Early spring has been a dead zone for even decent movie entertainment
Jack Nicholson in the 1970s classic 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.'
There is no movie review this week because, frankly, the choices went from re-releases (Titanic 3D) to unappetizing sequels (American Reunion) to recycled ideas (Mirror Mirror). Go ahead and tell me it is my job to go see crap movies so I can tell my readers they are crap movies.
Point taken.
I did go see the 3D version of Titanic because at least I knew that it featured an engaging love story with a fascinating historical element. However, since I ostensibly went to check out the quality of the 3D conversion by a director, James Cameron, who has blown us away with 3D in the past thanks to Avatar, the news on that end is not good. The 3D element is completely forgettable. In fact, I took my glasses off a few times because the conversion just seemed to darken the images without adding any visual enhancements.
That said, I would encourage those movie fans that have never had the opportunity to see the movie in a theater to go see it on the big screen where it shines. Besides, it was fun to enjoy the charisma of the then baby-faced Leonardo DiCaprio.
But, let’s get back to the current crop of movies. I’m glad nobody has asked me recently what movies to go see because I’d probably say, “Stay home.”
It is time for a rant about the quality of current movies. Now we don’t expect the timeless quality of The Godfather, Chinatown, Pulp Fiction, To Kill A Mockingbird, On the Waterfront, The Conversation or Alien every time we go visit the multi-plex, but when did solid, acceptable entertainment become an endangered species?
I had high hopes for the 2010s. A decade of fantastic movies comes around every 40 years or so. The first such decade of excellence was the 1930s — Gone With the Wind, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Wizard of Oz, M, Little Caesar, Stagecoach, The 39 Steps, All Quiet on the Western Front, Bringing Up Baby, Public Enemy and It Happened One Night to name a few highlights of the era.
It is time to look at the summer movie schedule in July and August. 'The Avengers' got us off to terrific superhero start.
Movies have generally been so lousy the past couple of months, the influx of spring/early summer films can’t come soon enough. Matter of fact, The Avengers is kicking off the season this week. Here are 10 movies that I’m looking forward to seeing in May and June
Are you kidding me? It took Kiteman longer to get from the top of Veteran’s stadium to home plate to deliver the first pitch for the Phillies in 1972.
Atlantic City Weekly's Weekend Hot Tub Party is bringing you a special present: a holiday stocking stuffer extravaganza filled with a variety of joyous videos, creepy Santa pictures and unusual festive folklore.
This time around, we've assembled our top 10 lists of the best and worst that holiday-themed movies have to offer.
Boardwalk Empire has brought renewed interest in Atlantic City and has inspired numerous 1920s era events in the region. However, there is another movie that is partially set in Atlantic City that is bringing a different notoriety to our town.
Before we get to the good stuff next week, when I announce my best films of the year list, here are the 10 films that either disappointed me, were flat out awful or that frustrated me because they could have been better.
for movie showtimes, click here for movie capsules, click here We can all agree that Ang Lee's 2003 version of The Hulk was a bad mix of art house pretentiousness and less-than-compelling action seq...
� OLD SCHOOL SPY GAMES are the centerpiece of The Bourne Supremacy, a solid sequel to the excellent The Bourne Identity. While the sequel lacks the rich emotional context of the original (it's assumed we know the characters already), the action is thrilling. Like the original, the movie's ambiance is from the time when spies were out in the Cold War, racing around colorful European locations, and John Le Carre set the standard. Jason Bourne might be a trained assassin, but since he lost his memory, he's become much more human. He takes it personally when his job puts others in danger and when the CIA refuses to let him stay retired. However, when danger arrives, he is fully capable of putting his considerable skills to work. In the sequel, the man behind the ultra-secret CIA mission Treadstone, Ward Abbott (Brian Cox), is still "uncomfortable" about loose end Jason Bourne still being on the loose. Naturally, he will regret trying one more time to bury his dirty little secret by putting a hit out on Bourne. Joan Allen joins the fray as a CIA deputy who isn't corrupt, but who wants to catch Bourne because evidence suggests he killed two CIA operatives in...
Nicholas Sparks novels have been turned into movies that give teenage girls a chance to enjoy dreamy teen heartthrobs who prove their mettle as believers in true love. The best one was The Notebook, which gave Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams their first major film roles. The rest haven’t been so bad (A Walk to Remember, Dear John, Nights in Rodanthe, The Last Song) but they haven’t been so great either. The Lucky One falls right into the same slot, enjoyable in spots, but with a few too many contrivances. Zac Efron, who took his Disney TV stardom...
Joss Whedon, the man behind beloved TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly, has unleashed a ton of unadulterated popcorn movie fun with his marvelous multi-superhero extravaganza, The Avengers. It’s everything you would expect from a comic book adaptation that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and it delivers plenty of action along with an equal amount of superhero temper tantrums.
My fellow film critics and I tend to use previous films of a similar genre to compare and contrast the worthiness of the latest entry in that genre. However, when your film is titled Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, there isn’t much hope of finding a similar effort for a side by side comparison.
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1. Anonymous said... on Apr 12, 2012 at 11:04AM
“LOVE your sense of humor!! Always enjoy reading your reviews & have for years!!! What's even more super is that we agree with your perspective & look forward to you pointing 'us' in the better direction for when we do make our choices!”
2. Lori Hoffman said... on Apr 12, 2012 at 02:56PM
“Thanks for the kind words. I always looked to Pauline Kael's reviews for a perspective that was usually in sync with mine.”
3. phineas j fogg said... on Apr 17, 2012 at 03:34PM
“my only corollary being today's popular music scene, which is
equally- if not more- devoid of any sort of quality, cultural value or otherwise redeeming characteristics.
instead, today's music is simply all about marketing.
(at the risk of sounding like an old codger, i've attended at least 500
concerts in my life, and am greatly anticipating seeing florence
and the machine at borgata, a true exception to my statement above.)
at least we have tim burton and johnny depp's black comedic version of 'Dark Shadows' to look forward to in the next month or so, n'est ce pas?”