Recently I was thinking about some of the disappointments and failed blockbusters we’ve seen in 2014, and I couldn’t help but land on 300: Rise Of An Empire as the worst of the bunch. Granted, it always looked like it would be terrible, and attempting 300 without Gerard Butler (not to mention the novelty of…
The Last Exorcism: The Devil Is In The Details
The Last Exorcism—produced by Eli Roth (not written or directed; those credits go to Daniel Stamm, then Huck Botko and Andrew Gurland, respectively), although Roth no doubt offered input—is one the latest examples of the “faux-documentary style” horror flick. And despite my misgivings while waiting on the popcorn line, I ended up liking it, though…
Why is Inglourious Basterds spelled wrong?
I think I figured out a small cinematic mystery — why did Quentin Tarantino misspell the words “inglorious bastards” for the title of his film Inglourious Basterds. Quentin was asked about the misspelling and called it an artistic flourish that he did not want to explain lest it lose all meaning (for him, anyway). Why…
Orson Welles, A Touch of Evil
One of the biggest complaints viewers have today about Touch of Evil, the classic film noir written and directed by the late, great Orson Welles, is that it features Charlton Heston playing a Mexican. Yes, Moses himself playing a south-of-the-border, dark-skinned, mustached, Spanish-speaking Mexican. Let’s not forget, folks, Heston was shoved down Welles’s throat. He…
Edge of Darkness Review
Edge of Darkness, Mel Gibson’s first starring role in eight years, has so much going for it on paper. First there is Mel himself, who has starred in and directed some of the most iconic films of this generation. The director Martin Campbell has on his resume the very decent Casino Royale, which reinvigorated the…