.8 million) 7. The Odd Life of Timothy  [ Read More ]