A Condemnation of Trailers

Disclaimer: I’m not going to pretend that this is a viable philosophy or strategy for everyone. I know for a fact it isn’t and I’m not trying to convince anyone that it is. But I nevertheless do need to say it. I’m notoriously spoiler-sensitive. I don’t know when that sensitivity first developed, but I know […]

Terminator Genisys (2015) – Alan Taylor

I have a very strong, personal connection to the Terminator franchise. When I first saw The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (arguably my favorite action movie ever), I remember being in awe of not just the smart and exciting action scenes/set pieces, but also the disturbing, time-bending scenario at the root of the story. […]

Jurassic World (2015) – Colin Trevorrow

After seeing how little Lost World and Jurassic Park III added to the legacy established by Jurassic Park, I was not particularly excited when Jurassic World was announced. Still, as release approached, my anticipation grew and as the generally positive reviews rolled in, I became hopeful that the movie might capture some of what made […]

Spy (2015) – Paul Feig

Melissa McCarthy was my least favorite part of Bridesmaids, a movie I otherwise really enjoyed. Having that negative impression in mind, coupled with the fact that the only other movie I associate her with is the universally panned Identity Thief (which I have not seen and have zero interest in ever seeing), I had immediately […]

San Andreas (2015) – Brad Peyton

If it hadn’t been for The Rock’s involvement, I don’t think I would have had much interest in San Andreas. I’ve always enjoyed disaster movies but the genre as a whole is starting to feel more than a little stale. However, I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing The Rock in movies and […]

Tomorrowland (2015) – Brad Bird

Brad Bird has an excellent (if limited) track record as a director, bringing the world The Iron Giant, The Incredibles (my favorite Pixar film), Ratatouille and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. Those movies are plenty enough reason to have been excited about Tomorrowland but, unfortunately, it doesn’t really come close to living up to the […]

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) – George Miller

Mad Max: Fury Road is one of those rare movies that was actually on my radar well before release/the reviews started rolling in. I had been hearing from people (well, one person in particular) about how disgusting (used as a compliment) the trailer was. As I swore off watching trailers a couple years ago, I […]

Ex Machina (2015) – Alex Garland

WARNING: The following pseudo-review consists of almost equal parts review of the film and discussion of some of the film’s key themes/ideas. The fact that I felt compelled to write so much beyond the scope of a typical review should suggest that Ex Machina is pretty sick. I’m kind of a sucker for movies about […]

While We’re Young (2015) – Noah Baumbach

The two Noah Baumbach films I’ve seen didn’t inspire much interest in While We’re Young for me. I can remember virtually nothing of Greenberg and I vividly remember strongly disliking Frances Ha. But I also figured it could be something to do with Greta Gerwig. Knowing that she wasn’t in While We’re Young and seeing […]

It Follows (2015) – David Robert Mitchell

Full Disclosure: I know and have worked on set with Michael Gioulakis, the film’s Director of Photography. But like Roger Ebert, I’m confident that I’ll have no problem giving my unbiased impressions of the film. Also, I won’t pretend to be a horror movie buff, so feel free to take these impressions with an additional […]