Retrospectives

Donnie Darko, Fight Club, The Thing… all ‘cult’ films that made the square root of nada at the box office but have been critically vindicated since. 20 years ago, Josie and the Pussycats joined this hallowed…

On the surface, Memento and 50 First Dates don’t have much in common except for their main plot device of short-term memory loss. Even digging a bit deeper, it’s hard to find the connecting thread between the two.…

I’m a sucker for a good Robin Williams flick. The Birdcage is one of my favorites because of the departure it takes from his normal roles. Of course, the rest of the cast really makes the movie, particularly Nathan Lane and Gene…

There are first experiences in life we never forget. The first kiss; the first time someone you love dies; your first best friend. Though they may seem small in retrospect, those developments can feel earth-shattering…

Six months ago, Gillian Robespierre wasn’t on my radar, but flash forward to now, I’ve watched her entire small yet unbelievably brilliant filmography, including both limited series she has worked on (A Teacher and Mrs. Fletcher)…

The 15th of February marked the 30th anniversary of Nothing but Trouble, which to date, is Dan Aykroyd’s only directorial feature. Hailed as both a critical and commercial flop at the time, I do have…

The Silence of the Lambs scares the living daylights out of me. Anthony Hopkins is possibly the most terrifying actor to exist. I’m not sure if he should take that as a compliment or not, but…

The Misfits is quite an obscure little movie. Despite it being the last performance for both Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe, it isn’t talked about quite enough. Many people most likely don’t even know it exists.…

Before I rip into The Mechanic (2011), I’d like to start with a little story. Once upon a time, I saw this movie was having an anniversary and rushed to write an article on it.…

(CW: rape/abuse) Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez were on a white-hot streak in 1995. Each had two critically acclaimed, wildly successful features under his belt (for Tarantino, Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction; for Rodriguez, El…

After her introduction nearly halfway into the film, the nanny in One Hundred and One Dalmatians is likened to a dog by our narrator and protagonist Pongo. Usually a denigrating term — calling someone a dog…

The film industry is renowned for being risk-averse. Slews of sequels, live-action remakes, and established property adaptions dominate release slates every year. There’s an understandable eagerness of studios to churn out bankable films, especially when…

Two of my favorite actors are James Stewart and Cary Grant, so The Philadelphia Story is one of my favorite movies. Yet, I’m not blind to the fact that this movie…hasn’t really aged well. In the…

Sometimes, comedy’s purpose is more than a good laugh. It is able to make a point as few things can. This year is the 40th anniversary of 9 to 5. Looking back on the last…

This may be a controversial opinion, but O Brother, Where Art Thou? is the Coen Brothers’ best film. It’s my favorite, anyway. And there when I feel quite passionately about something, I find it helps to lay…

For the life of me, I can’t figure out why Harvey (1950) is marketed as a comedy. There are funny parts, sure, but the overall subject matter is pretty depressing. A man is suffering from delusions because…

The Emperor’s New Groove turned 20 years old this week and, despite my inability to accurately spell “Emperor” on the first try, it remains one of the warmest, most charming films in my memory. Starring…

Sense and Sensibility (1995) is what Pride and Prejudice (2005) wishes it was. Unfortunately, Pride cannot even hope to outshine the candor of Sense and Sensibility.  Like Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility revolves around female characters and their relationships, specifically with male…

When a film is labeled as “classic”, there is a certain something about it. Entertaining and inspiring multiple generations of audiences, its success goes far beyond the initial response from moviegoers. Unfortunately, this sometimes inspires…

Do you remember the cable movie? Not the made-for-cable ones, but the movie that would grow its popularity with consistent runs on networks like TBS, TNT, and USA. These were typically movies that ranged from…

Seemingly every year, Hollywood looks to the past for inspiration. Specifically, the spotlight falls on successful movies and television shows from previous decades. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the 1960s and 1970s were…

The year 1999 has long been considered one of the greatest years in cinema history. I see no issue with that position. It’s a shame that so many were left out when it came Oscar…

Dances with Wolves is the OG Avatar. I’m sure at this point you’ve all read into how Avatar was basically Dances with Wolves with blue people, but I’ll reiterate for those of you who aren’t aware. They both have the same…

I’m a sucker for Aaron Sorkin, so when I heard that The American President would be turning 25 years old this year, I knew I had to hop on here and let you all know how much…

For most, if not all of us, fairy tales are part and parcel of the fiction we are introduced to when we are young. Tales of kings and queens, princes and princesses tell us what…

Megamind was so underrated when it first came out and it still feels that way today. I can understand why: DreamWorks tends to make pretty juvenile films that target kids with potty humor. Megamind was a breath…

10 years ago, André Øvredal made his feature debut with the fast and loose found-footage monster movie Trollhunter. It was just before the found-footage fad fell off and it became something of a cult hit,…

War is complicated. Humanity is complicated. Put them together and there is a perfect storm of destruction and loss of life. But satire has a way of allowing us to both laugh and think clearly.…

It’s hard to believe that it has been 10 years since Buried was released. I can only imagine that the pitch for 90 minutes of a man in a coffin must have been difficult; and…

“People say that it can’t work, black and white. Here, we make it work every day. We still have our disagreements, of course, but before we reach for hate, always, always, we remember the Titans.”…