Almost 20 years have come and gone since John Wayne Gacy was put to death for his grisly handwork. For people who remain unfamiliar with Gacy’s story the ghoulishly titled “Killer Clown" was convicted of a string of brutal slayings (a majority of which occurred in the Chicagoland area) in 1980. In the interim since Gacy’s…Read more Film Review: Dear Mr. Gacy (2010)
Film Reviews
Film Review: The Last Stand (2013)
There has never been a more truthful mantra from Arnold Schwarzenegger than his iconic “I’ll be back” phrase from 1984′s The Terminator. Time and time again Arnie has proven his resilience against the inevitability of time, age, and even an infuriating (and perhaps misguided) political career. Nobody has been able to keep the big dog…Read more Film Review: The Last Stand (2013)
Film Review: The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey (2012)
Appropriating part of the title of Jackson’s upcoming third Hobbit movie, There and Back Again, seems like an appropriate way to describe the experience of watching The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. After a nine-year break returning to Middle Earth proves to be a surreal experience, especially for those who came of age with the original trilogy. Things look the…Read more Film Review: The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey (2012)
Film Review: Sweet Sixteen (2002)
Adolescence has rarely looked bleaker than in Ken Loach‘s grimy, grim coming of age film from 2002, the ironically titled Sweet Sixteen. Bizarrely described on its Netflix casing as a “…heartwarming…” story, Loach’s film is a powerful albeit somewhat conventional portrait of blighted lives, hopelessness and the allure of criminality in a crumbling, washed-out Scotland.…Read more Film Review: Sweet Sixteen (2002)
Film Review: Everybody’s Fine (2009)
At the turn of the century Robert De Niro went to sleep in regards to his professional life. Throughout the 2000′s he would slumber, drifting in this zombified state through cartoon camp (The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle), listless drama, (Hide and Seek, Men of Honor) and abrasive self-parody (Meet the Fockers, Analyze That). However,…Read more Film Review: Everybody’s Fine (2009)
Film Review: Batman Returns (1992)
Batman Returns is undeniably defined by the influence of its director, Tim Burton. This is both a positive and a negative for the film’s overall success as a big-screen depiction of the Batman legend. On one hand Batman has never been given a more arresting aesthetic treatment. The production design by Bo Welch and the…Read more Film Review: Batman Returns (1992)
Film Review: Super Fly (1972)
Stagnant plotting and glacial-speed editing define this 1972 Blaxploitation feature from director Gordon Parks Jr. Starring Ron O’Neal as the ridiculously named central character, Priest Youngblood, Super Fly is a movie where nothing much happens and adds very little to the conversation regarding the socio-economic status of African-Americans that was so eloquently expressed through other…Read more Film Review: Super Fly (1972)
Film Review: Bullet to the Head (2013)
You can almost smell the formaldehyde emanating from Bullet to the Head, the new Sly Stallone vehicle directed by the ancient and irrelevant Walter Hill. From the formulaic “odd-couple” mash-up of Stallone’s thuggish Jimmy Bobo and the nebbish cop Taylor Kwon (Suang Yang), to the frankly pedantic action scenes, Bullet to the Head doesn’t quite…Read more Film Review: Bullet to the Head (2013)
Film Review: The Dark Knight Returns – Part II (2012)
Inconsistent yet still undeniably entertaining, the second part of Warner Brothers' The Dark Knight Returns (DKR) adaptation is a big film that wrestles admirably with its complex source material. “He can fly!” exclaims an awestruck cop (while observing a temporarily aerial Batman) during one of the film’s many well-done action sequences. The same thing can occasionally…Read more Film Review: The Dark Knight Returns – Part II (2012)
Adam Mohrbacher 